Sgt. It's a day investigators have pored over for decades: October 27, 1989 -- when 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic disappeared from Bay Village, Ohio. Amy Mihaljevic Popularity . When reached at home, he admits to being Runkle's "favorite" for a while. There are no samples, according to Elish, currently being tested in a lab. In 1971, he quit teaching for two years to play ragtime at Disneyland. someone shouts. Police believe Amys body was wrapped in the curtain for transport from the actual crime scene to the field where her body was dumped. "What's the reward?" I quickly began to see why this man was on the FBI's list of priorities. Amy Mihaljevic disappeared on October 27, 1989. Our theory is that they were used to wrap her in before she was dumped where she was found.. Amy was just 10 years old when she was kidnapped and stabbed to death. Signed the visitor log book with their phone numbers, Abruptly quit teaching in 2003 without notice and moved to Florida. Amy is . Thursday marks 33 years since Amy was taken from a shopping plaza in Bay Village. "I walk a lot," he says. BAY VILLAGE, Ohio (WOIO) - Nearly 32 years after her murder, theres a new clue in the Amy Mihaljevic case. He didn't say anything, just walked past me. and our At that time, they told me that on the week of St. Patrick's Day in 2005, a retired FBI agent who worked on Amy's case contacted each of the girls from North Olmsted. Feeling like police never investigated the local nature center lead after the log book disappeared, Renner began his own investigation. Joseph, real name Robert Ivan Nichols, committed suicide in Eastlake, Ohio, in 2002, but when investigators were unable to locate his family at the time, they discovered that he had stolen the identity of an eight-year-old boy who was killed in a car crash in 1945. In 2002, during a Sunday Mass at St. Angela Merici Catholic Church on Lorain Road in Fairview Park, he announced that he was the one responsible for what happened to Amy. But, they did classify that although he looked quite presentable, he didnt carry himself in a way that an accomplished or a professional person might. Today, Dan is living in a rundown apartment complex in Vermilion. Runkle liked to tell boys sexual jokes, says Derek Chase. So by definition, the 3 are still the "most likely suspects". On that Top 25 list, he would be the man at the top. Renner parked his car and confronted Runkle. According to his co-workers, he lives just a mile from the restaurant, near a large apartment complex, but no one has his exact address. 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. Dean lived a tumultuous early life, dealing with an abusive father and the tragic death of his 6-year-old twin sister in 1950. Recently, she saw a suspect's photo on the blog I've maintained since publishing a book about the unsolved case. "When you're dealing with human behavior," warns Lanning, "you're not dealing in absolutes. Sunday, July 18, 2010 . She says he "probably" gave some to the Lake Erie Nature Center. In February 1990, when Amys body was found in an Ashland County field, a curtain and a blanket were discovered 300 yards away. She was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and she later moved to a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. inappropriate behavior and unwanted physicality? 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 . 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. Birth Sign Sagittarius. Others included odd people who lived near the Mihaljevics; parents of Amy's closest friends; convicted sex offenders who were not yet in prison at the time of her abduction. Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 4:00 am. Amys death affected everyone in the Bay Village community and surrounding areas. Both of Amys parents worked full time. And then Maddie sees the man. 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. 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. Jason reported that Amy had not come home in the time he had been there. BAY VILLAGE, Ohio (WOIO) - Nearly 32 years after her murder, there's a new clue in the Amy Mihaljevic case. 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. "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. We Got To Him First. Amy Mihaljevic, United States Unclassified. A stranger convinced Amy that he needed her help buying a present . AMY MIHALJEVIC - 2021 UPDATE! He nods, unsurprised. Under interrogation, the suspect began softly muttering random words in no particular order. **See the blog below for more** It was October 27, 1989 . Neighbors had seen the man talking to Amy briefly days before her disappearance, and he also resembled the composite sketch. Three and a half months later, Amy's body was found near New London, Ohio. As of 2014, her homicide remained unsolved. Most of the 100 or so who replied remembered his fondness for Dr. Pepper and disdain for yawning in his class or saying "yeah" instead of "yes." Margaret ran home, called her husband Mark, and began calling all of Amys friends and neighbors asking if theyd seen her. Earlier that day, Amy and Olivia had sat together at a school assembly and listened to a rookie policeman named Mark Spaetzel give a "meet your friendly local officer" presentation. Ryan said the car followed him a ways until it pulled up beside him and the man inside slowly lowered his window. Amy's case, beginning with the phone calls from a stranger posing as a family friend, appears to have been a seduction gone wrong. In 2016, fibers on the curtain turned out to be dog hairs, matching Amys dog at the time of her disappearance. Submissions. Child abductions are some of the most upsetting cases for police, because the victims are usually killed within hours of their abduction. That obsession leads James to a successful career as an investigative journalist. Residents of Bay Village lived on edge for years after Amys disappearance and murder. Your email address will not be published. And he talked about how he liked kids who hadn't reached puberty yet, because "I was a runt too.". A homeless man says he thinks he has seen Runkle at a soup kitchen on Flagler Avenue before, but that was years ago. The only thing that these girls had in common was the fact that they visited the Lake Erie Nature . Gold-colored fibers were found on Amy's body, according to the Ashland County coroner's file on the case. The school doors open, and here comes Amy Mihaljevic, dressed in green pants and a pale green shirt with lavender trim. Is this the sort of curtain someone you knew would have made? One hundred days later, Amys body was found 50 miles away. Child murder victim who was kidnapped from an Ohio shopping center and whose body was found four months later in an Ashland County field. This "list os suspects" is so completely bogus. using the same gift shopping ruse (Renner, 2008). 