Richard John "Dickie" Huerkamp, age 15, Missing since 2 October 1965 from Mapleton, Blue Earth County, MN
Race: White
Age: 15 years
Date of Birth: September 1, 1950
Height: 4’9”
Weight: 78 pounds
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Clothing: Gray coveralls, a red shirt, blue jeans, a red hunting cap and high top "parachute" boots with buckles. He was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun (make, model, serial number not known) that was not found.
Circumstances of Disappearance: He left his home alone around 5:00 am to go goose hunting. He failed to return home by the next day and his mother reported him missing after finding his bicycle, lunch and a box of shotgun shells alongside County Road 7, about four miles south of Mapleton. On Monday, 4 October, bloodhounds tracked a scent from the bicycle to the Maple River, where an extensive search was conducted. No trace of him was ever found.
Dickie Huerkamp (age 15) told his parents, Winifred and Mathias Huerkamp, 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.
Two of his Mapleton High School friends - Jerry D. McGregor, age 18 and George Carl Johnson, age 16 stated that they 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 (1950 -2005) where they picked Gary 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 Hungry Hollow, a place 15 miles north of Mapleton, near Mankato, Minnesota where they hunted instead for squirrels. They said that they later drove to Minnesota Lake, southeast of Mapleton.
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 his sister Ann if he could borrow her bicycle in order to go hunting. His reported departure time from home was about 5:00 am, Saturday morning, riding Ann's bicycle and taking with him his lunch, shotgun and a box of shotgun shells.
Dickie's mother stated that she thought he intended to spend Saturday night at the farm and home of Mr. Stanley Healy, south of Mapleton. When Dickie failed to show up for church the next morning, his mother called the Healy home and learned that he had not spent the night there. At this point, she drove south on County Road 7 toward the Healy farm and noticed Ann's bicycle at the side of the road near a farm driveway. With it was the untouched lunch that Dickie had packed, a box of shotgun shells, and an empty gun case.
A search involving volunteers from two churches was begun on Sunday afternoon. The next day, Monday, 4 October, bloodhounds were used which followed two separate scent trails from the bicycle location to the nearby Maple River. A much more thorough search took place over the following weeks, but no trace of Dickie, his clothing, or his shotgun ever turned up.
Dickie was originally reported missing by his mother, Winifred Huerkamp on Sunday, 3 October 1965. Because his sister's bicycle, along with a sack lunch, a box of shotgun shells, and a gun case were found at the side of County Road 7, about 4 miles south of Mapleton, the case was considered to be in the jurisdiction of the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office.
Both of Dickie's parents have passed away. Dickie's sisters Ann and Kathy were 13 and 11 at the time of his disappearance. Both still live in Minnesota.
If you have any information about this case, contact:
Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office
401 Carver Road, Mankato, MN 56001
Phone: 507-304-4809
email:
[email protected]
Or
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA)
1430 Maryland Avenue East
St. Paul, MN 55106
Phone: 651-793-7000
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension works to prevent and solve crimes through everything from forensic science to specialized training to thorough investigations.
dps.mn.gov
