1992 Dillard, Alexis 12/11/1992, Lawrence, Douglas County 22 YO

[Dawn]

Alexis Dillard

Missing since December 11, 1992 from Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas

Classification: Missing

Date Of Birth: June 4, 1970
Age at Time of Disappearance: 22 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'11"; 155 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; brown eyes. He had a fractured toe.
Dentals: He was missing a molar and had no cavities.

Dillard was last seen as he left Johnny's Tavern in North in Lawrence, Kansas on December 11, 1992.
Police speculated at the time he may have drowned in the Kansas River, but his body has never been found. He had been seen at several bars that night, and left the last bar on foot, where police believe he tried to swim across the river. Alexis belonged to the Fraternity Phi Gamma Delta. The police found a footprint near the riverbank which was similar to the ones Alexis had been wearing, but it appeared the footprint had turned away from the river. Extensive searches have been done, but no body has ever been found.

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Lawrence Police Department
705-830-7430

NCIC Number: M-610131286
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source:
Lawrence Police Department

Attached Image

[PorchlightUSA]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dillard_alexis.html

Alexis Dillard


Above Images: Dillard, circa 1992


Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: December 11, 1992 from North Lawrence, Kansas
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date of Birth: June 4, 1970
Age: 22 years old
Height and Weight: 5'11, 155 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, brown eyes. Dillard had a fractured toe at the time of his disappearance. He has no tooth cavities, but one of his molars is missing.


Details of Disappearance

Dillard was last seen leaving Johnny's Tavern in the 400 block of north 2nd Street in North Lawrence, Kansas at 12:40 a.m. on December 11, 1992. He was senior at the University of Kansas at the time, and had spent the evening drinking with some brothers from his fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta. He has never been heard from again.
There is speculation that Dillard drowned on the night of his disappearance. He told his friends he had swum across the Kansas River before, and some believe he tried to do so again after leaving the bar. There is no evidence to support this or any other theory, however. Authorities did find a footprint resembling Dillard's shoes on the riverbank, but the footprint was turned away from the river. Some witnesses stated they saw Dillard hitchhiking on the night of his disappearance, but the sightings have not been confirmed.

Dillard's family describes him as an intelligent, responsible and sensible person who would not leave without telling anyone where he was going. He has served in the ROTC. His case remains unsolved.



Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Lawrence Police Department
705-830-7430



Source Information
The Doe Network
The Lawrence Journal-World



Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004.

Last updated July 14, 2006; casefile added.

Charley Project Home

[PorchlightUSA]

http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/in...opic=9524&st=0&

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RIVER AREA SEARCHED FOR MISSING STUDENT
Saturday, December 12, 1992

Lawrence police and members of a Kansas University fraternity today were searching the banks of the Kansas River for a KU student who has been missing since late Thursday or early Friday.

Alexis Dillard, a 22-year-old Wichita senior, may have tried to swim the river after drinking at a North Lawrence bar Thursday night or early Friday, his roommate and police said.

"We're concentrating right now on the Kansas River," police Sgt. Mack Pryor said. "Right now all we have is a missing person . . . we don't know whether he went into the river or if he's missing voluntarily."

Dillard was reported missing about 5:30 p.m. Friday by his roommate, Alan Lowden.

Another roommate, Doug Draper, said today that Dillard was last seen with a group of about 15 people drinking at Johnny's Tavern, 401 N. Second, Thursday night or Friday morning.

Draper, who was with the group, said Dillard apparently left the bar on foot and has not been seen since.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/1992/dec/12/r...ched_for/?print

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DISAPPEARANCE OF KU STUDENT BAFFLES FRIENDS
Ric Anderson, J-W Staff Writer

Sunday, December 13, 1992

Friends of a Kansas University fraternity member who vanished early Friday after leaving a North Lawrence tavern hiked along the banks of the Kansas River and hit the streets of Lawrence and Eudora on Saturday in hopes of tracking down the missing student.

But despite the efforts of volunteers, Lawrence police and state officials, the disappearance of Alexis Dillard remained unexplained Saturday night.

Lawrence police reported that Dillard, a 22-year-old fifth-year senior from Wichita, was last seen about 12:40 a.m. Friday leaving Johnny's Tavern, 401 N. Second.

