Meet Dean Runkle, former teacher of the year from Amherst, Ohio. Search for a Topic. It's hard to tell what might be ailing Runkle, though, because, at 65, he could easily pass for 45. In 2006, it was revealed that before Amy was slain, many young girls around her same age had also received a similar phone call from an unidentified man, saying that hed help them buy their mother a present. Whoever this predator was, he had robbed Bay Village of its peace and sense of safety. Lanning cites Ted Bundy, who is best known for raping college-aged women even though his last victim was 12 years old. James Renner is an investigative journalist from the Bay Village area, and he was around the same age as Amy when she was killed. Amy Mihaljevics abduction and murder, unsolved, is still ongoing, and it seems as if the authorities will not stop until they bring the 10-year-old girl some justice by arresting and convicting her perpetrator/s. BAY VILLAGE -- As the family of JonBenet Ramsey awaits the arrival of a primary suspect in the decade-old murder of 6-year-old JonBenet, Bay Village police are reminded there is still hope to find the killer of Amy Mihaljevic. he shouts. **See the blog below for more** It was October 27, 1989 . Whatever the reason, Runkle moved back in with his parents in New London and got a job working at a pet store. On that Top 25 list, he would be the man at the top. Amy was just 10 years . This would be a very risky move to pull off, so thats another no for DR. Then Runkle suddenly quit again, in 2003, according to his personnel file; he gave no reason, declined to apply for a sabbatical that would have allowed him to reach retirement, and didn't even complete the paperwork necessary to collect his pension. When would I have had time to kill her? I'm still going on the fact that Mr. Case knew everyone from that small town and he did not say that Dean Runkle was the man that was with the unknown child . Some of them just came to our attention recently. "I've been able to tear down this wall. According to reporter James Renner, Dean Runkle is a possible prime suspect in the FBI investigation. Thankfully, though, a few people noticed him with Amy that day, and so a sketch of what he looked like was made. In an attempt to connect the girls with Amy, it was discovered that all, three girls had visited the nearby Lake Erie Nature and Science Center. Most "groom" and "seduce" their victims into going along with their plans, a salesman-like approach that allows them to believe the children are willing participants. According to reporter James Renner, Dean Runkle is a possible prime suspect in the FBI investigation.Multiple witnesses say that he matches the man they saw with Amy the day she vanished. On October 27, 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic was kidnapped from the Bay Square Shopping Center in Bay Village, Ohio. The killer also must have been local at the time, having known about the corn field on the remote county road for disposal of Amys body. If youre interested in learning more about Amys case, please check out James Renners book about this case Amy: My Search for Her Killer now available on Audible. Dan says their relationship was never physical. This person wanted police to find Amys body. James Renner See pictures of the handmade curtain and blanket here. [emailprotected] Anyone with any information, call the FBI at 216.522.1400 or the Bay Village Police Department at 440.871.0773. Four months after her kidnapping in 1989, of which the 32nd anniversary falls on Wednesday, Amy's body was discovered in . El caso de Amy sigue abierto hasta el da de hoy, y la polica de Bay Village tiene la intencin de mantenerlo abierto hasta que se resuelva. Usually, someone that would go this far is not someone who has never done that before or hasnt done it again, Elish said. However, a few minutes after she hung up from Jason, Margaret received a call from Amy herself. How often did you visit the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center? As I'm considering how to enter the compound, a man walks across the street in front of me. Mark Spaetzel and a retired FBI agent had interviewed employees about a man who might have volunteered there in 1989. Margaret immediately became alarmed and decided to leave work early. Somebody who had ridden in that car a week ago, had dropped a hair on the seat," Renner said about the transfer theory. She was known for being a Person. This desolate stretch of cracked pavement is not a place you'd likely happen on by chance, and detectives had long theorized that whoever had dumped her body there must have been familiar with the area. Over three decades after the kidnapping of 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic in northeast Ohio, local police said this week that newly-discovered DNA on a blanket and a curtain could be the key to solving the decades-old cold case. Immediately, police focused in on the caretaker of the ranch, who was a dead ringer for the composite sketch. She lugs a blue-denim book bag with red piping. . Even after a search of his home, police could not connect the caretaker to Amys disappearance in any way, and he had a solid alibi for the day and time Amy went missing. Her murder case received national attention. Initial evidence found at the scene suggested that she had been dumped there shortly after her abduction, maybe on the day