MISSING: Randy Leach

24:58And then he passes again by the Leach's house on the county road, like, on another road that's, like, by their house. And this is first thing in the morning, like, as they're discovering Randy's not in their home. Right. And that's why they're like, at the time, they didn't even, like, register it. They're like, oh, again, small town. Like, oh, we know him. They don't even know he's, like, really missing or how serious this is. And then, like, it's something they think back on later. And listen, if you want to know if police ever asked Steve about this, so do I. Again, the sheriff's office doesn't seem inclined to want to answer specific questions.

25:28So just kind of, like, file away that weirdness as I tell you this next thing. So we're in March of 1989. Randy has been missing almost a full year at this point. And guess who finds a severed foot on the shoreline of the Kansas River? Shoo on it and everything. Steve? Friggin' Steve. He tells authorities that he was just like strolling along when he stumbled across this foot. Now, why Steve is strolling along the river, I don't know. But that's Steve's story. And as wild as this is, it might mean nothing. because the police determined that this is not Randy's foot. I mean, I don't know how to feel about this.

26:06Yay? Question mark. Whose foot is it? I don't know. What I know is that Fox 4 got a statement from the KBI. They said that at some point DNA testing confirmed it wasn't Randy's. So it's not just like a guest based on the shoot. DNA, not Randy's. Cool. But they wouldn't say whose it was, which to your point, like I feel like it's something like we should know, Maybe have a right to know? Or at least the people of Kansas have a right to know? No? I mean, yeah. Because if you find a foot, it more than likely means the rest of the body is not alive. Who does it belong to? Right. And like... I don't know.

26:42Okay. So they leave the foot alone. But the fact that Steve found it is still, like, a little bonkers, right? Yeah. But maybe that's all it is? Like, this just weird, odd detail in a story full of weird, odd details? And unfortunately, Steve's no longer alive, so we couldn't even go directly to him and ask him about it. And the hits just keep coming because about a year after Randy vanished from that farm, the farm burns down. Yeah. Betty told us that when the house on that property burned to the ground, there wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind that it was intentional. And the Leavenworth County Sheriff, Herb Nye, says, quote, there might have been some suspicious origin to it.

27:26hmm was there any significance to the timing of it being burned down like were police starting to like want to search it right like that's my thing too because we are like a year out why now like what would be the benefit of if it was intentional and related to randy why now there has never been anything said publicly to like indicate that they were going to search it or that something was there or that like nothing or they were like honing in on this area nothing Right. Now, we did talk to Betty a little bit about this. Again, she's like the family spokesperson. And she said, like, the consensus, like, among most people in the area, they do think it has nothing to do with Randy.

28:07But again, it's just one of those weird things. It's like, and again, is this a product of a small town where it's like, of course, Steve finds the foot because he's one of 300 people. Right. If a foot's here, one of the 300 people have to find it. Right. And if it's a house fire, like, OK, like the odds that it was somewhere he was recently. Is still pretty high because it's a town of 300 people. What's suspicious and what's the product of being a small town? I don't know. So by spring of 1990, this is now some two years into Randy's disappearance. With no new developments, his parents get very vocal about how angry they are about this.

28:37They point to a couple of things that they're frustrated with specifically, like the fact that the authorities keep passing them off from one person to the next to the next, from county attorney to the detectives to sheriffs to undersheriff and on and on and on. And they're also frustrated by how law enforcement is handling the case. Alberta tells Fox 4 that it's only after that foot is found that the sheriff's office asks for some of Randy's clothing, but not a minute before. Again, like, would have been great five weeks out when we were searching the place, and now that they have the foot that we know, you know, now would be not his, they're like, hey, it might be good for us to have something like this.

29:10Harold and Alberta are frustrated that police will not give them access to the files as well, and that no kind of, like, formal inquisition, which is, like, similar to a grand jury, they're frustrated that no formal inquisition has been held to force people to answer questions under oath, something that Randy's dad, Harold, claims authorities told him was going to take place, like, back in early 1989, yet here they are in 1990, like, still hasn't happened. Are Randy's parents still thinking that something happened to Randy at the farm? I think they're just thinking something happened to Randy.

