Chip Chick
The first piece of evidence was a diary that she kept. She wrote about people named Gail and Tyrone. She had collected different menus from Virginia and Texas and tucked them inside.
Seems like there were quite a few clues that might connect to her real name. Unfortunately, none of these things led to anything of any significance.
The second thing Mercedes had in her possession that authorities thought they could use to figure her out was a family bible. It had belonged to the Stroud family and had different names inside of it.
They were able to confirm that Mercedes had lived with the Strouds in Indiana, but they had no idea who she was either. She had given them very little personal information.
As the investigation continued, authorities realized Mercedes went by many different names. She went by Kelly Karr, Kelly Lee Carr, Shannon Wiley, Sharon Wiley, and Cheryl Kaufman, in addition to using Cheryl Ann Wick’s name.
Authorities were also able to figure out that she did have an arrest record. She gave the name Cheryl Ann Wick when she was arrested on December 31st, 1990 for prostitution, in Dallas, Texas. She had been at the La Casita Motel.
On February 8th, 1991, she was arrested in Garland, Texas, at the Carousel Motel for public lewdness. She also gave out the name Cheryl Ann Wick.
She was arrested again in May of 1991 in El Dorado, Arkansas for writing bad checks. Again, she told police she was Cheryl Ann Wick.
She also had told many different stories to the varying people she had met in her travels. She truly seemed to be something of a chameleon. She had said she was a mom of two. She said she lived in a homeless shelter at some point. She said she didn’t get along great with her own mom.
She said her father was part of the mafia. She said she was in witness protection. She said she robbed a bank.
Authorities couldn’t prove that any of the things she had said were true. And they couldn’t find a real connection between her and any of the names she used.