itself. For more than 31 years, her killer has remained a mystery. One hundred days later, Amys body was found 50 miles away. He looks more like the sketch than anyone I have seen before. "If you do become a violent guy, you better be victimizing strangers," explains Lanning. According to reporter James Renner, Dean Runkle is a possible prime suspect in the FBI investigation. a suburb of Cleveland. The FBI brought in a sketch artist, and the artist was able to create a composite sketch of the man based on the two witness accounts. One is that the killer felt remorse for what theyd done, and returning Amys body would give some peace and closure to Amys family, and allow them to bury her properly. IDs The Lake Erie Murders: Who Killed Amy Mihaljevic? explores the chilling case of the abduction and murder of a 10-year-old girl in broad daylight. There is a press conference scheduled for tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. EST. Amy . "We were close. According to reporter James Renner, Dean Runkle is a possible prime suspect in the FBI investigation. Our theory is that they were used to wrap her in before she was dumped where she was found.. On the 31st anniversary of finding Amy's body, a woman (who remains unnamed), called the police to tell them that her ex-boyfriend, Dean Runkle, was a potential and most likely suspect of Amy . "I walk a lot," he says. 4. There are no samples, according to Elish, currently being tested in a lab. ", And though most victims of child abuse know their attackers, when a child is killed, often it's at the hands of a stranger who has gone outside his safe zone. The school doors open, and here comes Amy Mihaljevic, dressed in green pants and a pale green shirt with lavender trim. "Le FBI a enfin un suspect de premier plan dans le meurtre d'Amy Mihaljevic. But he sees the death of Runkle's twin sister at such a young age as a traumatic event that may have had an impact on the rest of his life. The Ashland County field where Amy Mihaljevic's body was discovered on February 8, 1990. 10-year-old Amy grew up in Bay Village, OH, an altogether peaceful town on the shores of Lake Erie. A couple thought they had. "I would definitely tell them to investigate this guy.". He arranged to meet Amy after school that day to help her buy a gift for her mom for a work promotion. A large volunteer search party with dogs and flashlights found nothing. I'd watch him put his left hand on her back and bend down to whisper in her ear. Another angle is that this killer is toying with police. First, it's very important to note that they are not saying the curtain and blanket came from the Mihaljevic residence. Then the man puts an arm around Amy's shoulders and leads her away. As police struggled to connect viable suspects to the case, they compared the girls who received the suspicious phone calls. Amy Renee Mihaljevic was just 10 years old when her life was cut short in 1989. In fact, he's probably at work right now.". In the weeks preceding Amys disappearance on October 27, she had received several phone calls from an unknown man who knew almost everything about her life. According to Jason, he would usually find Amy at home watching TV or eating a snack when he arrived. All four girls, who received suspicious phone calls (with Amy being the last one), have visited it in the weeks before the abduction and may have written their names and phone numbers in a logbook by the front doors. The FBI Finally Has A Top Suspect In The Amy Mihaljevic Murder. He kept a cot in a side room and sometimes slept there overnight. Other fibers and hairs were discovered on the curtain and blanket as well, meaning they may be able to link these items to the killer and his home in the future. But he remains free, managing a restaurant in Florida. "Statistical probabilities are always trumped by case specifics." Did it go missing? Margaret started to panic, so she ran down the block to the middle school to inquire after Amy. "Amy!" And how did the log book disappear from the nature center? "It was more than creepy; it felt like an animal noticing you walk into a room. What a stupid idea - thinking I would walk into a random fast-food joint and find him. The other students assumed the man was a friend or relative, and that Amy knew him, so they thought nothing of it. The killers hope that their victims remains will decompose by the time their bodies are found and prevent any extraction of forensic evidence such as hairs or fibers. Mixed opinions from former students (Renner, 2008). She had contracted lupus, along with several other health issues. Amy Mihaljevic is a famous Child murder victim. But Amy told her brother, Jason, and her friend, Kristy Balas, about the phone calls. Gold-colored fibers were found on Amy's body, according to the Ashland County coroner's file on the case. I shake his hand and introduce myself. And he talked about how he liked kids who hadn't reached puberty yet, because "I was a runt too.". At the height of the stranger-danger era, 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic from Bay Village, OH, was abducted from the Bay Square Shopping Center on October 27, 1989. When Amys body was found, the pair of blue earrings in the shape of horse heads that she was wearing that day were missing from her body. Police found signs of sexual assault, and her cause of death was declared as multiple stab wounds to the neck