29:41Like, they're just wanting any answers they can get, and they just don't think authorities have been aggressive enough to get those answers. And as far as the party goes, like, Harold does believe that there's discrepancies from that night. And as we've seen, I mean, it's a little hard to pin down Randy's movements. No one even knows exactly when he left the party, right? So what might the kids at the party or the parents who hosted the party say if they were under oath? Would it be different than, like, him hawing or whatever? And let's not forget Steve, who's, like, popping up all over this story.

30:09What might he say under oath about the night that Randy disappeared? But this isn't to say that the leeches are, like, focused on the party. When they come out and really start getting in front of the media, They also point to that story from the early days of the guy who said that he saw a body in the cave. They feel like that wasn't explored enough. And they're obviously not the only ones frustrated because according to Harold, some police files mysteriously appear in his mailbox. Like someone on the inside knows or feels like there could be something more that can be done that's not happening.

30:43Yes. Now what exactly these files point to is a little unclear. and we specifically asked Betty about what was in them, but she declined to share those details. And from what I can tell, no one has ever seen them. Like even years later when his parents try to sue for the records in Randy's case, they don't appear to produce those files to enter them into evidence. So I don't know why. It's something that the judge actually points to when she like denies them. She's like, you didn't even like show us what you have. Because they bring it up and they're like, you want to compare it to what's there, what's not there.

31:14Like you didn't even show it. Right. So it's weird how under lock and key these files are. And ultimately, all in all, the leeches don't get the inquisition that they were after. So Randy's parents are frustrated, maybe even a little desperate. And at one point, they even go on the Jerry Springer show to talk about Randy. The episode that they appeared on revolves around missing children and a psychic was involved. And this is what's wild. So off camera, the psychic tells the leeches that they think Randy is alive. But the minute the cameras come on, the psychic reverses course and tells them that Randy is dead.

31:50Which, of course, like, they just burst into tears. And having grown up sneaking clips of the Jerry Springer show with my parents. Having just watched the, like, expose thing. Oh, my God. This was totally orchestrated. I feel like this is exactly what these shows did. Yes. This was the point. Horrible. This is the reaction they wanted. Horrible and cruel. A whole bunch of other words I don't even want to say. But like, I think, again, I think what this points to is just Randy's parents' desperation. They will do anything. They will go on Jerry Springer if it gets the word out about their son who they're trying to find.

32:25According to the Lawrence Journal World, in June of 1990, it's so bad that they send a petition with 12 ,000 signatures that they had collected to state officials to make sure Randy's disappearance continues to be investigated. Which when you think about 12 ,000 in 1990 that you had to do by hand. When you live in a town of 300 people. These people were putting in the work, hitting the streets. I think like when it takes for us to get 12 ,000 signatures so we could like put something out on the waves, like we still have to push. Yeah. Unbelievable. But like all this stuff that they're doing, like it's building momentum.

32:59And it seems like a little bit of magic happens in July of 1990. That is when a possible suspect in Randy's disappearance comes onto law enforcement's radar. Although I get the impression that this guy was never not on their radar. It's just the first time that things really pick up. All right, I want to back up and tell you a quick story so you have some context around this potential POI I'm going to talk about. So according to the Lawrence Journal World, there is this guy named Everett Bishop. Everett lived on a property a few miles from Randy's home, and he was from the same area. Apparently, Everett Bishop had been complaining to this friend of his that some teens were quote-unquote terrorizing him.

33:44They're like shooting guns at his house. So this friend introduces Everett to an ex-con and all-around dangerous guy named Eric Montgomery. Eric is supposed to help protect Everett from these teens. Well, Everett ends up going missing. And it's not long before the police come knocking on Eric's door. When they do, they discover that Eric is in possession of a stolen car. And that car leads them to this other guy, Cheryl Gary Brinkley. Now, he's a car thief who was friends with Eric. And police suspect that these guys had something to do with Everett's disappearance, but they can't make it stick until they finally offer Eric a deal.

