ADAM HERRMAN - 11 yo (1999) - Towanda (NE of Wichita) KS

The investigation into what happened to an
11-year-old Towanda boy not seen since 1999 continues and charges are
possible sometime this year, Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield said.

Adam Herrman's adoptive parents say he ran away from their mobile
home park in Towanda in 1999. But his absence was not reported until
his older sister contacted authorities about her concerns in December 2008.

Investigators said they could find no records or indication that Adam was still alive.

The boy's parents told authorities they did not report the boy's
disappearance because they feared they would lose custody of Adam and other children.

His disappearance became public when Butler County investigators
began digging in the mobile home park looking for human remains.
Searchers found no remains and Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy has
consistently declined to say if any evidence was found.

Satterfield has said that the parents were suspects in the boy's
disappearance. She said she expects to decide within a year whether to
file charges or submit the case to a grand jury.

"There is no statute of limitations on murder," she said. "And for
every year that passes, I think it only strengthens our case,
especially given the extent of publicity.

"There's simply no trace of him anywhere. Time's our friend in
bodiless cases. Another year's passed -- no Adam Herrman, no sight of
Adam Herrman."

Investigators turned the case over to Satterfield last spring. She
had hoped to present the case to a grand jury by last December, but
said her office has been busy with three homicide cases in which
charges have been filed.

Warner Eisenbise, who represents Adam's adoptive mother, Valerie
Herrman, said, "My only comment is all that's been said is certainly
conjecture and nothing more ... Common sense isn't sufficient to find
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

Laura Shaneyfelt, representing Adam's adoptive father, Doug Herrman, agreed.

"I think prosecutors should always be careful in bodiless cases and
not jump to conclusions," she said. "Just because someone has
disappeared does not mean they have been murdered."

The lawyers say the Herrmans continue to say they have committed no crimes in the case.

Valerie Herrman told authorities that Adam ran away in early May
1999 after she spanked him with a belt. Relatives said that Herrman
explained Adam's absence by saying he had been returned to state custody.

Adam's biological father, Irvin Groeninger, said he is frustrated
that the case continues to be unsolved. But he said he thinks
authorities are doing what they can and charges will eventually be filed.

Asked whether he thinks his son could be alive, he said, "I feel he would have been heard from by now."

Satterfield said she expects to meet this month with child abuse
experts to discuss the case. She said she has obtained a number of
statements and sheriff's investigators have gathered extensive information.

"Too much has been invested in this case, professionally and
personally, to just forget about it. I just think it is chilling when
kids can disappear without a trace."

A former Kansas couple who now live on Grand
Lake have been charged with collecting welfare on their adopted son
who has not been seen in more than 10 years.


This age progression image provided by the National Center for Missing
& Exploited Children shows a simulation of what Adam Herrman might
look like at the age of 21

They are accused of accepting $52,800 in welfare payments they were not
entitled to after their son Adam Herrman disappeared in 1999 when he was 11.
The Herrmans are "people of interest” in their son's disappearance, said
Jan Satterfield, Butler County chief prosecutor.According to the charges, Doug
Herrman, 55, and Valerie Herrman, 53, falsely claimed Adam on their
income tax returns. They continued to receive an adoption subsidy after
his disappearance and failed to report to the Kansas
Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services that the child was
no longer living in their home.The couple deny any wrongdoing, said Trevor
Riddle, Doug Herrman's attorney. Riddle declined to comment on
Adam's disappearance, saying he would address only the current charges.
"The charges address what are essentially allegations of a technical
financial offense. Consistent with the facts of this case, Douglas and
Valerie Herrman intend to enter pleas of not guilty and vigorously seek
dismissal of these charges,” according to a statement released by Riddle
and Warner Eisenbise, attorney for Valerie Herrman.
The investigation into Adam's disappearance is ongoing, Satterfield
said. Prosecutors hope to have the investigation wrapped up by the end
of the year and homicide charges possibly filed, Satterfield said.
Adam was last seen at a Towanda, Kan., mobile home park about 25 miles
northeast of Wichita.
He was reported missing by a relative in 2008. Butler County
authorities searched the mobile home park and areas near the Whitewater
River several times last year.For nearly a year the couple have lived at King's Point Mobile Home Park
on the Cowskin arm of Grand Lake. Angel statues adorn the front of the
cream-colored mobile home. There were no cars parked at the home
Thursday and neighbors said they had not seen the couple, who they said
live with their teenage son and a daughter who is in her 20s.
Neighbors said they had heard the rumors about Adam but don't consider
the couple a threat."They pretty much stick to themselves,” said Dakota Carrico of Joplin,
Mo., who regularly visits his mother at the park."I have seen them outside four or five times,” said Jim
Truitt, another neighbor.After months of unemployment and selling their possessions to make ends
meet, Doug Herrman had secured a job with a poultry company, neighbors
said.Adam, who had been their foster child, was adopted by the Herrmans when
he was a toddler, Satterfield said.Satterfield said the Herrmans received extra money from the state after a
report showed Adam had special needs. She said after the Herrmans
adopted three children, including Adam, they no longer served as foster parents.

