Declared Dead: The Disappearance of Joey Lynn Offutt

Joey Lynn Offutt (pictured with her daughter), vanished on July 5, 2007, from her apartment in Sykesville, Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of WTAJ TV.

The mysterious disappearance of a young mother from Sykesville, Pennsylvania, has haunted her family for over 13 years. The days following her disappearance still leave so many questions.

Joey Lynn Offutt’s 2007 disappearance has baffled police.

Joey Lynn Offutt, 33, was last seen at her home in the 90 block of Fugate Drive in Sykesville. Sykesville is a small town of fewer than 1,500 people in the borough of Jefferson County, about 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. It is a town that saw zero murders in 2019 up until September. It is not the type of town where a double murder takes place.

Joey Lynn Offutt’s six-week-old son was found dead in the bathtub of her home. Photo courtesy of Help Find Joey Lynn Offutt Facebook.

At 4:00 a.m. on July 12, 2007, neighbors heard a loud explosion at Joey’s home and discovered the house was on fire. After firefighters extinguished the flames, they found the body of Joey’s infant son, in the bathtub of the home.

The Coroner’s office could not determine the six-week-old child’s cause of death, but they did determine the baby had been dead and placed in the second-floor bathtub prior to the fire.