Dillard was reported missing about 5:30 p.m. Friday. After learning that Dillard had told friends he had swum across the river in the past, authorities searched the river Friday night and periodically on Saturday.

ALAN LOWDEN, a roommate of Dillard's, said a group of 20 to 35 volunteers banded together Saturday to search from the river bank and distribute 1,500 fliers in Lawrence and Eudora seeking information about the disappearance.

The group also called newspapers and radio and television stations in Topeka, Lawrence and the Kansas City area and asked them to cover the story.

"We haven't seen anything, and we haven't gotten any new leads or anything," Lowden said Saturday evening.

Witnesses and Lawrence police said Dillard had been drinking with several of his pledge brothers from Phi Gamma Delta fraternity before he left the bar.

Police Sgt. Mack Pryor said one to five officers searched the river on and off all day Saturday. For about an hour Saturday morning, he said, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks officials searched from a boat.

He said state officials patrolled from the Bowersock Dam to a point about two miles downstream.

ABOUT 6 P.M. Saturday, Pryor said authorities were calling off their search for the day. He said officials would regroup this morning to map out further search plans.

Authorities found no conclusive clues about Dillard's whereabouts.

"The information we have is sketchy is best, and that's all we have," Pryor said.

However, Pryor said, footprints that may have been made by Dillard were found on the north riverbank. He said the sole pattern is that of a size 10 Rockport shoe, the type and size of shoes Dillard reportedly was wearing when he disappeared.

Pryor said the prints led to the water. But there was some indication that whoever made the footprints also walked away from the water, he said.

ANDY MARTIN, a KU student who helped search for Dillard on the river bank, said Dillard had swum across the river twice before. But Martin, Lowden and other students who knew Dillard didn't think he would have tried to swim the river at this time of year.

"He was extremely intelligent and he had a lot of common sense," Martin said. "He'd been in ROTC, and he knows about hypothermia; he knows about the current."

Several of Dillard's friends said the disappearance was especially baffling because Dillard had never gone away without telling anybody and didn't appear to be going through any personal problems.

Sue Morrell, program manager for the Kansas Union, said she had known Dillard for almost four years because he worked for Student Union Activities. Morrell took part in the search Saturday by helping print fliers and answering calls at Dillard's apartment.

"HE'S ONE of the most responsible students I've ever worked with," she said, adding that he'd never missed work without notice.

Like Morrell and Lowden, Martin said he believed Dillard may be found alive.

"If we really believed he was here (in the river), we wouldn't have gone out all over town and put up fliers," he said. "We going to do this until . . . he comes home, basically."
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/1992/dec/13/d..._student/?print

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NO NEW LEADS ON KU STUDENT
Wednesday, January 13, 1993

Lawrence police said today that they have no new information on Alexis Dillard, a Kansas University student who has been missing since mid-December.

Dillard was last seen Dec. 11 leaving Johnny's Tavern, 401 N. Second. Authorities, who believe he may have tried to swim the Kansas River, have conducted extensive searches of the banks of the Kansas River.

Lawrence Police Sgt. Mark Warren said police have turned up no new information in the case in the last two weeks.

Brian Goeser, a member of Dillard's fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, and Alan Lowden, a former roommate of Dillard's, both said today that Dillard's friends also have run out of leads to follow.

"No one has anything," Lowden said. "It's really frustrating. The police don't have anything either. It just doesn't look very hopeful right now."

A check with KU's registrar showed that Dillard has not enrolled for the spring semester.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/1993/jan/13/n...leads_on/?print

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S FATE REMAINS UNKNOWN
By Michael Dekker

Saturday, December 10, 1994

Police have no new information on Alexis Dillard, who disappeared two years ago Sunday.

Lawrence police Lt. Mike Hall thinks about it often, while others may be tired of public speculation.

But the whereabouts of Alexis Dillard remains a mystery, two years after he was last seen at a North Lawrence bar on Friday, Dec. 11, 1992.

Dillard, a KU senior at the time, was drinking with some of his fraternity pledge brothers at Johnny's Tavern in North Lawrence.

He had told friends in the past that he had swum across the Kansas River. Some speculated he may have been claimed by the river after leaving the bar and trying to do it again.

Others aren't sure. Evidence of his fate has never surfaced near the river or elsewhere.

