Left and Center: Kelly circa, 1982
Right: Age Progressed to age 39
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: February 12, 1982
Missing From: Larkslane, Knott County, Kentucky
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: November 17, 1975
Age: 6 years old
Height and Weight: 4’0″ and 60 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Male, Kelly was born with a cleft palate and as a result of it he had a speech impediment which gave him trouble with pronouncing some words, Kelly has a surgical scar on the left side of his face between his nose and upper lip, he has gaps in between his teeth
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A blue/white shirt, a blue hooded windbreaker jacket with the zipper torn at the bottom, a pair of blue jeans, and brown boots
NCMEC Number: 601735
Details of Disappearance
Kelly was last seen on February 12th 1982 in Larkslane, Kentucky. He was last known to be at home with his mother, Judy Moore, on Larks Lane in Pine Tree Hollow in Knotts County, Kentucky which was located approximately 5 miles outside of the town of Hindman.
Kelly would’ve gone to school that day, however, a snow storm caused the school to cut classes that day. Kelly went to play outside in the front yard of his family’s residence at approximately 11:00 am. His mother told him not to leave the yard. She last saw him when she checked on him at 4:00 pm.
Since the family didn’t own a telephone, Moore went to a neighbors house to answer the phone. When she returned to the residence, Kelly was not in the front yard anymore and was initially unconcerned and assumed that Kelly went to a friends residence to watch the television.
Judy prepared dinner at 6:00 pm, she could not find Kelly at the time and had dinner without him. Afterwards, she went to the friends residence to pick up Kelly but she found that Kelly had never gone to the friends house. Moore stated that when she realized that Kelly was missing, she went to her boyfriends grandmothers house to use the phone and call police. She was apparently not permitted to use the phone until 12:00 am. Moore and her family began to search for him.
Authorities began to search for Kelly at dawn. They initially believed that the child had simply wandered away from his yard and possibly to one of the several mines in the area and froze to death.
Moore maintained her innocence in his case and was questioned regarding her sons disappearance. Authorities also dug under her concrete porch in search of Kelly’s body but did not find anything. She has not been ruled out in the investigation.
At the time of of Kelly’s disappearance, his parents had been divorced for several years by then and Moore believed that the child’s father had taken him or knew who had taken him. Authorities suspect that someone local and who lived in the area was involved in Kelly’s disappearance. A lot of Kelly’s neighbors at the time had criminal records.
At the time of his disappearance, Kelly lived with his mother and her boyfriend in a rented home. Kelly’s older siblings lived in Jackson, Kentucky with their grandmother. Their mother had epilepsy and was unable to care for them.
Despite search efforts, no trace of Kelly was ever found and his disappearance is classified as a possible abduction and authorities believe it’s possible that he was in fact taken. Many tips came in after his disappearance that placed him in Florida. Some specified the cities as Tampa or Thonotosassa.
Kelly’s case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Kentucky State Police 606-435-6069
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children