area. The Lake Erie area had never seen such a gruesome murder of a child. But it was never inappropriate.". Amy attended the local middle school, and her older brother Jason attended the local high school in 1989. Some recognize him as a piano player in local bars, but these tips don't get me any closer. I do not believe that so much evidence can point to one person and it be just a coincidence. Even with todays advanced science and technology, forensic scientists cant test trace evidence that doesnt exist, or was never collected. Amy Mihaljevic's cause of death was determined to be homicide by stabbing. Investigators think it could have been an old quilt turned into a curtain. "When I went to school, there was this wall - student on this side, teacher over here," he said in an interview that ran in the Lorain Morning Journal that year. Amy ignores him. The curtain is incredibly unique and likely homemade. . We have proof that this killer attempted to lure many other little girls into the same fate as Amy with phone calls to households with unlisted phone numbers. I suspect they preyed on school-age girls by attempting to lure them out shopping under the guise of getting gift for their mothers. In late October 1989, Amy Mihaljevic was lured to a suburban Ohio shopping center by an unknown male who had befriended her via conversations on the phone, and she was never seen alive again. When reached at home, he admits to being Runkle's "favorite" for a while. Another close timeframe, so its another no from me. On Friday 27 October 1989, ten-year-old Amy Renee Mihaljevic woke up at 6am and dressed herself for school, before meeting two friends and riding on their bikes to class at 7.50am, the same as they did every other school morning. Amy's case, beginning with the phone calls from a stranger posing as a family friend, appears to have been a seduction gone wrong. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Amy: My Search for Her Killer: Secrets and Suspects in the Unsolved Murder of Amy Mihaljevic at Amazon.com. This is the kind of thing that a killer only learns with experience. Amy Mihaljevic. Another key person of interest in Amy Mihaljevic's disappearance and murder case is Richard Holbert, who, like a few others, has confessed to slaying Amy. Dean Runkle was born in the mid 1940's in New London, Ohio, on a farmhouse only a few miles away from where Amy Mihaljevic's body would be found on County Road 1181, 45 years later. He shrugs. "He made comments about girls' outfits. "I'm meeting a friend.". Hes a suspect who looks good from a standpoint of circumstantial evidence, but when we need concrete evidence it all falls apart. Amy Renee Mihaljevic (December 11, 1978 - October 27, 1989) was an elementary schoolgirl who was kidnapped and murdered in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1989. The owners let the man live on the property in exchange for cleaning out the stables. Timeframe was too close for an abduction to take place comfortably. 1. someone shouts. Ryan was terrified, said no thank you to the man and quickly ran away to school. INTERVIEW FOLLOW-UP The evidence is highly circumstantial toward Dean Runkle. he says. "When you're dealing with human behavior," warns Lanning, "you're not dealing in absolutes. For more information, please see our Other tips were called in about a local handyman who had been doing some work on a house down the street from the Mihaljevics. The Absolutely Nutty Cleveland/East Palestine/15-Minute City Conspiracy Theory, Explained, Ohio Gets an "F" for Failing to Address Lead in School Water, A Behind-the-Scenes Look at How Ohio Enacted the Most Restrictive Voter Photo ID Law in America, Cleveland Public Library Hires First Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, At Householder Trial, Former State Rep. Nino Vitale Cites Hazy Memory, Distances Himself From HB6 Scandal, By Marty Schladen, The Ohio Capital Journal, What Norfolk Southerns History of Accidents Say About the Company and Industry, Scroll to read more Cleveland News articles. Runkle resigned abruptly, explaining he had to leave for "health reasons." He gave them the name of a suspect and asked if it sounded familiar. Amy Mihaljevic was 10 years old when she was abducted from the shopping plaza across the street from the police station in Bay Village, Ohio, on a sunny Friday afternoon in 1989. In the weeks leading up to Amy's abduction, a man called them at home, after school, and pretended to be a co-worker of either their mother's or father's. The offender is identified to be a white male. Another girl, Maddie, sees this and thinks the boy might be picking on Amy, so she keeps an eye on both of them to make sure nothing happens. Dean Runkle himself denies any involvement in the murder of Amy Mihaljevic and the FBI has never officially declared him a suspect. Amy may have resisted and fought back - indeed, her fingernails were chipped, according to the coroner's report - causing her abductor to become violent in order to regain control. News of the other suspicious phone calls in the area spread around, and suddenly, no children went anywhere alone. Runkle also seemed to have volunteered in the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village at the time of the murder. Almost 30 years later, Amys killer is still at large. Her body was found in Ashland County - about 50 miles away - a few months later. A pair