Doug and Valerie Herrman appeared in court Friday to hear theft
charges accusing them of fraudulently receiving an adoption subsidy for
their son Adam for years after he disappeared.
But still looming over the theft charges is an ongoing
investigation into what happened to Adam. In the past, Butler County
Attorney Jan Satterfield has described the couple as suspects in their
adopted son's disappearance. There has been no
trace of him since he vanished at age 11 in 1999, when the Herrmans
lived in a Towanda mobile home park.
After the brief hearing Friday, Satterfield said she is treating
the investigation as a potential first-degree murder case with an
underlying crime of child abuse.
Standing at her side was Kevin O'Connor, recently made special prosecutor
in the 19-month-old investigation involving Adam.
"It has to be a thorough investigation, and there's no need to
rush... this little boy has been missing for a long time,'' O'Connor said.
The investigation is leaving "no stone unturned," said O'Connor,
a former deputy district attorney in Sedgwick County.
Satterfield reiterated her plan to request that a grand jury be
convened within the next couple of months so it can hear evidence and
consider issuing indictments.
During Friday's hearing, Judge John Sanders scheduled a Sept. 23
preliminary hearing for the Herrmans on the theft charges.
The charges, filed earlier this month, are related to the alleged
fraudulent receipt of $52,800 in government assistance for Adam's care.
The couple continued to submit subsidy forms saying the boy lived
in their home and continued to claim him as a dependent on income tax
returns and in court documents for six years after his disappearance,
the charges state.
The Herrmans have been able to remain free after each posted a $50,000 bond on the theft charges.
Their new, court-appointed attorneys declined to comment Friday.
In applying for court-appointed attorneys, the couple filed affidavits
saying their income and assets are limited.
Doug Herrman, 56, and Valerie Herrman, 54, said in the affidavits
that they live in a mobile home park in Grove, Okla., and that his job
pays about $1,440 a month. She said she has been unemployed for 1 1/2
years. She said she has received
food stamps in the past six months.
They listed a 21-year-old daughter and 20-year-old son as dependents.
She said their 1970 mobile home is valued at $5,000 and that they owe $15,000 on a 2008 Mitsubishi.
Although Adam disappeared in 1999, authorities didn't learn of his disappearance until late 2008.
The Herrmans adopted Adam when he was about 2. He would be 23 now.
In an interview early last year, Valerie Herrman
said that in early May 1999, Adam ran away and didn't return after she
spanked him with a belt. She said she didn't report him missing because
she feared it would cause her and
her husband to lose custody of Adam and their other children.
Relatives said that Valerie Herrman told them that Adam,
who was being home-schooled, had been returned to state custody.
His disappearance became known after his older, adoptive sister
said she tried to find him partly because she was concerned about the
way he had been treated growing up.
After she expressed her concerns about him to authorities, Butler
County sheriff's investigators began digging in the Towanda mobile home
park, searching for human remains. Using search dogs, they also probed
in woods along the Whitewater River.
No remains have been found, authorities said.

There's a new prosecutor on the case of a
missing boy in Butler County. Adam Herrman disappeared in 1999. His
adoptive parents Doug and Valerie have been named suspects, but no one
has been charged. However, they are facing accusations of financial
crimes related to his disappearance.

The couple were in court
Tuesday. They decided to waive their right to a preliminary hearing. The
judge then sent the case to trial.

Eyewitness News talked with the prosecutor about his strategy going forward.

"At
this point, we persevere with the prosecution and hope to find them
both guilty," said Darrin Devinney, Butler County Attorney.

He
says he confident that a jury will convict them at trial. The Herrmans
are accused of accepting state money for their adoptive son, Adam, for
years after he disappeared. That's the basis for the current charges,
but Devinney says he's investigating the possibility of more charges.

Devinney
replaces the former County Attorney Jan Satterfield, who left the
position to become a judge. He says the title of Butler County Attorney
may be new to him, but he's not new to this case. He's worked in this
office for eleven years.

"My personal experience is handling child victim crimes," he said. "I feel this is the type of case I am able to handle."

Though
how he will handle it may be different than his predecessor.
Satterfield said she was pursuing first degree murder charges against
the Herrmans. Devinney wouldn't get that specific.

