EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --- Dozens of people gathered in town on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of an unsolved cold case in the Katahdin Region.
Balloons were released over the soccer field at Schenck High School to honor the memory of Joyce McLain. McLain was attacked and killed as she was jogging near the high school back in 1980. To this day state investigators have been unable to make an arrest in her murder.
Joyce's mother Pam McLain wants to see the case handed over to the FBI. An online petition started by supporters last spring netted close to 4,000 signatures.
In response, officials with the Maine State Police say that they have worked in the past with the FBI on the case. Investigators claim both agencies reviewed files just last month yet with no new evidence determined nothing more could be done.
Pam McLain feels otherwise.
"Why not have the FBI come in and work on her file, beat feet on the pavement...talk to all of these people who have been named in Joyce's case all these 32 years. What is it going to hurt?," she said.
Pam McLain submitted the petition to the Maine Attorney General's Office on Wednesday. State Police spokesman Steve McCausland offered this comment on the case.
"Everything that can be done... has been done by the Maine State Police," he said, "We will not hesitate to use their -- that is, the FBI's -- assistance in this case if anything new develops and we have in the past."
"We understand Ms. McLain's frustration but our detectives have worked hard on this case and will continue to."
Joyce McLain would have been 49-years-old this fall.
NEWS CENTER