34:25And this gets into, like, some finger pointing, right? Like, so Eric points the finger at Cheryl, blames him for Everett's May 1990 disappearance, and he says murder. Cheryl, of course, points the finger back at Eric. And during his trial, when he does, he like also just mentions that Eric had something to do with Randy's disappearance. Like this is happening at the trial. So there's so much back and forth here. There's even a third missing man, but in the hopes of like keeping everyone with me here, like basically, I'll try and be concise. So basically it said that Everett and this third missing guy were killed and put in barrels.

34:59Those barrels then never found. So maybe that might not even be true. But it got me thinking, could that have been what happened to Randy, too? But again, there's no evidence of this. Right. But like all the theories we have, there seems to be no evidence of it. Exactly. Now, some of the defense teams try to get their hands on Randy's file to see if there is some connection there. Right? Like, he just, like, blurts out this name and everyone's like, wait, what? Yeah. So, and it's not just that he's like, he mentions him. What they end up finding out is that Eric was considered by KBI as a suspect in Randy's case.

35:32Like, or at least that's what he says when he, like, blurts this out. But is it true? Is it not true? I can't tell you because the files are sealed. But we're still kind of at square one because none of this told us how Randy's disappearance has anything to do with Eric at all. Yeah, other than, like, Eric saying that he was a suspect. Right. And if, if, if, if. big capital letter if this does somehow tie back to eric and like protecting question mark everett or like getting retribution why kill randy i know it doesn't make like and why kill just randy like teens plural we're terrorizing everett and one kid goes missing his car right so for what it's worth betty doesn't totally think that this is like a relevant line of inquiry because she doesn't think Randy was one of those teens.

36:24And she thinks there was a slim chance that Randy even crossed paths with Everett. She said maybe through a friend of his dad, like did some babysitting. I don't even know. You also have to think like, oh, did he just randomly run into him as he was like drunkenly getting home from this party that nobody like sees him going missing from? Like all the things don't really line up for me. Everything has to be like so perfect for this, for them to even cross paths. Yeah. They can't connect Randy and Eric together with any kind of certainty. And while that's a lot to process, it could be a whole lot of nothing.

36:54Like I said, it's one of my least favorite theories, but one that like people spend a lot of time on. And I feel like it's one of those theories where it's a theory because there's nothing concrete, right? Like everything is in here. Right. But like, because we don't, we can't definitively say that they ever even talked, it almost feels more likely that they could have. And this is the answer. And this is why we don't know for sure. And what I always say is like, what do I not know. Like, if we got the files, maybe there is something really meaningful in there, but, like, we're all blind to it.

37:22I don't know. Eventually, Eric and this other guy both end up in prison in connection with the other disappearances, but Eric was never arrested in connection to Randy's disappearance. And it's never even officially tied to him in any way, as far as I can tell. Like, they never make an official connection. Oh, and this is, like, another wild part. When you think about, like, the leeches' experience in all of this, they don't learn about all of this until like many many years later they're not learning about this as this is happening the way they find out about eric and this whole group is there's like this group of three friends who just got obsessed with the case and they started doing like their own crime junkie style sleuthing and they are the ones who found out about this and shared the details with his parents so this isn't even coming from like law enforcement court records involving Eric.

38:12Well, I think that's where they get it. It does eventually, but it's not like direct to the leeches. It's coming from these kind of three random people. Hey, as two random people who started a podcast, yes. But anyways, back in 1990, the leeches are unaware of this development and they're still focused on demanding more action. And so maybe because of that, in August of 1990, Leavenworth County finally decides to do a more thorough search of that cave in Edwardsville that the person had pointed them to years ago. So this time, they bring in search dogs, and once and for all, they want to put this rumor to bed that Randy's body was ever in this cave, as this one eyewitness claimed.

