KS KS - Randy Leach, 17, Linwood, 15 Apr 1988

I say this with hope that this isn’t true but has there been any research of possible John Does in the area looked at as possibly being Randy? I know it takes years for remains to be identified however.
 
This goes along with my personal theory that Randys cousin made it to that party afterall and having been in KC earlier in the evening, he returned toward KC to dump the car & Randy, although I've read its not Randys car. I personally think he's been dumped between Bonner Springs and KC.
 
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Have these ponds been checked (e.g. magnet fishing)?
NETRonline: Historic Aerials - Viewer

خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

Does any local person have knowledge how deep they are?
- the pond marked (southeast of the Linwood Rd &
214th St intersection) appears to be fed from a culvert
passing beneath Linwood Rd (Kaw Valley Scenic Hwy).
خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏
If doing on site checking of that pond, it's probably worth
taking the time to also assessing the forested area across
Linwood Rd to the north - (although doubtful that creek
is deep enough to ever conceal a vehicle).

The other pond several hundred metres to the west of
the marked pond is also a permanent water pond (depth
unknown) and worthy of being checked.
 
randyleachLG.jpg


In the spring of 1988, 6’2” 220 lb., 17 year old Randy Leach of rural Linwood, KS was looking forward to his high school graduation and spending the summer contemplating his next life move atop his brand new John Deere Lawn Tractor. No long range plans, no pressing matters to attend to, just a summer doing what he loved to do, restoring his ‘pride and joy’ 1966 Mustang, mowing lawns and hanging out with friends. Sweet.

But that was not in the cards.

On April 15, 1988 while attending a pre-graduation party at a friend’s rural home with 100 other people, Randy and the family car, a gray 4-door, 1985 Dodge 600 sedan disappeared. As fast as Houdini could escape a milk can, Randy was gone, never to be heard from again, and the investigators and rumor mill went to work.

Let’s back up. Early in the evening of April 15th as Randy was readying to leave, his father, Harold gave him a twenty to stop by the K-mart in Lawrence to pick up a $15 bottle of water glass wax to put on his new tractor to hold the paint. That and the money he already had on him gave Randy approximately $50 to $60 in his pocket when he left the house. With a goodbye and a “don’t be out too late” from Harold, Randy walked out of the house and drove down the drive.

The next thing we know, it is approximately 6:45 PM, Randy and his friend Steve Daughtery are cruising around Linwood (pop. 300) and stop at Stout’s Corner, the local quickie mart, where Randy bought $3 worth of gas, two candy bars and 2 cans of Pepsi, Steve purchased a six-pack of beer.

URL: http://www.randyleach.com/ Great website with all info

Find Randy Leach Group on Facebook - Join us in support of Finding Randy

Crime Wire BTR 2/098/2011 at 8pm with guest host Anne Bremner, Dennis Griffin and Susan Murphy-Milano

More information at Crime Wire
NCMC721790c1.jpg

Can you update your post with current links that work. Thank you.


● $25,000 FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO RANDY LEACH'S REMAINS.
Log into Facebook/
● A Governor's Reward is also being offered in the amount of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the crime.
KBI - Kansas Bureau of Investigation - Kansas Most Wanted - Governor's Reward - Randy Leach
● ANONYMOUS TIPS MAY BE SENT TO:
In Search of Randy Leach
P.O. Box 596
Tonganoxie, Ks. 66086
OR BY PHONE TO:
Alberta Leach 785-804-6270
Betty Wilson 816-807-7313
(Spokeswoman for the Leach family)

https://insearchofrandyleach.com

● FACEBOOK GROUPS

▪︎ In Search of Randy Leach
In Search of Randy Leach

▪︎ Recovery Mission Randy Leach's Car
Log into Facebook | Facebook

▪︎ Solving the Randy Leach Mystery
Log into Facebook | Facebook

▪︎ Randy Leach Help Find Him
Randy Leach: Help Find Him!