Meanwhile, a police file on his disappearance remains indefinitely open. It is the only known open file on a missing person in the Lawrence Police Department.

"I certainly think about it," said Hall, who initially worked on the investigation of Dillard's disappearance.

"I think about it because of the personal contact I've had with his mother and his family," Hall said. "It's difficult to put something like that out of your mind."

The family may be tired of public speculation, said a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, of which Dillard was a member.

Dillard's mother, Felicie Dillard, Wichita, did not return telephone calls Thursday or Friday.

"Asking people to guess what happened, it doesn't amount to anything," said Sue Morrell, office manager at KU's Student Union Activities, where Dillard had worked part-time. She also said the family no longer wished to speculate publicly about Alexis' disappearance.

SUA, through the KU Endowment Association, last year established an award in Dillard's name to honor students that embodied his leadership characteristics.

A plaque with the winners' names was placed in the Kansas Union on Friday.

Police, meanwhile, have sent Dillard's dental and medical records, along with other information, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The data is entered on a national computer system.

"So, if a body would be found (anywhere in the United States), they would instantly have access to medical and dental records to Alexis," Hall said.

Lt. David Cobb, head of the detective division now, said police aren't convinced of any theory in the disappearance.

"You've got to be completely open-minded," he said. "There's all kinds of theories that people will speculate on, and there's no way to know if there's any truth to them."

Cobb says police "hear different things" on the case from people once in a while, but nothing substantial enough to reactivate the investigation.

News stories running on the anniversary of the disappearance could help trigger memories of someone who might remember something, Cobb said.

Anyone with information can call the local Crime Stoppers hot line, 843-TIPS (843-8477).
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/1994/dec/10/s..._unknown/?print

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Ten-year anniversary nears for case of KU student's disappearance
By Mike Belt

Wednesday, November 20, 2002

They all vanished virtually without a trace.

Earlier this month it was four college-age people in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Ten years ago next month, it was a Kansas University student in Lawrence.

On Dec. 11, 1992, KU senior Alexis Dillard left Johnny's Tavern in North Lawrence and was never seen again. Though his body was never found, police speculated he drowned in the Kansas River.

"It was really unfortunate, especially for his family," said Lt. Kevin Harmon, one of the detectives who worked on the case.

Friends of Dillard, a 22-year-old from Wichita, told police he swam across the river on at least one earlier occasion, Harmon recalled.

Moreover, police found a footprint on the riverbank that appeared to match the type of shoes Dillard was wearing the night he disappeared, Harmon said. But police at the time also said there was some indication the person who left the footprint may have turned away from the river.

Police have no reason to think the incidents in Minnesota and Wisconsin have any connection to Dillard's disappearance, Harmon said.

On Nov. 9, Joshua Guimond, 20, was seen leaving a party in Collegeville, Minn. Friends of Erika Marie Dalquist, 21, haven't seen her since Oct. 30 when she left a bar in Brainerd, Minn. On Oct. 31, Christopher Jenkins, 21, left a Halloween party at a bar in Minneapolis and has not been heard from again. And on Nov. 6 Michael Noll, 22, disappeared after leaving a bar in Eau Claire, Wis.

Last week, hundreds of volunteers teamed with police in conducting air and ground searches for the missing college-aged people in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Back in December 1992, similar searches were conducted for Dillard. Friends put up signs and photos of Dillard around Lawrence, some of them saying they didn't believe he would try to swim the river.

"He was extremely intelligent, and he had a lot of common sense," Andy Martin, a friend of Dillard's, told the Journal-World at the time. "He'd been in ROTC and he knows about hypothermia; he knows about the current."

Kansas Wildlife and Parks officers searched the river by boat.

"As I recall, the search was hampered because the river was high and fast-moving, Harmon said", noting that the Kaw several months later flooded parts of Northeast Kansas. "It was dangerous for us to be out there on it."

In 1993 KU's Student Union Activities office, through the Kansas University Endowment Association, established an award in Dillard's name. The award is given annually to students who show special leadership characteristics.

No tips and no new information in the Dillard case have been given to police for several years, Harmon said. After Dillard's disappearance, police tracked his credit card account and found no activity being conducted.