38:52Now, it doesn't appear that anything's found, but according to the Lawrence World Journal, Randy's dad says that he receives some photos purported to have been taken in this same cave. And it's like a photo of a dead pigeon on a cross and strange markings on the walls. And there's apparently even, like, fire rings and tire tracks. But authorities refute that any of this stuff is actually found. So you can... And even if it was there... Years later. Like, I also feel like kids are weird. Like... Accurate. I mean, but you can see what... So this doesn't clear up anything. No. Like, again, we've got maybe weird stuff, maybe not, all two years later.

39:34And it doesn't put anyone's suspicions or rumors to bed. Or confirm any of them. Right. And eventually, Betty told us that those caves get bulldozed. So it's not like any more answers are going to be coming. She said Harold was told that Leavensworth County gave that order to bulldoze them. But then ultimately, Leavensworth County said they had nothing to do with it. So like, this just keeps coming back to the fact that the leeches, I feel like, can never get their heads wrapped around the truth. Like, even the stuff that should be simple isn't simple. Well, and I feel like so many agencies are giving them kind of the runaround.

40:04Yeah. So 1991 rolls in, and with it comes a shred of good news. The governor at the time, Joan Finney, issues an executive order, basically stating that law enforcement at least have some belief that maybe a crime has been committed in Randy's disappearance. And as part of this order, she includes a$5 ,000 reward. So it finally feels like a step in the right direction for Randy's parents. But next comes several steps back. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that after fighting for more insight into the investigative reports on their son's disappearance, Harold and Alberta get a whopping 60 pages to look over.

40:47And apparently in these 60 pages is just information that they had given investigators in the first place. And this doesn't appear to be anything having to do with the files that they supposedly got in their mailbox, just like information that they'd shared over the years through tips or their own interviews or whatever. Right. And to make matters worse, by 1993, those satanic cult rumors come roaring back. At this point, it's like the only consistent in this case, really. And coming along for the ride is a show we all know and love, Unsolved Mysteries. So as we discussed earlier, the leeches were looking for any help they could find.

41:22And they get a little in the summer of 1993 when this guy named Terry comes into their lives. He says that he is a research journalist there to help prepare an episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Randy's case. So Alberta and Harold watch as Terry truly like investigates Randy's disappearance. He spends over several months like digging deep. And at one point, he even pools the information he's gathering with one of the detectives reviewing Randy's case. And to the leech's surprise, Terry appears to really help the case. And in July, before an episode even is set to air or anything, police actually arrest three men in connection with Randy's disappearance.

42:03On the Crime Wire podcast, Rob, who we talked about earlier, he was that classmate of Randy's who police questioned. he claims that at least one of these men that were arrested was Randy's friend Steve. Steve found the foot. Steve. But as quickly as these guys are arrested, they're back on the street. Literally, I think within like two days. Well, wait, what did they have on them to begin with? You don't know, do you? I don't know. No, so here's the thing. So, no, something really funky happens here. Because when they're released, police just say that they had brought the guys in for, quote, investigative purposes, whatever that means.

42:39Like, they're not even like... You didn't bring them in, though. You arrested them. Right. It feels like they're trying to downplay what happened, right? Yeah. To arrest someone, you have to have an arrest warrant. You need probable cause to get a warrant. You need someone to sign off on this. It's not just investigative purposes. Yeah. And the Lawrence Journal World, according to them, arrest warrants were issued by the assistant Leavenworth County attorney. Okay. So it sounds like these were legit arrests. Yeah. But I think they were covering their ass after the fact. And like I said, trying to really downplay it because Terry's involvement in this whole thing begins to unravel.

43:19And it all starts with him holding this like three hour press conference the next day describing what his investigation uncovered. Three hours? Three. It's like, what is this, a JonBenet Ramsey episode? Yeah. And this happens like at the leeches house. And here's what Terry claims to have found. Terry says that he's uncovered a satanic cult that has been in operation for over 15 years. He also claims that Randy was killed in front of 50 people in a satanic ritual and that two other people were killed trying to stop Randy's murder. But he wouldn't say who those other people were, only that information is like about them or whatever it is, is in police records.

