On October 27, 1989, Amy Mihaljevic was kidnapped from the Bay Square Shopping Center in Bay Village, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. It was a crowded plaza filled with adults as well as middle and high school students who would frequent the Baskin Robbins after school. "Le FBI a enfin un suspect de premier plan dans le meurtre d'Amy Mihaljevic. "That's Dean!" The handyman was brought in for questioning, but was quickly eliminated as a suspect once his alibi was corroborated by multiple people. Just like this, because the authorities have revealed a lot of information and evidence surrounding this case to the public in the hopes of getting some tips they have received several false confessions from mentally ill individuals or convicts who get a kick out of admitting to something so heinous. He called some students his assistants, and they were allowed to stay with Runkle after school and on weekends to help clean the cages and feed the animals. As time went on, the Mihaljevics marriage disintegrated. The witnesses described that he was within the average range for a males height, weight, and build, making him unremarkable in appearance. Renner never got in touch with him again. The only thing that all these girls had in common was that they had visited the local Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, which kept a visitors logbook by the front door. That night, Amys photo appeared on the evening news. Amy told her friends about the call, and that she had agreed to wait for the man at the shopping center to pick her up. Most child molesters don't abduct and kill their victims, he notes. How much time would that give DR to rush out after work, find a pay phone or some other way of calling, then make the call? Renner never made contact until he was about to leave town. The shopping center was located directly across the street from the school. Search for a Topic. Someone stitched this together inside their home and hung on their tall, narrow window. Mark Spaetzel and a retired FBI agent had interviewed employees about a man who might have volunteered there in 1989. A teacher at Amys middle school had told police back in 1989 that he had never heard of the nature center and had nothing to do with the establishment. Since Runkle is exceptionally well liked as a teacher by many former students, Renner became the subject of strong criticism, unlike anything he had faced from naming previous suspects, when he named Runkle. In the weeks leading up to Amy's abduction, a man called them at home, after school, and pretended to be a co-worker of either their mother's or father's. This person wanted police to find Amys body. Your email address will not be published. I begin focusing on the people I can tell are locals - the tanned man weaving palm-frond baskets, the musician strumming a guitar on a corner. Unfortunately, neither witness got a good look at the mans face, nor did they see him or Amy get into a vehicle, or go into a store. The other students assumed the man was a friend or relative, and that Amy knew him, so they thought nothing of it. Most of the 100 or so who replied remembered his fondness for Dr. Pepper and disdain for yawning in his class or saying "yeah" instead of "yes." She said she was going with a friend to the Bay Square Shopping Center. Runkle was a twin, but his sister died in 1950, when they were 6. At 2:10 p.m., on October . He admitted he was a teacher at Amys middle school, but denied he had anything to do with the nature center. Amy ignores him. Cookie Notice Details: In 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic received a call from a man named Frank who claimed to be her mother's coworker and that she was getting a promotion and wanted to meet with her in order to pick out something for her mother for a . Does Amy Mihaljevic Dead or Alive? Throughout his adult life, Renner has become obsessed with solving Amys murder. He arranged to meet Amy after school that day to help her buy a gift for her mom for a work promotion. Mr. Runkle wouldve had access to the log book which listed Amys address and phone number, as well as the unlisted phone numbers of the other girls who received the suspicious phone calls. I shake his hand and introduce myself. It didn't. Scne de . She loved horseback riding, and took riding lessons with her friends at a local horse ranch. I thought about showing his picture to the managers, but then scolded myself for thinking it would be so easy. Amy Renee Mihaljevic (December 11, 1978 - October 27, 1989) was a ten-year-old American elementary school student who was kidnapped and murdered in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1989. He asked each of them if they remembered visiting the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village. She steadily declined for years until she left Bay Village in the 1990s and relocated to the Cleveland area. I call. On October 27, 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic was kidnapped from the Bay Square Shopping Center in Bay Village, Ohio. When he couldn't find a textbook up to his standards, he wrote his own and passed it out to the kids. "Statistical probabilities are always trumped by case specifics." For more info about Amy's case, you can read through the blog I've devoted to it since 2006. She says he "probably" gave some to the Lake Erie Nature Center. Most Popular #109790. Amy Renee Mihaljevic (December 11, 1978 - October 27, 1989) was an ten-year-old American elementary school student who was kidnapped and murdered in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1989. Amy Mihaljevic disappeared on October 27, 1989. And how did the log book disappear from the nature center? Her murder case raised national attention. Runkle was born in New London and grew up