According to news paper reports, Dickie Huerkamp (age 15) told his parents on the evening of Friday 1 October 1965, that he intended to rise early the next morning and go hunting with TWO high school friends.
In preparation for that hunt, he made a lunch of sandwiches, potato chips and candy bars. He readied the shotgun (in a case) that he borrowed from neighbor Roger Charles Otto Schultz (1921 - 1995) and a box of shotgun shells. He then borrowed his parents' alarm clock to assure his early wakening.
Supposedly two of his Mapleton High School friends - Jerry D. McGregor, age 18 (DOB 31 May 1947) and George Carl Johnson, age 16 (DOB 28 January 1949) came to the Huerkamp home and rang the doorbell prior to 5 am - although none of the five residents of the house reported hearing it. The boys then proceeded to the home of Gary Edward Fitzpatrick, age 15 (5 May 1950 - 16 December 2005) where they picked him up and drove to a place to hunt. It is probable that McGregor was the driver.
Although, the stated intention (to Dickie) was to go Goose hunting, the three boys later told investigators that they went north to a place near Mankato, Minnesota where they hunted for squirrels.
Dickie, upon awakening, was upset that he overslept and missed going with his hunting buddies. He returned the alarm clock to his mother, dressed in his hunting clothing, and then asked to borrow his younger sister's bicycle in order to go hunting with his shotgun, shells, and lunch.
The big question here is: What was Dickie's intention at this point? Was it to catch up with the other boys and join them in a goose hunt? Or did he intend to simply go out on his own to hunt?
If it was the latter, why would he need to borrow the bicycle? Since he had done a lot of hunting previously, was it his normal practice to ride a girl's bicycle to his hunting grounds? Or was this an out of the norm occurrence?
If it was not his normal practice to ride a bicycle to his previous known hunting places, the bicycle would then be a critical piece of evidence, linking Dickie to the other three boys, as it would indicate that it was his intent to join them at a pre-agreed upon hunting area.
How big was the lunch he packed? Had he made enough for himself and others? A whole box of shotgun shells would hold a quantity of 25. More than enough for one boy to hunt squirrels or pheasants in one day. Was he providing shells for himself and others for a goose hunt?
The type of shells in that box would be an important clue. Normally shells used on Geese contain size 2 or 4 shot, whereas shells used on pheasants, squirrels, or rabbits would contain size 5 or 6 size shot. Of course, Dickie might have had other shells in his pockets or worn on a shell belt.
While there have been a number of possible scenarios mentioned and discussed, it would seem that a very plausible one would be that Dickie knew exactly where he was going and wanted to meet up with the other boys.
The possibility of a hunting accident occurring with four adolescent boys is much more likely than a random or targeted abduction or an unsubstantiated incident of family violence.
The finding of the bicycle, shells, gun case, and lunch alongside the road, with a scent trail (of whom?) leading to the river seems much more like a planted clue meant to misdirect any subsequent searching. Why was the shotgun missing from the case?
It would be interesting to know what hunting experience or training the three other boys had, and to see what exactly each boy told investigators regarding their activities on 2 October 1965. Did they have hunting licenses and Federal Duck Stamps? Had any of them hunted with Dickie previously? Also of interest would be what legal or emotional problems any of them experienced later in life. And what is their story today regarding that fateful date?