44:06And then he also alludes to the fact that like, by the way, Terry might not be his real name for like his own protection. And like sometimes he refers to himself as Lee. Who's Lee? Does this guy actually work for Unsolved Mysteries? Bingo, he does not.

44:24Now, Unsolved Mysteries did admit that they were interested in covering Randy's case. In fact, they had spoken to the leeches about it back in April. So this was a real possibility. It wasn't out of nowhere, out of the... That's why they believed it when Terry showed up. What I don't understand is, like, the timing of it. It feels really wild. Like, did Terry somehow know that Unsolved Mysteries was looking into this? Or was it just a chance that he, like, reached out at the same time? Right. Or was he trying to, like, pull all this stuff together and, like, pitch it to them? I don't know. But whatever his intentions, it sounds like eventually Unsolved Mysteries covering this case, like, falls apart.

44:59Although, at least one source says that they did shoot an episode but just never aired it. I don't know why they would do that. But I think, and actually maybe the reason is this whole, like, Terry slash Lee thing. I don't know. Okay, sorry, I'm still wrapping my mind around this Terry Lee situation. Did the police make those arrests based off of Terry's info then? I don't think it was just Terry. I mentioned before that he had teamed up with a detective on the case. Which is like somehow worse. Well, everyone says she was a little green, maybe she was a little too eager. And it sounds like these two presented the deputy county attorney old evidence, but like with a new twist.

45:38According to the Lawrence Journal World, Terry also claimed to have new evidence, but like wouldn't show them because he was saving it for the Unsolved Mysteries episode. That's not how that works. Right. You can't do like an IOU for evidence in a probable cause like arrest warrant affidavit. If you're working for Unsolved Mysteries, you kind of want the mysteries to be solved. Right. Well, I guess not for that show. But like I love an update episode. The end goal. Yeah, I don't. It's all bananas. Continue, Terry Lee. Whatever the reason, whatever IOU they gave, they got the green light to make the arrest.

46:13But then once, I think once they made the arrest, the evidence they promise is either double-checked or never materializes. And everyone realizes they have a huge problem on their hand and the guys are released. Did Terry slash Lee get in trouble for his involvement? That's kind of a silly question. I don't even know what the crime is or would be. It could be obstruction, I think. But like somehow. Or like lying to police. Yeah. I don't know. But he walks away from all of this. Of course. Even though he claims that there was a warrant out for his arrest. Like as far as I can see, there wasn't.

46:49I don't know if he technically didn't break any laws or they just wanted this thing to go away fast. Or maybe the arrest warrant isn't his real name and nobody knows it. I don't know. And listen, I don't think anyone like thought initially he was coming in there to do anything shady. I think everyone had good intentions. But like it just shows you got to do some due diligence on like the people you work with, especially if you're the police department. Right. And you can't blame the local residents for like hoping he's legit and for freaking Harold in Alberta who just were like dying for anyone.

47:17And they were contacted by the real unsolved mysteries. So, I mean, where do they stand on Terry? Did they even know what this press conference in their house was going to be about? They were like totally shocked. Oh, my God. I don't think they had any idea that this was the road Terry was going down. But I also think strangely that they didn't even totally blame Terry or Lee or whatever his name was. Because, like I said, they were just so desperate for help. But that help never comes. And the detective involved did get fired. But her superiors claim it was because she didn't show up for work.

47:51So, I don't know. And then there's a time after this where her and Terry Lee, whatever, disappear. Not disappear like missing, but just get out of the limelight. Like, they just got to go underground. They just got to ghost, yeah. And Randy's case kind of continues down the same path. No answers, no Randy, all the way through the 90s and into the 2000s with just, like, little starts and stops along the way. Like, in 2001, Alberta and Harold have Randy declared legally dead. In 2003, they watch as the sheriff's office and KBI take another close look, but it doesn't appear that this moves the needle.