"It just boiled down to the only thing we could come up with was that he went into the river," Harmon said. "Anytime you have the loss of a young person it's a real tragedy for the family, especially not knowing what happened. It's a case we'd sure like to have some conclusion to."
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2002/nov/20/t...ry_nears/?print

[PorchlightUSA]

Footprints leading to the banks of the dark, muddy Kansas River may have been where the trail ended for Alexis Dillard on Dec. 10, 1992. One year after Dillard, a fifth-year University of Kansas senior from Wichita, vanished from an end-of-the-semester celebration with fraternity brothers at a Lawrence bar, investigators still don't know what happened. "This has been a very frustrating case for our law enforcement agency," said Lawrence police Lt. Kevin

Published on December 13, 1993, Page 1C, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)


FRIENDS, FAMILY HOPE TO HONOR


Because he so loved the University of Kansas, Alexis Dillard's friends and family hope to honor his memory by establishing an award in his name at KU. If sufficient funds can be generated, the award would be granted in the spring semester to a graduating senior involved in many campus or community activities and dedicated to helping other students achieve their leadership goals. The friends and family hope to raise $10,000.

Published on December 13, 1993, Page 3C, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

[PorchlightUSA]

LAWRENCE SEACHERS FRUSTRATED POLICE SAY 'SIGHTINGS' DON'T MATCH KU STUDENT


Lawrence police continued their search for Alexis Dillard on Friday convinced that two sightings reported earlier this week were not of the University of Kansas student who has been missing for more than a week. Friends of the family said Dillard's parents, who have avoided media contact since their son was reported missing, returned to Wichita on Friday. "We'll follow leads as they come in," said Sgt. MarkWarren of the Lawrence Police

Published on December 19, 1992, Page 1D, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

HITCHHIKER MAY BE MISSING KU STUDENT


LAWRENCE A motorist picked up a hitchhiker who matched the description of a missing University of Kansas student from Wichita, police said Wednesday. Lawrence police Sgt. Mark Warren said a man gave a ride to a college-age hitchhiker who may have been 22-year-old Alexis Dillard, who disappeared after a night out with friends. Police would not say when the motorist picked up the hitchhiker or where he was dropped off, except that the location was somewhere west of Topeka

Published on December 17, 1992, Page 1D, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

NATIONAL GUARD TO JOIN HUNT FOR MISSING MAN


LAWRENCE The Kansas National Guard said Tuesday it had been asked to join the search for a missing University of Kansas student who was last seen almost five days ago. Law officers and volunteers have been searching for Alexis Dillard, 22, of Wichita, who disappeared early Friday after a night of drinking with friends. Officials said he might have tried to swim across a section of the Kansas River. The treacherous currents the past few days have made it too dangerous to drag the river
Published on December 16, 1992, Page 3D, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

[PorchlightUSA]

SEARCH FOR STUDENT BLOCKED


LAWRENCE Heavy rain Monday prevented authorities from dragging a section of the Kansas River near where a University of Kansas student was last seen three days ago. Attention focused on a portion of the river near the tavern where Alexis Dillard, 22, of Wichita, was last seen early Friday. Dillard had told friends he had swum across the river in the past. Other evidence possibly linking him to the area included footprints found near the bank of the river that might have come from

Published on December 15, 1992, Page 3D, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)


Article 7 of 7; 495 words


SEARCH FAILS TO TURN UP KU STUDENT


Law enforcement officials and friends of Alexis Dillard, a University of Kansas student, are continuing their search for the 22-year-old Wichitan, missing since early Friday morning. Dillard, a fifth-year senior majoring in business administration, was last seen by his friends about 12:30 Friday morning outside Johnny's Tavern in Lawrence. "He was drinking, of course, so we don't know how intoxicated he might have been," said Lawrence Police

Published on December 14, 1992, Page 1C, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

http://nl.newsbank.com/nlsearch.asp

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Cold case: Alexis Dillard, North Lawrence, KS
On Dec. 11, 1992, Kansas University senior Alexis Dillard left Johnny's Tavern at 401 north 2nd Street in North Lawrence after drinking with some Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brothers. He left the bar around 12:40 a.m. and and was never seen again.

"Though his body was never found, police speculate he drowned in the Kansas River (Lawrence Journal World & News)."

Police theorized that Dillard, 22, may have tried to swim across the river, something he had done at least once before. A footprint was found on the riverbank that possibly matched the shoes Dillard was wearing the night he disappeared.