of sisters had also received a call from a man who claimed to be a friend of their mothers. A search warrant for the suspects house was executed, but no evidence linking the man to Amy was found. But, none of them match the facts of the case and the description of the offender as closely as Dean Runkle. Margaret and Mark filed for divorce, and Mark moved out of the house. Friends of hers claim she slid into alcoholism. At 2:10 p.m., on October . Since Runkle is exceptionally well liked as a teacher by many former students, Renner became the subject of strong criticism, unlike anything he had faced from naming previous suspects, when he named Runkle. Detectives kept trying to focus in on what he knew about Amys disappearance, but the suspect would not answer the questions. The calls all came at times when the children were at home, and the parents were typically at work. ", I ask him about the sexual nature of the letters and he looks away. Runkle is an interesting suspect for many reasons. Although the Bay Village Police have, confirmed that these same suspects have been interviewed, there are few. Mr. Runkle wouldve had access to the log book which listed Amys address and phone number, as well as the unlisted phone numbers of the other girls who received the suspicious phone calls. The FBI, currently offering an up to $25,000 reward for any information, has never let this case go cold. Kids no longer answered phone calls. "I said, 'I know you're the one who killed Amy,'" she recalls. Investigators would later figure out that Amy was not the only girl who had received such phone calls around the same time. Meanwhile, Mark and Jason moved on with their lives as best they could. Friends said she never recovered from Amys death and the lack of solid leads in solving the case. He starts to leave. Sagittarius Named Amy . Why did you leave Ohio in 2003 without giving notice to your employer, For the most part, information on potential suspects has been revealed as, part of independent investigations. Then March became June, and June became November. He looked after me when we lived at the shelter together a couple years ago. When she learned he was also living in New London, not far from where they found Amy, she called the Amherst police and then confronted Runkle directly. She jogs a little to catch up with Olivia Masiak. We dont know what happened in between there, he said. Amy Mihaljevic disappeared in 1989 when she was ten years old. I wasn't going to chance it because I didn't trust him based on his unfounded and mean spirited hatchet job on his personally manufactured suspect, Dean Runkle, in the Amy Mihaljevic case. "NEW" EVIDENCE? Scne de . Most of these killers are not stupid. Multiple witnesses say that he matches the man they saw with Amy the day she vanished. In 1971, he quit teaching for two years to play ragtime at Disneyland. On October 27th, 1989, 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic disappeared from a shopping center near her home in Bay Village, OH. It seems inappropriate now, the way he treated some of the girls." Runkle stops and answers them for a while. The movie Mean Girls made a joke about this, but its something that sticks out to the kids theyve taught. . There have been hundreds of suspects in this case - men, mostly, with shady pasts and weak alibis, vague connections to Bay Village or New London, histories of sexual misadventures. She just got a promotion. People will say that DR was odd in many ways (which he may have been), about how he abruptly left, gave excuses, and whatnot but leaving and not telling anyone why isnt a crime. When I ask him if he could have used the logbook at the nature center to gather phone numbers for girls in North Olmsted, he says he's done talking and begins to walk away. None took the bait. Many of them are simply just look-alikes who otherwise have no connection to the crime. Ohio Gov. Cleveland newspaper reporter James Renner investigated Mihaljevic's murder case and concluded that a teacher named Dean Runkle should be viewed as a prime suspect. Nothing is that simple, I told myself. She didnt recognize the mans voice. The report of a missing child from their own neighborhood frightened every soul in Bay Village. Amy was 10 and had not yet reached puberty. Renner parked his car and confronted Runkle. By the time police made this connection, the log book had vanished from the nature center. He asked each of them if they remembered visiting the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village. By Dateline NBC. Just got a phone call from an investigator working on it. BAY VILLAGE, Ohio (WOIO) - Nearly 32 years after her murder, there's a new clue in the Amy Mihaljevic case. The Handmade Curtain. This "list os suspects" is so completely bogus. I call. But Runkle eventually asked for the money back. Amy Mihaljevic, United States Unclassified. This case to me, to solve it, not just to me, but for the police department and Amys family and really for Amy, would be everything for us, he said. There are several people we are still looking at today as suspects for the case, said Elish. By the time these women sought me out in 2006, they had forgotten the name. He was released from police custody. And though I've never seen him in person before, I recognize him immediately - not from the grainy 13-year-old newspaper photos but from the composite sketch of Amy's abductor.