48:26And it's not until 2014 when they start to hear all about Eric Montgomery. That's when that happens. That's when they begin to wonder what else police might not have told them. Like, if they're learning about that in 2014 and it happened in 1990, like, all the more reason we're like, okay, like, there are things that could be potentially done. Avenues that haven't been explored. So in 2016, they sued the sheriff's office to get records in Randy's case released, but that suit fails. And the short of it is like the judge says that just because the leeches are critical of the investigation doesn't mean that the records should be made public.

49:01They say that that could set a precedence for anyone to criticize an investigation in order just to like get a criminal case like records released. So at every turn, Alberta and Harold end up back where they first started without their son, without answers. and despite the reward money in Randy's case being as high as$30 ,000, no one ever comes forward to talk or name names. I mean, what if there's nothing to talk about? I just keep coming back to the fact that Randy's still missing, but so is the car. The car was never found. Like, what if this was just a tragic accident and they went into the water somewhere?

49:39And we've seen that before, right? Where it's like areas, ponds or whatever, were searched and then found like decades later. And you're not alone in thinking that. So according to an article in the Kansas City Star from 2018, actually one of the former investigators on the case is convinced that Randy is in the water somewhere. He really thinks that Randy would have taken that back road home that we discussed earlier. Like specifically because if you are feeling weird and you're driving at night, like you don't want to run into police, so you take the back roads. And that would take him on Golden Road.

50:10And back then there was this single lane bridge with no guardrails that went over Stranger Creek, which is exactly what it sounds like, a creek. So it's possible that Randy went off the bridge and into the water. And despite people thinking that the creek was too shallow, there is actually an example that a car could sink there. So the summer before Randy disappeared, the movie Kansas filmed there, and they pushed a car into that creek and it sank. But you mentioned before that the creek had been searched. They were, including this one again and again. Randy's car wasn't found. But I think this investigator's point is whether Stranger Creek or the Kansas River, other cars have been found in water far from where they actually went in.

50:53So like sometimes they're pushed along by the currents. The other thought in the article is that the car could have entered a bowl at the bottom of like a river or something. And over time, that kind of like fills up with sand and sand and like buries the car. So like I was saying, like it's still so wild to me that you wouldn't find it back then. But that doesn't mean it's not there. And to even further back up the possibility of an accident, in 2017, Toni Anderson, a University of Missouri-Kansas City student, went missing along with her car. And everyone was convinced she was kidnapped, but tragically, she was found in her car in the Missouri River.

51:28And I guess that's just the thing that makes the most sense to me. Like, if Randy found his keys and drove away. You said at the beginning, that's like Occam's razor. That's the most likely thing to have happened here. But the only thing that has me pausing and like rethinking literally everything is there's so much weirdness. So much. So much weirdness. I can't, I can't let any of it go. So much weirdness like the fact that a man from Topeka who at one point helped the leeches search for Randy was reportedly found shot to death along with his wife. What? Listen, there are all these, like, there are all these things I haven't even told you.

52:07like these tiny and is it is it again this like small town is it we've talked about this like once you're in the middle of a true crime case like there's a microscope on your life that would reveal a bunch of weird things like how much weirdness is in my own life and the people surrounding me but like nobody knows or even I don't know because I don't have investigators no one's looking into it right cue all the like armchair detectives being like what's Ashley hiding but anyways this this is another weird thing I just want to talk about real quick so So this man from Topeka, police rule his and his wife's death as a murder-suicide.

52:40But again, it's just like another weird thing. They help search and this thing happens. That doesn't mean like they're immune to tragedy, but another weird thing. And another weird thing, remember the farmhouse where the party was? Remember how it caught fire? So it's actually not the only fire in this story. According to the Lawrence Journal World, after the leeches bought a car to replace the one that disappeared with Randy, it caught fire. and burned in their backyard. An inspector reportedly said that a gas line deteriorated and burst, but the Leaches thought that it was arson. And I've got more arson for you.

53:15Good old Steve also apparently had a brush with a blaze. Harold Leach reportedly said that at some point, Steve was living in the back of this store somewhere in Linwood. And apparently the section where he lived, so like the back of this store, unexpectedly caught fire. Now, I couldn't find more on this. I wish Steve was still alive so we could ask him about this. But again, he's not. Want a little more weirdness? Because, like, it doesn't stop. The Lawrence Journal world also noted that Randy's dog, Crackers, just, like, up and banished about four months after Randy went missing. Crackers is never found.

