CA CA - Patrick 'Shawn' Betz, 11, Upland, 20 Jan 1988

[Upland]

2021 Interview with Barbara Betz & Pamela Betz only adds to the mystery.

YouTube channel CrimeHound is releasing a video on Shawn’s cold case on January 20, 2021, the 34th anniversary of his disappearance.

Here are a few of the shocking allegations:

• Police initially reported Shawn’s disappearance as a probable runaway. The abduction investigation started months after the disappearance, by which time the evidence trail was ice cold.
• Pizza Chalet was a family business. The teenage son of the owner befriended Shawn. Once the investigation shifted from runaway to abduction, the owners immediately shut down the restaurant and left the country.
• In 1991, the Betz home was excavated over the course of a week in a fruitless search for evidence, casting very public suspicion by police over the already grieving family.

So much about this case makes no sense…

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Often, in my opinion, law enforcement did not handle cases of missing children very well in past decades.

He was only 11-years-old. No matter what the circumstances, he would have been very vulnerable and law enforcement should have done everything possible to investigate and search.

My heart goes out to his parents.

 

[Upland]

Often, in my opinion, law enforcement did not handle cases of missing children very well in past decades.

Someone on WS posted a link to an article explaining how LE handles missing persons cases. Apparently, California set new guidelines/procedures in 1989, one year after Shawn's disappearance. Can't help but wonder if that would have made a difference?

 

[bearfossils]

How upsetting that it took law enforcement so long to treat Shawn’s disappearance as something worth investigating. It hurts my heart to think about how so many cold cases involving children from the 70s and 80s like this could have been solved if police had taken the disappearances seriously from the beginning.

It seems a little shady that the owners of the pizza shop would close up and leave after the disappearance, but it could just be a coincidence or unrelated to the case. If only the unknown boy last seen with Shawn could be identified. I would think if it was someone known to Shawn, they would have come forward by now. It’s never too late, though.

 

[Upland]

Daily Bulletin Reporter Stephen Scauzillo just did a very nice article about Shawn Betz's disappearance. It's the most comprehensive article to date. Good to see some publicity finally coming to the Betz family.

What happened to Upland’s Shawn Betz? Case gets new attention after 34 years – Daily Bulletin

 

[Upland]

 

[mlhenn]

Patrick Shawn Betz – The Charley Project

Last updated February 15, 2022; details of disappearance updated.


Details of Disappearance
Patrick disappeared from his hometown of Upland, California on January 20, 1988. He told his mother that he was going with a friend to a basketball game at Upland High School. There was a basketball game that evening, but it was being played in nearby Chino, California, not in Upland.

Patrick and his friend went to the Pizza Chalet on Foothill Boulevard and Euclid Avenue in Upland at 9:00 p.m. They had visited the establishment earlier that day as well. He and his friend played video games there and then Patrick left to walk home. A witness saw him leave with an unidentified adolescent male. Patrick's parents waited up all night for him to come home, but he never arrived. They reported him missing early the next morning.

The police initially thought Patrick had run away from home due to a court case. He'd gotten into an altercation with another child at Sierra Vista Elementary School and was required to go to juvenile court about it. However, his parents never believed this would have caused him to run, particularly without his favorite blanket which he always slept with.

Shortly after Patrick's disappearance, the owners of the Pizza Chalet closed the restaurant and left town. There were rumors that they had returned to their country of origin. There is no evidence that they had any knowledge of what happened to Patrick. His case remains unsolved.

 

[chaddylex]

I just read an article that the Charley Project just posted on FB about Shawn's disappearance. It's the first I have heard of his case.
I can't believe his case wasn't more thoroughly investigated, it breaks my heart, he was only 11 years old. I hope his family will get some answers.

 

[GuyfromCanada]

Release of a true-crime video, news and social media posts, as well as meetings held between family members and police, have widened the spotlight in the past few weeks on the case of an 11-year-old Upland boy who disappeared without a trace 34 years ago.

Unfortunately, the recent media glare on the long-running case may be the only thing that has changed.

Despite a plethora of new attention — including friends who watched or were reminded of the case on social media — the Upland Police Department reported no promising leads have arisen and they are no closer to finding out what happened to the boy who freely left an Upland pizza parlor on Jan. 20, 1988, never to be heard from again.

More at After 34 years, missing Upland boy is featured in YouTube true crime video – Daily Bulletin

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Anniversary of disappearance today.

 

[BethAnn777]

Crime junkie podcast featured Shawn in their Runaway Train episode released today, 2/6/24.

 

[Diavola]

@Caring1 could you post Shawn's exclusions?

 

[Caring1]

@Caring1 could you post Shawn's exclusions?

10 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[DD Byrd]

I'd start at the beginning ...why did he tell his mother he was going to a game? If he were at the pizza place earlier in the day, it sounds as if he already knew he had plans to go back. So either he thought his mother wouldn't want him at that specific place (at night?), or he was going to meet someone or do something he didn't want to tell her about. If his mother was ok with him walking to the supposed game, it doesn't sound like she was worried about him being out in general, time wise. So that leads me to believe he didn't want her to know specifically it was the pizza place and then whatever with whoever he might be doing after that.

Secondly, this is obviously before cell phones, and people may not have grown concerned as quickly. But an 11 year old who doesn't return would be concerning sooner than "waited up for him all night." Unless he was known for ending up at a friend's house w/o telling his parents he wasn't coming home. But in that case, if he was known for that, they wouldn't be up all night waiting. So IMO the mystery is the pizza place, who would be there, or who he met there. Did the friend he met ever confirm they left for home, or did the case jump right to him being seen with the the other male?

Lastly, juvie court for an 11 year old is more than just schoolyard fisticuffs. What else was going on with and around him and who did he (and did he not) hang out with? If he was a troublemaker in danger of going down a bad path, that's quite a dichotomy in regards to a child that has a favorite blanket to sleep with. But parents would want to share that information, not anything unbecoming about their child. I'd be interested in knowing if the 'altercation' kid from school had an older brother or friends.