in a farmhouse just a couple miles from where Amy's body was dumped, along County Road 1181. "But I'm telling the truth when I say I don't remember being there.". All the interviews checked out except one. And others include people, sometimes odd, who lived near the Mihaljevics at the time parents of Amys closest friends, convicted sex offenders, and those with suspicious alibis. At this point, the case was still considered a missing persons case, as Amys body would not be found until months later. All these other girls had unlisted phone numbers. "When you're dealing with human behavior," warns Lanning, "you're not dealing in absolutes. Amy Mihaljevics abduction and murder, unsolved, is still ongoing, and it seems as if the authorities will not stop until they bring the 10-year-old girl some justice by arresting and convicting her perpetrator/s. But when she arrived, the school was already closed for the day and no one could help her. I pull the car over and hop out. He looks more like the sketch than anyone I have seen before. But when Renner questioned other teachers and students, they all confirmed that this teacher, Dean Runkle, did in fact frequent the nature center. At the time of Amy's . In early 1990 her body was found. Dean, a former teacher in Ohio, has always maintained his innocence, but as per the last records, when the local police department started collecting DNA samples, he obtained legal council. There are several people we are still looking at today as suspects for the case, said Elish. New info and they are asking for help from the public. Whoever this predator was, he had robbed Bay Village of its peace and sense of safety. James Renner, around the same age as Amy at the time, had been following the story about the cute little girl with the side ponytail. Usually, someone that would go this far is not someone who has never done that before or hasnt done it again, Elish said. A large volunteer search party with dogs and flashlights found nothing. Last Friday, I flew to Miami, then drove to Key West, where Dean Runkle has been living since his abrupt departure from Ohio in 2003, which occurred as investigators began to question his relatives and co-workers. This three-decade-old mystery and the nationwide hunt for the perpetrator, involving hundreds of suspects, is still ongoing. Sometimes he talked about how his father beat him if he didn't finish dinner when he was younger. Child murder victim who was kidnapped from an Ohio shopping center and whose body was found four months later in an Ashland County field. As the years went by, Margaret Mihaljevic moved to Las Vegas to be closer to her mother. They lived in a nearby community. At one time, they even seemed close to arresting him. Amy was just 10 years . on But no one knows Runkle. [emailprotected] Anyone with any information, call the FBI at 216.522.1400 or the Bay Village Police Department at 440.871.0773. Search for a Topic. He also photographed his students regularly, developing the negatives himself. She had contracted lupus, along with several other health issues. Over three decades after the kidnapping of 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic in northeast Ohio, local police said this week that newly-discovered DNA on a blanket and a curtain could be the key to solving the decades-old cold case. The case seemed to go cold again until new details were released in 2016, some 26 years after the body of Amy Mihaljevic was discovered. he says. "I walk a lot," he says. Runkle!" Another key person of interest in Amy Mihaljevic's disappearance and murder case is Richard Holbert, who, like a few others, has confessed to slaying Amy. Three and a half months later, Amy's body was found near New London, Ohio. But he remains free, managing a restaurant in Florida. As is the case in many child abductions, I believe the motive in Amys case was sexual assault, but then Amy couldve identified the perpetrator, so she had to be killed. Investigators said she was stabbed to death. Many of them are simply just look-alikes who otherwise have no connection to the crime. As per our current Database, Amy Mihaljevic died on Oct 27, 1989 (age 10). We Got To Him First. Marshals searching for Ohio man wanted in multiple crimes, Chief issues 6-alarm fire in Camp Washington, 1 dead, 4 hospitalized after being hit by semi-truck following crash on Ohio Turnpike, 2-year-old Ohio boy found safe, Amber Alert canceled, police say, Duo of suspected porch pirates wanted on Clevelands West Side, police say, RELATED: 32 years later, Mark Mihaljevic still hopeful his daughters killer will be found, Closed Captioning/Audio Description Problems. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Even with todays advanced science and technology, forensic scientists cant test trace evidence that doesnt exist, or was never collected. Amy . I know that one of the more well known people who cover this case (James Renner) likes DR as a suspect, and Im sure its with Renners full belief that DR fits according to evidence. Mother, Laura Smith, and Boyfriend Arrested in Toddler, Julian Madera's Death/ deputies say 21-year-old Landon Broussard showed up to his grandmother's house, carrying the badly bruised, naked body of the 3-year-old boy. Amy Mihaljevic Nothing is that simple, I told myself. She did not tell the girls who she was waiting for, but she did tell them she received a mysterious phone call right after she got home from school from a man claiming to be a friend of her mothers. This can suggest a couple of things about the behavioral profile of the killer. Hes also a person of authority whom Amy wouldve known and trusted. Sunday, July 18, 2010 . Then the man puts an arm around Amy's shoulders and leads her away. 3. Ryan said the car followed him a ways until it pulled up