53:49And I'm saving the most bizarre for last. So there is this moment in the case where Randy's dad, Harold, is told by a psychic to go to the shores of Stranger Creek, where, again, some thought Randy could be located. So Harold goes, and he finds something written in the mud along the shore. It says, Randy Leach was here. Okay. 3-29-91. 3-29-91. Other than being after Randy went missing, is there any significance to that date? No. And, like, this is so weird because, like, the psychic lived in Florida, so it's not like... It's not like a plant. Right. Like, they set it up, and why would you do that date?

54:33He doesn't know what to make of it. I don't know what to make of it. Police don't know what to make of it. So they don't really pursue it. We asked Betty about it. I think she's kind of in the same boat. Like no one knows what to make of this thing. The other thing I don't have is like the date that his dad was sent to the shore. I was going to ask like when did this happen? Was it around 91? Was it like the same date? Yeah. Dude, I don't know. But isn't that weird? That is so wild. And like I'm not even going to ask the question because you don't have the answer. So we don't know if this was like maybe like a tribute that a friend did.

55:06Like if they did. Well, again, the date to me doesn't make sense. The date seems so, especially if we don't. And in this small town, like this is something that's like kind of known about his case. You would think at some point they'd come forward and be like, oh, that was me. Ignore it. Yeah, if you're hearing this for the first time and that was you, like might want to let the leeches know, the police know. But the date, the date still doesn't make sense, even if that was. Now, as recently as 2021, more searching was done. But the searchers found nothing after checking multiple water locations, even with newer technology.

55:38And even more interesting, they were denied access to a pond located on the former property of, wait for it, Everett Bishop. So remember, he went missing himself. He's connected to Eric Montgomery. Eric Montgomery is a possible suspect in Randy's disappearance. According to Betty, at the time, this property appears to still be owned by the Bishop family, like, now. So, or at least when they were trying to do this. So it might not come as a surprise that they weren't willing to let someone search their pond. But they also claim that police had been to the property in the past. I don't know if the pond was searched then.

56:14So, like, that's one spot that might still not have been checked. But I don't know for sure. And I guess I keep thinking if this is foul play, someone did an incredible job at hiding that car. Hiding it if it's like buried or in water, but also could have been like destroyed. You could have like disassembled it. You could have burned it. You could have taken it out of state. I mean, there are a lot of ways to get rid of a car. Now, new theories about this case continue to pop up. Other potential suspects like people who might have lived in the area around that time. Like, there's a name that keeps getting, like, mentioned in Reddit forums.

56:49I'm not going to name names, but there's speculation that Randy's car could have been parked in this person's driveway. Like, at the time of the party or whatever. And I asked Betty about this, and she confirmed that there was sort of this shared driveway situation. And she even speculated, like, others have, that Randy maybe could have ended up, like, in a neighboring house, that something could have happened there. But, like, cool, something could have happened anywhere because we don't know where Randy is. Randy's case is still open. According to KSHB 41, in later years, two retired detectives began to help Randy's family try to get some answers to his disappearance.

57:24But they were met with some roadblocks from authorities who once again refused to share any information or let them look at the case files. Which makes me wonder if they do have something that they just don't want anyone to know, whether it's a suspect or evidence that they just don't want out there yet. Well, maybe what they don't want out there is them not doing a good job. I mean, that's a possibility, too. I'm not saying it's the possibility, but that's what a lot of people wonder. Especially because when you think about evidence or a person, like, I said yet and immediately regretted it. Like, what's there to lose at this point?

57:58So many years later, I know. Fox 4's Lisa McCormick and Professor Eugene Matthews' review of the case files found that in 1993, the Edwardsville police chief flagged a report that came in describing the supposed location of Randy's car, like this was a whole new thing, Randy's body, and other circumstances about his disappearance. The chief wrote, quote, This information warrants further investigation, end quote. But a former Edwardsville police employee who spoke to Fox 4 said the sheriff's office refused to even take the report. In their emails to us, the undersheriff of Leavenworth County said, quote, I have heard the allegations of impropriety in the investigation and feel this is unfair and untrue.