But friends say he had a lot of common sense and never would have tried to swim across in December. ' "He was extremely intelligent, and he had a lot of common sense," Andy Martin, a friend of Dillard's, told the Journal-World at the time. "He'd been in ROTC and he knows about hypothermia; he knows about the current." ' Even police admit that there was some indication that the footprint turned away from the river.

It has been 17 years and still no trace of Alexis Dillard has been found. According to Lt. Kevin Harmon, one of the detectives who worked on the case, "no tips and no new information in the Dillard case have been given to police for several years."

Police do not believe there is a connection to the other missing person's cases.

His case remains unsolved.

----------------------

About Alexis Dillard
Dillard's family describes him as an intelligent, responsible and sensible person who would not leave without telling anyone where he was going. He did not appear to be going through any personal problems at the time.

Search and Investigation
Kansas Wildlife and Parks officers used boats to search the river, but the search was hampered due to the high, swift current. Dilliard's credit card had not been used after he disappeared.

According to Porchlight International, "some witnesses stated they saw Dillard hitchhiking on the night of his disappearance, but the sightings have not been confirmed."

Scholarship
In 1993 KU's Student Union Activities office, through the Kansas University Endowment Association, established an award in Dillard's name. The award is given annually to students who show special leadership characteristics.

Facts of Interest:
Name/age: Alexis Dillard, 22
School: Kansas University, Lawrence, KS, senior
Hometown: Witchita, KS
Last Seen: December 11, 1992 from North Lawrence, Kansas
Date of Birth: June 4, 1970
Physical Description: 5'11, 155 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes
Distinguishing Characteristics: Dillard had a fractured toe at the time of his disappearance. He has no tooth cavities, but one of his molars is missing.

Sources
Lawrence Journal World & News, 11/20/02
Porchlight International
http://footprintsattheriversedge.blogspot..../cold-case.html

Attached Image

[PorchlightUSA]

Years later, families of missing wait for answers

Photo by Alex Parker. Photo illustration. Enlarge photo.

There are several active missing persons in the Lawrence area. From left, Randy Leach, who disappeared after leaving a party in Linwood in 1988; Alexis Dillard, last seen leaving Johnny's Tavern in 1992; and Lawrence man Elvin Crist, who vanished in December 1996.

By Shaun Hittle — Lawrence Journal-World

June 2, 2012

Advertisement
People disappear every day.

They’re victims of foul play. They go to a remote location and commit suicide. They have psychotic episodes and wander off, confused and disoriented. They leave their families, escaping from some undesirable circumstance, searching for a new life.

Gone.

Alerts go out, and missing-persons posters get printed. And those people left behind?

They wait. For good news, bad news, any news.

For the friends and family of former Kansas University student Yelekal “Kal” Alemu, 23, of Lawrence, the waiting stretched over three weeks, ending with news Friday that Alemu’s body was discovered in a wooded area in rural Douglas County. Police said they do not suspect foul play, though a cause of death has not been announced.

Alemu disappeared May 12, and his abandoned Toyota Yaris was discovered later that day, after friends and family became concerned when Alemu didn’t show up for a family gathering.

Area missing persons cases
Yelekal “Kal” Alemu case

• Friends and family reported Alemu, 23, missing May 12. He was last seen by a roommate early in the morning.

• Police located Alemu’s car that night, abandoned in southeast Douglas County.

• No one reportedly heard from Alemu since May 12.

• Early on Friday, a Lawrence police officer found Alemu’s body in a wooded area south of the Wakarusa River and near Douglas County Road 1057.

Other local missing-persons cases

• Randy Leach: Leach, then 17, disappeared April 16, 1988, when he left his parents’ Linwood home to attend a graduation party. Three men were arrested in 1993 for the crime but quickly released. The case has been the subject of numerous rumors over the years, but authorities have not had any concrete breaks in the case.

• Alexis Dillard: A 22-year-old KU student, Dillard was last seen at Johnny’s Tavern in North Lawrence on Dec. 11, 1992. Speculation is that Dillard drowned while trying to swim across the Kansas River, though his body has not been found.
• Jack Shultz: According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the 37-year-old De Soto man was last seen Nov. 28, 1994, in De Soto. Police said they suspect foul play, though nothing in the years since his disappearance have led to any arrests in the case.