<modsnip>

Missing Vehicle
Gray, Dodge 600, 4 Door Coupe
Kansas license plate number
LVJ 8721
VIN # 1B3BE46D3FC241717
 
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The information in my previous post above was sent to
Jared (Adventures With Purpose) after Xmas. It seems
strange that it was not checked in the most recent video;
so I have reemailed that information again to him.

In addition, although not as probable as the location in
my previous post, I also noted to AWP another location,
that being off the Wakarusa River bridge (the bridge
directly above Eudora);
Google Maps
It would be difficult to crash off that bridge without
doing some kind of unlikely rear fishtail-then-bounce
-off-the-side-barrier-and-spin-then-slam-and-
somehow-flip-over-the-opposite-barrier.
It might be possible to leave the road and accidently/
uncontrolled drive down just before the bridge, going
by either side of the bridge into the Wakarusa River.
Also, possibly back circa 1988 the road condition
before the bridge was not in the good condition it is
today - there may have been some roadworks done
within the 1982 to 1991 timeframe;
Code:
[URL]https://www.historicaerials.com/location/38.95009/-95.09885/1982/18[/URL]
Code:
[URL]https://www.historicaerials.com/location/38.95009/-95.09885/1991/18[/URL]
The reasoning behind why this could be a location, is
if Randy Leach drove somebody home from the party
into or below the De Soto area, then a possible route
home for him would be as suggested and shown on the
Livestream by Mike King and Chris McDonough at
timestamp 19:00 ;
That route goes via the Wakarusa bridge above Eudora, KS.
 
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Another video from AWP:

For me, the main takeaway from the video was the
opinion of LeAnn, (a classmate of Randy's and she
says, later in life she was a "medical professional")
that Randy had been roofied at the party.
For me, that moves it more towards the probability
that Randy passed out whilst driving home (sometime
about or after midnight).
The most likely route home takes the car that Randy
was driving along Linwood Rd.

I'll suggest to the 'In Search of Randy Leach' website
(noted two posts back) that that pond southeast of
the Linwood Rd & 214th St intersection is worthy of
being checked. If you view again the overhead picture
from 1982 (and 1991), foilage obcures that pond from
direct viewing by the farm residence(s) on that land;
Code:
[URL]https://www.historicaerials.com/location/39.00242712818693/-95.07375776767732/1982/17[/URL]
(There may have been a building between that pond and
the farm residence buildings - I assume that was a
barn type building that is no longer in existence in
our current time).

(In regard to the pond west of that intersection,
that is not suggested, as I now realize that west
pond has a berm on its Linwood Rd side, making it not
possible to drive uncontrolled into the west pond.)
 
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JUN 6, 2021
Search for Randy Leach in Leavenworth County case continues (fox4kc.com)
[...]

Individuals are speaking out on the resurgence of focus on the case. The people, motivated by a growing number of videos posted to YouTube, say that with enough effort someone is bound to find evidence of something.

Not only did Leach disappear in that morning in 1988 but so did his mother’s 1985 Dodge 600 Sedan.

[...]

“We covered several bridges on that. We had 12 or 13 bridges total that we’ve covered,” Dennis Ruble said.

[...]

Ruble founded his group “Muddy Waters Search & Recovery” to help in cold case searches.

The story of Leach has gained interest online and Ruble, planning to go out one day a week, is getting involved.

“Facebook groups, there’s people all across the country working together trying to find locations that need to be searched. And that’s where people like us come in,” Ruble said.

“We’re local. I mean, a 30–40-minute drive, we can go in and do the searches for them,” Ruble said.

[...]

There has also been a long-standing reward for information leading to a conviction: $5,000 offered by the Kansas governor’s office. But many of the searchers say instead they are motivated only by bringing closure to family members of Leach.
 
JUL 8, 2021
KBI, Facebook Group offer rewards for information that leads to remains of missing Linwood man (wibw.com)
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and a Facebook Group are offering rewards that total $30,000 for information that leads to the discovery of a man that has been missing for 33 years.

[...]

