Randy Leach

Randy Wayne Leach (born July 25, 1970) is a missing person from Linwood, Kansas, United States. He was last seen in the early morning hours of April 16, 1988 at a graduation party. Despite the closeness of the nearby communities of Linwood and DeSoto and the coverage received from surrounding cities of Kansas City and Lawrence, no evidence has ever been discovered that has led to the whereabouts of Randy Leach.

Background
At 6:30 PM (CST) on April 15, 1988, Randy Leach left his parents' house with the intention of driving to Lawrence to purchase some wax to protect the paint of a recently bought riding lawn mower. It is unknown whether Randy arrived in Lawrence as he turned east, toward Linwood when leaving the house. He was later going to a graduation party held by classmate Kim Erwin less than five miles from the Leach residence. Randy left in a 1985 Dodge 600 (license plate: LVJ8721) and picked up an acquaintance Steve Daugherty and drove to DeSoto to an auto body shop where Randy's graduation gift, a 1966 Ford Mustang, was being restored. He then stopped by a convenience store in Linwood. He arrived at the graduation party around 9:30 PM.

It is estimated that around 70-150 people were at the graduation party. Much of the festivities were outside in a field and around a bonfire. Punch spiked with grain alcohol was sold in throw-away cups for $3 with refills being free. Eyewitness accounts reported Randy was intoxicated but Annie Erwin said that no drink was ever seen in his hand. Randy was last seen, waiting for the restroom between 1:15 AM and 2:00 AM. A friend was supposed to drive Randy home but when the friend returned to the party after driving others home, both Randy and the Dodge 600 he drove there, were gone.

Randy's parents, Harold and Alberta, woke up at 6:00 AM and noticed Randy was not home yet. Harold went out to the driveway and noticed Daugherty driving by the Leach house on K-32 at a slow rate of speed. Richard Rose, Alberta's brother and a Lawrence Police Officer, went out to Erwin house around 7 AM and he noted that the Erwins "wouldn't do a thing to help me" and that "the ground was swept and raked and everything put away, no cups or cans. You couldn't even have told there was a party there."

Investigation
The Leavenworth County Sheriff's Office investigated Randy's disappearance but got many false leads and suspicious events. The Erwin house, the last place Randy was seen, burned down shortly after Randy disappeared. A man reported that he was captured by Satanists and held captive in a cave and claims he saw a corpse and suggested it might have been Randy. The cave was not immediately searched and when it was, there was no evidence of any activity. Steve Daugherty brought in a severed foot in a shoe he said he found while walking along the Kansas River. Police searched the area but found no other remains. They concluded the foot wasn't Randy's. Daugherty died in 1996.

A man claiming to be associated with the show Unsolved Mysteries calling himself Terry Martin and Lee Harper came into contact with the Leaches but it was discovered he wasn't really with the show. Around the same time, Leavenworth County Detective Dawn Weston began investigating the case with Martin/Harper. Three men were quickly arrested but were soon released. Weston and Martin/Harper left the state reportedly afraid for their lives. Weston was soon dismissed from the sheriff's office and Martin/Harper disappeared. A Topeka man who offered to help the Leaches find Randy was found dead along with his wife. Topeka police ruled it a murder-suicide.

In late 2002 and early 2003, the Leavenworth Sheriff's Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation began a new investigation interviewing 250 people and following up on leads. Nothing came it and the team was disbanded in February 2003.

The 1985 Dodge 600 Randy was driving has also never been found. Ponds, small lakes and the Kansas River were all searched with nothing turning up. It is rumored that the car was taken to a body shop in DeSoto to be dismantled.

Timeline
Jerry Nance, of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, has been the case manager since 2002. At the time, Linwood had a population of about 400 people. "Usually when something like this happens, you have a little bit of a we-don't-know situation as to when they were last seen, but his timeline is pretty tight and that's unusual," Nance said.


 * Harold and Alberta Leach last saw Randy at 6:30 PM on April 15, 1988.
 * After leaving the Leach house, Randy and Steve Daugherty go to a body shop in DeSoto.
 * Randy arrived at the graduation party bonfire at the Erwin house at 9:00 PM and was confirmed as being there at 2:05 AM on April 16. A friend was supposed to take Randy home around 1:30 but Randy couldn't find his keys. The friend left to drop off other party-goers.
 * Randy was seen waiting for the restroom at the party by Annie Erwin at 2:05 AM.
 * Alberta Leach wakes up at 6:00 AM and notices the Dodge 600 not in the driveway and Randy not home.
 * Richard Rose, Alberta's brother and a Lawrence police officer, drove to the Erwin house at 7 AM who confirmed Randy was at the party but all evidence of the party had been cleaned up.
 * Harold and Alberta report Randy missing on April 17.
 * An unconfirmed sighting of Randy was reported at Bonner Springs High School on April 19.
 * Reports of a gray car, possibly a 1985 Dodge 600, was reported as "driving erracticly" down Iowa Street in Lawrence.

Description
Randy was 17 at the time of his disappearance. He is 6 foot 3 inches (191 cm) and 220 pounds (100 kg). He has brown hair and blue eyes and has a mole on his left ear. He was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes and driving a gray 1985 Dodge 600 with the license number LVJ8721.