beside him and the man inside slowly lowered his window. DR was a teacher at a middle school, which let out later than Amys school did. Renner, your stuff is interesting, but ad hominem attacks . "And here's the weird thing," said Perchinsky. He told different stories to administrators and students, everything from eating bad food while on safari in Africa to contracting a blood disease after cutting his hand on coral. Ten-year-old Amy was lured from her Bay Village home on Oct. 27, 1989, to a shopping center at Dover Center . I do not believe that so much evidence can point to one person and it be just a coincidence. Dean Runkle himself denies any involvement in the murder of Amy Mihaljevic and the FBI has never officially declared him a suspect. DR is to this case what Leigh Allen is the the Zodiac. It seems inappropriate now, the way he treated some of the girls." Required fields are marked *. The school doors open, and here comes Amy Mihaljevic, dressed in green pants and a pale green shirt with lavender trim. http://www.. Two of Amys friends immediately told police they had met Amy at the Bay Village Shopping Center shortly after school ended. Runkle is an interesting suspect for many reasons. Shortly after her friends went home, Amy was approached by a man in his 30s at the shopping center. The only thing that these girls had in common was the fact that they visited the Lake Erie Nature . Then Runkle suddenly quit again, in 2003, according to his personnel file; he gave no reason, declined to apply for a sabbatical that would have allowed him to reach retirement, and didn't even complete the paperwork necessary to collect his pension. While Im sure Renner has spent more time on this than some investigators, I will respectfully disagree with him as being the perp here. It wouldnt have been unusual for Amy to go there alone or with friends. In lab, he would stand behind me and push his chest against me. He didnt seem to even know where he was. 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Amy attended the local middle school, and her older brother Jason attended the local high school in 1989. I attempted to locate it in hopes of taking a sample of carpet that could be compared to the gold fibers found on Amy. In 2008, I learned of a man named Dean Runkle, who was once a teacher in the small Cleveland suburb of Amherst. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. It also gave him PTSD. As if by divine intervention, Renner was on his way back to the Miami airport, and Runkle crossed in front of Renners vehicle on foot at a stop sign. She was popular, funny, kind and energetic. There is new evidence in the Amy Mihaljevic murder investigation - a homemade curtain and a blanket found on the road where Amy's body was discovered in 1989. Facts About Amy Mihaljevic. INTERVIEW FOLLOW-UP The evidence is highly circumstantial toward Dean Runkle. For 19 years, the FBI and the Bay Village Police Department kept the identity of these other girls a secret. There are no samples, according to Elish, currently being tested in a lab. Most "groom" and "seduce" their victims into going along with their plans, a salesman-like approach that allows them to believe the children are willing participants. Searchers discovered Amy's body on February 9, 1990. She was known for being a Person. Friends of hers claim she slid into alcoholism. Several students have recently stated that they rode in Mr. Runkles car with him to donate the mice at the nature center. without collection a pension that was owed to him (Renner, 2008). I'm still going on the fact that Mr. Case knew everyone from that small town and he did not say that Dean Runkle was the man that was with the unknown child . She didnt recognize the mans voice. It's the big unsolved mystery of the area. He then corroborated what each witness said with what they told police back in 1989 immediately after the disappearance. Anything is possible." The third girl took horseback riding lessons at Holly Hill Ranch, the very same ranch that Amy took lessons from. The fact that Amys body was left in an open area with the blanket her body was carried in leads me to believe that this killer was getting confident, and that they were familiar with this territory. In late October 1989, Amy Mihaljevic was lured to a suburban Ohio shopping center by an unknown male who had befriended her via conversations on the phone, and she was never seen alive again. She said she was going with a friend to the Bay Square Shopping Center. The report of a missing child from their own neighborhood frightened every soul in Bay Village. But be careful not to try to fit a square peg in a round hole, he warns. "My sister told me about you," he says. Her killer has never been apprehended. Police believe Amys body was wrapped in the curtain for transport from the actual crime scene to the field where her body was dumped. "His eyes popped out of his head. Runkle also seemed to have volunteered in the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village at the time of the murder. On that Top 25 list, he would be the man at the top. The FBI believes the murder was actually committed in the remote rural area surrounding Bay Village to avoid being seen. a suburb of Cleveland. After he returned, Runkle began building his own nature center inside his classroom. Ken Lanning dislikes the word "profiler" and seldom uses it, but that's what most people would call him. Another girl in the next town over came forward to police about a similar phone call as well, but this girl had something in common with Amy. The Ashland County field where Amy Mihaljevic's body was discovered on February 8, 1990. But they recently tested dog hairs found on the fabric and determined that they matched hairs taken from the dog Amy owned at the time.