58:41In speaking with and or working with skilled investigators that have worked this case, I have no doubt regarding their skill, conviction of mission, and desire to see this case to its best conclusion and answers for Randy and his family as well as the community. End quote. We also tried reaching out to KBI, but we haven't heard back from them, and Leavenworth County Attorney's Office, who we reached out to in regard to Randy's file. They referred us back to the sheriff's office for any specific questions. But listen, if anyone out there is connected to any of these investigative agencies and you hear this and you want to talk to us, please reach out.

59:18We still have a ton of questions. And so does Randy's family, who has waited over 36 years for answers. It's hard enough to lose a child and it's even harder not knowing what happened to them. Or if by some miracle they're still out there somewhere. Randy's father, Harold, unfortunately passed away in 2021, never knowing what happened to Randy. According to Betty, he kept a list of 97 unanswered questions that he had surrounding his son's disappearance. And it's a list that we plan on poring over. Randy's mother, Alberta, is still alive and we reached out to her too. But as you can imagine, talking about Randy's case is very emotional for her.

59:56And it's not something she felt like she could do right now. And I can't even blame her. She's been talking about this case for 36 years. That's far too long. She deserves some closure one way or another. and Randy, wherever he is, deserves to finally come home. So if you know anything about the disappearance of Randy Leach on April 15, 1988 in Linwood, Kansas, or maybe if you saw his car, a 1985 Dodge 600 sedan with Kansas plate LVJ 8721, please contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-572-7463. For more information, you can also visit the website in search of randyleach.com. We'll link to that in our show notes.

1:00:53You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, crimejunkiepodcast.com. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast. Britt and I are actually off next week. We will be back the following week with a brand new episode, but make sure to stick around for the good segment.

1:01:32All right, Brett. Now back to our regularly scheduled feel-good content. My favorite thing. What do you have for us? Today we have a submission from Autumn. Hi, guys. I have been listening to y 'all's podcast since 2020, and I fell in love with true crime. I've always been interested in crime, even as a child watching CSI, Dateline, etc. Same. I used to sing the CSI theme song with my brother when he was like, itty bitty, baby David. But y 'all's podcast opened the door to more conversations about crime and violence, especially partner violence, that more people should be having. I actually work as a victim slash sexual assault advocate for my local county in Texas and just received my national certification of credentials.

1:02:16And y 'all's podcast helped fuel that passion for advocacy work. Hearing all the stories weekly of women and men killed and assaulted, the statistics you present in your episodes, the advice on how to handle missing person reports and handle law enforcement have all been things I've used to excel in my work as an advocate. it. In my interview, I actually mentioned the seven times to leave statistic that I learned from your podcast. My job is to help lessen the trauma victims experience from being subject to violent crime. And I can't tell you how many women and men I see dealing with horrible abuse.

1:02:49I use my position as a way to advocate for their strength to leave, provide them resources to get out and let them know they're not alone in their fight. Every week, the stories you tell on the podcast remind me why my work will never end and why I do what I do. Every episode reminds me why victim advocates are such an important asset to victims and their families. Thank you both for the work you do advocating and for inspiring people like me to join advocacy fields too. I love it. Get it, Autumn. Oh my goodness. That's amazing. Honestly, one of my favorite things is when people like have a career in something like whether it's true crime or the community or obviously because of like something that they've heard.

1:03:31I literally ran into a girl at a conference just like last week and she's like, listen, I do like ad sales, but I actually think of going back to school to like really follow my dream and like make a difference. I'm like, yes, yes, do it. Yes. I was selling software before this. You can do anything. And what's crazy is like, I would never have said that. Like, I would have never thought of podcasting as an advocacy field, but we are. Let's go, girl. Amazing. Thank you, Autumn.