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. Amy Renee Mihaljevic (/ m h l v k /, MUH-hah-LEVIK; December 11, 1978 - c. October 27, 1989) was a ten-year-old American elementary school student who was kidnapped and murdered in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1989. In 1987, Runkle set a few thousand dollars aside in a trust for Dan, according to Dan's mother. Some recognize him as a piano player in local bars, but these tips don't get me any closer. Last weekend, I paid him a visit. The store bred pet mice, but when the mice population exploded, Runkle began giving the mice away to local nature centers, says the store's former owner, Oneta McCarthy. If you're from NE Ohio, there's nothing that comes close to this case. What a stupid idea - thinking I would walk into a random fast-food joint and find him. 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. Mark remarried about six years after Amys disappearance in 1995. Most Popular #109790. It's hard to tell what might be ailing Runkle, though, because, at 65, he could easily pass for 45. Several students have recently stated that they rode in Mr. Runkles car with him to donate the mice at the nature center. Amy Mihaljevic has been died on Oct 27, 1989 ( age 10). Searchers discovered Amy's body on February 9, 1990. Amy Mihaljevic disappeared on October 27, 1989. 2. 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. Margaret and Mark filed for divorce, and Mark moved out of the house. Whoever this predator was, he had robbed Bay Village of its peace and sense of safety. But what motivation could this man possibly have to lie to police during their investigation in 1989? But Runkle eventually asked for the money back. Sunday, October 11, 2015. Most of these killers are not stupid. Were pursuing more so the angle of science now than we ever have in the past because DNA changes every couple of months, Elish said. Read More: Where Is Amy Mihaljevics Father Now? Many of them are simply just look-alikes who otherwise have no connection to the crime. Two witnesses said they saw Amy that day with a man who would now be in his mid-50s or early '60s. "There have not been many [photos] that have been this close," she says. "Wish it was me," said Runkle, according to Adkins. The man asked Ryan if he wanted a ride to school. On October 27th, 1989, 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic disappeared from a shopping center near her home in Bay Village, OH. But no one knows Runkle. In 1990 when the body was found, forensic testing for DNA as we know it now and other trace evidence was not yet available. Searchers discovered Amy's body on February 9, 1990. None had ever talked to a reporter, until they found me in 2006. Amy told her mother she was ok and that she was at home now, and then quickly hung up. For more info about Amy's case, you can read through the blog I've devoted to it since 2006. A large volunteer search party with dogs and flashlights found nothing. Both witness accounts corroborated each other. James Renner [2 . 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. According to friends and neighbors, Amy was a beautiful, intelligent girl with a bright future ahead of her. Multiple witnesses say that he matches the man they saw . Amys body was only ever found because her killer wanted it that way. It was . Dan says their relationship was never physical. He asked them if they remembered writing their names and home numbers in a logbook by the front doors. Lanning helped create the Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia, where FBI agents are trained. Puberty seems to be a very significant issue for many of these serial offenders.". Timeframe was too close for an abduction to take place comfortably. That night and much of the next day I show Runkle's photo around town. The abductor had contacted Mihaljevic by telephone and arranged to meet her on the pretext of buying a gift . 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. The curtain is incredibly unique and likely homemade. DR seems eccentric from what Ive read, but being eccentric isnt a crime either. According to reporter James Renner, Dean Runkle is a possible prime suspect in the FBI investigation. Throughout his adult life, Renner has become obsessed with solving Amys murder. . The story of her unsolved kidnapping and murder were presented by John Walsh on the television show America's Most . Amy Mihaljevic - Suspect - Dean Runkle. "I didn't leave Ohio because of Amy," he says. It was a tragic year for the Runkles; the family's first home burned to the ground too. a suburb of Cleveland. In fact, he's probably at work right now.". Although Renner describes Runkle as an eccentric teacher, no hard evidence supports this view. At one point in the last year before Amy disappeared, all the victims had visited a local nature center in Bay Village at least once, either on their own time or during school field trips. Usually, someone that would go this far is not someone who has never done that before or hasnt done it again, Elish said. She was never seen again. Runkle was a twin, but his sister died in 1950, when they were 6. Why do you think Amys body was recovered where it was? This is the kind of thing that a killer only learns with experience. Only a few times has she told investigators that the man in the photo could be the same one who led Amy away. 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. But Amy told her brother, Jason, and her friend, Kristy Balas, about the phone calls. I will admit that sketch of the man Amy met that day looks like DR (and like a dead-ringer too), but simply looking like a sketch doesnt make him our guy. I asked him if he thought it was possible that a student of his could have showed me a picture of him volunteering at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center. She says Runkle and another teacher were discussing the pregnancy of an eighth-grader and which boy might have been the father. He was immediately brought in for questioning. The offender is identified to be a white male. First, it's very important to note that they are not saying the curtain and blanket came from the Mihaljevic residence. As time went on, the Mihaljevics marriage disintegrated.