For an interactive map of all Kansas missing-persons cases, visit LJWorld.com.
For the Alemu family, the bad news came. For others, the waiting continues.

16 years, no answers

Overbrook man Everett Crist, 91, remembers it was a Tuesday.

He and his son, Elvin E. Crist, then 40, finished work at the family landscaping business in Lawrence on Dec. 11, 1996.

“He told me he’d see me in the morning,” Everett said. “I haven’t seen him since.”

It’s been nearly 16 years since Elvin vanished. He didn’t have a criminal record, didn’t abuse drugs or alcohol, and didn’t have any reason to kill himself, said his younger brother, Arlin Crist.

“Just a regular guy,” Arlin said.

Elvin is one of 37 active missing-persons cases in Kansas, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, operated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Since Elvin’s disappearance, the family has speculated and theorized. Arlin mentions minor details in the case — much discussed since Elvin disappeared — that never led to answers about his brother.

“I never thought you could make someone vanish,” Arlin said.

A store receipt found in his truck later confirmed that after work Elvin went to a J.C. Penney and exchanged a pair of jeans.

No one has reported seeing him since. Weeks later, police discovered Elvin’s truck had been left at a parking lot at KU and eventually towed away.

When the family got the truck back, police had taken inside panels out for evidence testing, Arlin said. Both Arlin and Everett provided DNA samples.

One of the few clues in the case was some of Elvin’s personal checks, which someone tried to cash after his disappearance. The checks bounced, and investigators were unable to find the person who tried to cash them, Arlin said.

The Crist family hired Prairie Village private investigator Gretchen Gerig, who traveled as far as California checking on various leads.

Gerig said she occasionally follows up on the case, even after all these years. She cautiously mentions “persons of interest” but declined to provide more detail, fearing it could hamper the police investigation.

Investigating the missing

There aren’t many possible outcomes for people who disappear, said Thomas Lauth, an investigator with Lauth Missing Persons, who for the past 15 years has been hired by families to find missing loved ones.

There’s murder or suicide. Then there are people who wander off, seemingly victims of some form of medical or psychiatric condition, such as the disappearance of Larry Schnackenberg, 58, of Lenexa, in July 2010.

Schnackenberg was reported missing by his family but was found three weeks later by patrol officers in a Johnson County park. Schnackenberg was dehydrated, shirtless and covered in insect bites when found.

The disappearance hasn’t been explained publicly.

“When I found him, I talked about how happy his family was going to be,” said park officer Rick Reynolds, who discovered Schnackenberg, in a 2010 Shawnee Dispatch article. “What he was doing and what had transpired for the 20 days he was out here, I don’t know.”

Then there’s what Lauth terms “malicious missing-persons” cases, where someone vanishes without notifying friends or family. Lauth cites the disappearance of 19-year-old Aisha Khan, a Johnson County Community College student who disappeared from the KU Edwards campus in December 2011. Khan made a frantic phone call to her sister before her disappearance, indicating she was concerned about an unidentified man who was harassing her. Family members feared the worst.

Khan’s husband of five months went on “Good Morning America” and made a public plea to the kidnappers he believed abducted his wife.

“My message to the kidnapper is, let her go,” Waseem Khan said on the show. “You have the power to let her go, and I will completely forgive you.”

After weeks of national attention, several searches, and the involvement of multiple law enforcement agencies, Khan resurfaced, unharmed. Publicly, little information has been released explaining Khan’s disappearance.

Disappearances like Khan’s and Schnackenberg’s show there’s no uniformity in how missing-persons cases will end, Lauth said.

“There are so many variables that play into missing-persons cases,” he said. “That’s what makes them so fascinating.”

‘We may never know’

The disappearance of Elvin Crist remains an open case, said Lawrence Police Sgt. Trent McKinley, and he encouraged anyone with information to contact police.

“Missing-persons cases are never closed until that person is located,” McKinley said.

Gerig, the private investigator, said she still thinks “something will pop” in the case and provide closure for the Crists.

Arlin and his family, however, are less optimistic about ever getting answers to Elvin’s disappearance.

About a decade after Elvin vanished, the family had him officially declared dead.

“You always remain hopeful something will come up. But as the years go by, it’s less likely,” Arlin said. “We may never know.”

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/jun/02/y...g-wait-answers/