According to the KBI, the investigation found enough evidence to believe that Leach was the victim of foul play.

[...]

The family has also started a petition that urges Governor Laura Kelly to renew an investigation into Randy’s case. To see the petition, click HERE. The petition calls for the Kansas Governor to assign an out-of-state special master to establish a cold case task force.

A website dedicated to the search of Randy Leach says that a Facebook page dedicated to him was hacked on Feb. 27, 2021. An update from July 7 said Alberta Leach is still working to regain control of the page. The page also indicates that Randy’s father, Harold, died on Jan. 28, 2021, without ever knowing what happened to his son.

[...]

In Search of Randy Leach | Facebook
118821058_2374227119546435_6913563979877076431_n.jpg
 
JUN 6, 2021
Search for Randy Leach in Leavenworth County case continues (fox4kc.com)
[...]

Individuals are speaking out on the resurgence of focus on the case. The people, motivated by a growing number of videos posted to YouTube, say that with enough effort someone is bound to find evidence of something.

Not only did Leach disappear in that morning in 1988 but so did his mother’s 1985 Dodge 600 Sedan.

[...]

“We covered several bridges on that. We had 12 or 13 bridges total that we’ve covered,” Dennis Ruble said.

[...]

Ruble founded his group “Muddy Waters Search & Recovery” to help in cold case searches.

The story of Leach has gained interest online and Ruble, planning to go out one day a week, is getting involved.

“Facebook groups, there’s people all across the country working together trying to find locations that need to be searched. And that’s where people like us come in,” Ruble said.

“We’re local. I mean, a 30–40-minute drive, we can go in and do the searches for them,” Ruble said.

[...]

There has also been a long-standing reward for information leading to a conviction: $5,000 offered by the Kansas governor’s office. But many of the searchers say instead they are motivated only by bringing closure to family members of Leach.

I'm happy to see the search is still going on. Very good thoughts for the family. What crazy person would hack a Facebook site like this......???
 
I've just stumbled on this case and it's baffling, and now a new twist as of August 2021. From the "In Search of Randy Leach" website:

Adventures With Purpose - Update
Aug 24, 2021
Apparently there needs to be clarification on Jared's decision not to return to Linwood to conduct additional searches for Randy. While in fact, he has spent considerable time here, and has searched many areas of interest, his decision is based on a broader aspect of his business, not solely Randy's case.
If anyone has concerns regarding his announcement, or if it is felt there are other motives involved, it would be advisable to contact Jared.
Following is a small except from his letter to us.

"We've had a lot of strange happenings and even some threats in a few cases this past year that our team has made the tough decision to step away from ALL missing person cases where foul play might be involved.
While I'd love to help Alberta and all families in need, we do have to consider our family's safety, well-being, and comfort." (shared from Jared's email)

https://insearchofrandyleach.com/
 
Something that I really don't understand is why there is apparently no missing persons profile for either of Eric Montgomery's other supposed victims, Everett Bishop and Lloyd Folsom. The bodies of both men have never been found. I believe he is serving time for one murder.... but, people go to prison all the time for crimes they didn't commit. What if one or both are listed as unidentified bodies?
I also cannot find a profile for the foot that was found on the bank of the KS river... who the heck was that?!

Montgomery went to prison for admitting that he helped to dispose of Lloyd Folsom’s body. He thought he had immunity on Folsom’s death too but prosecutors went after him for the disposal part. He didn't last long in prison and died of health complications. So he admitted to helping dispose of two bodies in the exact same manor. Both put into barrels and rolled into the Missouri River. Bishop and Folsom. Alot of folks think he killed both men, ( possibly Randy too? )
 
Hello all, new to Websleuths.... I've stayed up to date on Randy's case as much as I can over the last thirty years and have my own theory as to what happened like everyone else. Hoping his parents can get Leavenworth County to open the case records and then we will really have something to talk about!

RJR

Hi Rufus,

Would love to hear tour theory on this. I have been on this for about 2 years now.

Thabks thanks .
 

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