RACHAEL RUNYAN - 3 yo (1982) - Mountain Green/ Ogden UT

Does arrest offer new lead in 30-year-old Rachael Runyan case?

Published: Monday, Feb. 27 2012 1:36 p.m. MST

Does arrest offer new lead in 30-year-old Rachael Runyan case?


Published: Monday, Feb. 27 2012 1:36 p.m. MST


In this August 26, 2007, file
photo, Maureen Benson (Davis County Sheriff Lieutenant) and Kelly Kent
(Salt Lake City Sgt.) listen during a news conference regarding Rachael
Runyan, who was abducted and murdered in 1982. To the right is a drawing
of Racheal Runyan.

Michael Brandy, Deseret News archives

SUNSET — Could the arrest of a man in Pennsylvania who was the
subject of an Amber Alert provide any clues into a nearly 30-year-old
cold case in Utah?

This August marks the 30th anniversary of when
3-year-old Rachael Runyan was abducted from a playground in Sunset just
50 feet from her home. Her body was found in a stream near Mountain
Green 21 days later.

No one has ever been arrested in connection to the
killing. Rachael's mother, Elaine Runyan-Simmons, has been an active
advocate of finding missing children since her daughter's kidnapping.

Utah's Amber Alert system was still called the "Rachael Alert" — in honor of Runyan-Simmons' daughter — when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped in 2002. The name was later changed to the Amber Alert to conform with alerts in other states.

In 2007, the case was officially reopened by Sunset
police and a reward of more than $50,000 was offered for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

During an announcement about the reopening of the
case, Jeff Runyan, Rachael's father, said a man living at the time in
New Mexico was the prime suspect in the case. Runyan said he was asked
by law enforcement not to reveal the man's name so the ongoing
investigation would not be compromised.

"He's at the top of our list," Sunset Police Chief
Ken Eborn told the Deseret News in 2007. "Somebody that we've watched
over the years and tried to get more information on, but obviously not
enough to make an arrest."

Now, police and Elaine Runyan-Simmons are looking
into whether that same man was arrested in Pennsylvania last year after
allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and taking his 5-month-old son, a
move that sparked an Amber Alert. The man was arrested and the child
safely recovered.

The man has the same name as the person Sunset police
were looking at, is the same age and has many of the same descriptive
features, Runyan-Simmons said. A records check by the Deseret News
showed the man had ties to both New Mexico and Utah.

Runyan-Simmons said Monday she was waiting to hear
from local investigators whether it was indeed the same man who was a
suspect in her case. If it is, she said it would be worth having Utah
authorities investigate.

"I don't see why not. As the leads come in, we have
to review them," she said. "You can't just let them go by the wayside.
You have to check on them anyway."

Sunset police said Monday they were just hearing
about the case and starting to look into it and did not have any
additional details to share.

Runyan-Simmons said she has gone through 1,000 other
possible leads in the past. She said she has to continue living her
life, but understands that her daughter's case is one of, if not the
biggest unsolved murder mysteries in Utah.

"You just gotta have hope," she said.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865550988/Does-arrest-offer-new-lead-in-30-year-old-Rachael-Runyan-case.html

Amber Alert arrest may mean new leads in a 30 year-old cold case


Updated: 2/27 10:33 pm | Published: 2/27 8:29 pm

Police in Pennsylvania have made an arrest that Utah police hope will lead to new clues in a 30 year-old murder case here.

3 year old Rachel Runyan was taken from a playground in Sunset, just 50
feet from her home in August of 1982. Her body was found in Mountain
Green a few weeks later.

There have been countless leads over the
years, but one name continually comes up. Police will not release that
name, but they believe that man was arrested in Pennsylvania for a
domestic dispute that ended in an Amber Alert. Rachel’s mom, Elaine
Runyan-Simmons says the new case is worth a second look.

"It’s just over the years so many things keep surfacing about this guy,” she said.

Police say the man was one of over a hundred suspects, but they take every lead seriously.

"We’re going to get a copy of that police report, we're going to go over it,
we're going to talk to the folks on the phone that handled the
incident," said sunset police Chief Ken Eborn.

Police hope the calls could open a new door to Rachel’s case. So does Elaine.

"It would just be incredible to have closure to a case like this, it's one of the biggest unsolved cases in Utah," she said.

There is also some irony to this new lead. Police arrested the man after an
Amber Alert was called out. Before that became the nationwide name for
abducted children, Utah had the "Rachel alert" named after Rachel Runyan.

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Amber-Alert-arrest-may-mean-new-leads-in-a-30/97WkrXaqtEeP4UC1l0NTPg.cspx

https://twitter.com/notexplained/status/541004636220821504