Post by Scumhunter on Aug 22, 2014 10:21:50 GMT -5
QUEEN ANNE — The Herman “Dolly” Callahan murder remains the only cold case murder in Queen Anne’s County, and Sunday, Aug. 24, marks 22 years since Callahan was found shot dead in the breezeway of his home off Route 404 in Queen Anne, but the county sheriff’s office hasn’t given up on the unsolved case, said Lt. Dale Patrick.
“When Sheriff (Gary) Hofmann took office, we have tried several means to generate new leads in the case,” Patrick said. “Information and photos from the case were added to the sheriff’s office website; a copy of the case was sent to the Maryland State Police Cold Case Unit for review; several videos were filmed and shown on ‘Queen Anne’s Most Wanted’ cable TV show, including an interview of the victim’s daughter; fliers and posters were distributed in the area; and the case was added to Fox Television’s ‘America’s Most Wanted’ website.”
Around 7:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 24, 1992, a passing motorist pulled in to the Shell Stop gas station at the intersection of Routes 309 and 404, a few hundred yards from Callahan’s home, to report she saw the 75-year-old farmer slumped over in his doorway as she drove down Route 404.
Callahan was discovered just inside the doorway shot in the back. Investigators found $1,750 in cash and business notes on Callahan’s person.
Callahan’s 1985, manual transmission, GMC livestock truck was located at the National Guard Armory a few hundred yards from his house.
The murder weapon was not recovered, although a shotgun was found by a construction crew near Callahan’s home several years later.
About two years ago, the case was re-opened by the sheriff’s office with two retired police officers working on the investigation and reviewing the case file, Patrick said.
Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Auxiliary Deputy Bill Council, who is retired from Baltimore City Police, has focused solely on the Callahan case.
“We had two people who saw the truck being driven that knew whose truck it was,” Council said in a 2012 interview. “They didn’t pay any attention to it because they just thought it was the victim. But they did see the truck going to the armory (around 6:30 a.m.), and if anybody back then can remember anything about that, that would be great because that would help us 90 percent to find out who was driving the truck, because we know it wasn’t the victim.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Callahan, the owner of two cattle farms and landlord of more than a dozen tenants at the time of his death, “had his share of enemies” and generally started his workday around 4 a.m.
“We’re hoping that after 20 years that somebody out there who is involved or was involved, that knows something will come forward now,” Council said in 2012. “I don’t believe this case was a deliberate murder, I think that this was more of an accident style thing. I can’t prove it, I just don’t believe somebody just went there and murdered him in the morning like that.”
After thoroughly reviewing the case file and re-interviewing people mentioned in the file, new information not in the original file was uncovered, Paztrick said. Possible new evidence has been located and sent to the Maryland State Police lab for testing.
“The Sheriff’s Office believes this case can be solved. Our goal is to assemble the information for review to the state’s attorney’s office with a recommendation to present the case to grand jury,” Patrick said.
Anyone with any information in the case, no matter how unimportant it may seem, he said, is asked to contact Council or Patrick at 410-758-0770 or email dpatrick@qac.org.
Thoughts?
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