Post by Scumhunter on Dec 6, 2015 2:33:21 GMT -5
(Pictured: Above: Left: Randy, circa 1988. Right: Age-progression to 44 (circa 2014) Photo Credits: Charley Project, NCMEC)
Missing Child/Person Profile as of December 6th, 2015: (based on Charley Project, Missingkids.com)
Full Name: Randy Wayne Leach
Missing Since: April 15, 1988 from Linwood, Kansas
Date Of Birth: July 25, 1970
Age (at time of disappearance): 17 years old
Age (as of 12/6/2015): 45 years old
Height and Weight: 6'3, 220 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Randy has a mole on his left ear.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A blue pocket t-shirt, blue Levi's jeans, white low-cut sneakers and white socks.
TIPS: Anyone having information should contact 1-800-THE-LOST or the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-572-7463
"Randy Wayne Leach was 17-years old when he went missing from his Linwood, Kansas neighborhood in 1988. I will post the Charley Project case description below, along with a somewhat new update in the case:
Randy was a senior at Linwood High School in 1988. He left his home at 6:30 p.m. to attend a friend's pre-graduation party in a rural area five miles east of her residence on April 15, 1988. Before arriving at the party, he stopped at Stout’s Convenience Store and purchased some candy, soda pop, and gasoline. Then he talked to some friends, then went to De Soto to check on the car he was restoring. As a result of these errands, Randy did not arrive at the party until between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. He was driving his mother's gray four-door 1985 Dodge sedan with the Kansas plate number LVJ8721, and carried about $50 or $60 in cash.
There were between 70 and 150 guests at the party and there was considerable drug and alcohol use by the mostly teenaged guests. Witnesses reported Randy was acting drunk, but it's unclear whether he actually consumed any alcohol and he told a friend he didn't know what was wrong. He may have left the party between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m., but some witnesses reported seeing him there as late as 2:15, and no one actually saw him leave. Randy never returned home and has not been heard from again.
Randy was reported missing by his parents on April 16. He had a 12:30 a.m. curfew at the time he vanished, and usually honored it. His parents slept undisturbed through the night and did not realize their son hadn't come home until they woke up at 6:00 a.m. They first thought he had been in a car accident and called one of his friends, who said she hadn't heard from him. Randy's parents then contacted police. Investigators went to the site of the party Randy had attended, but it had already been cleaned up and there was no evidence to be found.
Authorities do not believe Randy left of his own accord, since he left behind the 1966 Dodge Mustang he was restoring and his friends and family say he had no plans to leave home. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do after graduating high school, but he was thinking of enrolling in trade school. His father describes him as an entrepeneur and a hard worker. He was an excellent student and enjoyed outdoor pursuits, particularly fishing, in 1988. Randy's parents still live in his old house and are hopeful that they will someday get the answers as to his fate.
The house where the party was held was destroyed by a fire shortly after Randy's disappearance. Rumors circulated that Randy was abducted and killed by a Satanic cult that was supposedly active in the Linwood area. Later in 1988, a man told police that he had been kidnapped by the cult and held in a cave for two weeks, and had seen a corpse there that might have been Randy's. Police searched the cave and found no indications that a crime had been committed there; they decided that the man had hallucinated the experience while under the influence of drugs. Three men were arrested in the early 1993 on suspicion of Randy's kidnapping and murder, but they were released without charge several days later and investigators admitted they'd been mistaken about the men's involvement in Randy's case.
An adult acquaintance of Randy's, one of the last people to see him, found a severed foot on the banks of the Kansas River in March 1989. The foot was not Randy's. Randy's parents say the man drove past their house, going only about 10 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone, on the morning they discovered Randy's disappearance. The individual has since died and it is not known if he had anything to do with Randy's disappearance. A few other people who attended the party that night are now also deceased.
Some reports state that Randy left the party at 6:30 p.m.; in fact, that was when he left home to go to the party. He was declared legally dead in 2001. In 2006, his disappearance received additional publicity when a University of Kansas graduate student wrote a play about his case, entitled Leaves of Words. It was performed in Lawrence, Kansas. Randy's case remains unsolved."
Ok, and here's the update- in early 2014, Randy's parents, Harold and Alberta Leach, learned that law enforcement had a suspect in the 1990's.
In a hearing and subsequent trial, Eric Montgomery, who died in prison in 2010, testified that the FBI and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation had considered him a suspect in the disappearance of Randy Leach, according to the Lawrence Journal-World.
Montgomery also had been a suspect in two 1990 homicides that occurred seven miles from the Leaches’ home in rural Linwood. In those homicides, Montgomery told authorities he had helped two killers by hiding the bodies in barrels and tossing them in the Missouri River. The bodies were never found.
Randy's parents have expressed frustration that no one had ever said a word to them about Montgomery, and had always seemed to feel law enforcement was too secretive about the case.
After learning about Montgomery, the Leaches want to review law enforcement investigation records to determine what detectives have done over almost three decades. But the Leaches have been unable to see the records. The KBI and Leavenworth County sheriff’s deputies say they are still investigating the case and have refused requests from the parents and the Journal-World to release them.
Thoughts? I understand both sides here, but I feel like after 27 years it couldn't hurt to let the parents review the records. If it had been 5-10, I'd be like give them a shot. I support law enforcement to the fullest, but in this case, I feel the parents deserve a lot more answers than they've been given.
www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/leach_randy.html
www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMC/721790/1/screen
www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article3977903.html
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