"We want a
full investigation and to figure out what happened to Adam. It could be a
number of things at this point," he explained.

Devinney says he also disagrees with her strategy of convening a grand jury to consider charges.

"I
am, at this point, not of the belief that is the best avenue for this
case," he said. "But I would also not be foolish and rule out any
option."

http://www.kansascw.com/kscw/news/kwch-herrmans-waive-preliminary-hearing-20110222,0,6461696.story

Adoptive parents of missing boy Adam Herrman to go to trial in theft case

June 13, 2011
A subplot in the Adam Herrman mystery — the story of an 11-year-old boy who disappeared in 1999 — is about to reach a climax.
On June 21, Adam's adoptive parents, Valerie and Doug Herrman,
will go on trial in Butler County District Court in El Dorado. Each
faces a felony theft charge alleging that they collected an adoption
subsidy for Adam's care during some of
the years after he disappeared.
Even though the trial will draw news coverage, it is Adam's disappearance that has drawn the national attention.
It is his disappearance that has the new sheriff saying he is
still determined to find the boy's remains and hold someone accountable.
There has been no trace of Adam since 1999, when he vanished at
age 11 from a Towanda mobile home park where he lived with his adoptive
family. Relatives said Valerie Herrman told them that Adam, who was
being home-schooled, had
been returned to state custody.
Authorities didn't learn of his disappearance until late 2008,
only after his adoptive sister came forward, expressing concerns about
him. The discovery that he had been missing prompted investigators to
dig for his remains in the mobile
home park and to probe along the nearby Whitewater River in early 2009.
After the case became public, close relatives of Valerie Herrman accused her of abusing the boy. She denied their allegations.
She told The Eagle that Adam ran away after she spanked him and
that she and her husband didn't report him missing because they feared
losing custody of their other children.
In 2009, the prosecutor at the time, Jan Satterfield, said the
Herrmans were suspects in his disappearance. Satterfield, who has since
been elected to a judgeship, also had said the investigation was being
treated as a potential murder case.
Since then, no such charges have been filed.
In a recent interview about the case, Butler County Sheriff Kelly
Herzet said, "It's still near and dear to my heart, and I want to
continue to keep working the case, and I want to get it resolved."
Herzet had been the lead investigator in the case before recently being appointed sheriff, replacing Craig Murphy.
"I want to get people convicted, and I want to find Adam's
remains," Herzet said. "I think we owe that to the family ... and to
Adam."
Darrin Devinney, who was appointed county attorney earlier this
year to succeed Satterfield, said the disappearance remains an "active
missing person's investigation."
Although the disappearance has loomed over the theft case, the
trial on the theft charges will not deal with Adam's fate, said
Devinney, who will prosecute the theft charges.
The trial, scheduled for three days beginning June 21, will focus
on the question of whether the Herrmans engaged in a scheme to continue
to receive adoption subsidies for Adam.
Amended charges filed by Satterfield allege that the Herrmans accepted $15,488 from November 2003 until July 8, 2005.
The original felony theft charges accused the couple of collecting $52,800 between May 1, 1999, and July 8, 2005.
The Herrmans, now in their mid-50s, have moved to Oklahoma, according to court documents.
They have pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys could not be reached for comment.
Asked why the charges were amended — involving a shorter time
frame and less money — Devinney said the decision was based on the
strongest evidence available.
The Herrmans waived their right to a preliminary hearing, so there has been no public preview of the state's evidence.
Devinney said he has spoken about the disappearance investigation
with Murphy, the former sheriff, and Herzet and has spent weeks
reviewing the investigation.
A thick set of the case files remains on his desk, he said.
"The case looms on my credenza every day that I walk into my office."
Although Satterfield had said that she was considering an effort
to take the disappearance evidence to a grand jury, Devinney said he
would not be ready to present the case to a grand jury because of
unanswered questions in the investigation.
He wouldn't elaborate.
"If it was ready to be filed, we'd file it," he said.
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/13/1889863/adoptive-parents-of-missing-boy.html#ixzz1PCzPP5nB

A Butler County judge says in a court filing that he intends to send the parents of a boy missing since 1999 to prison.
Valerie and Doug Herrman
will be sentenced Aug. 1 for taking adoption subsidies long after
11-year-old Adam Herrman disappeared from their Towanda home in 1999. He
wasn't reported missing until 2008.
The Herrmans said he ran away. They pleaded guilty last month to theft under an agreement that recommends a year of probation.
The Wichita Eagle reported
Wednesday that Butler County Judge David Ricke notified Herrmans'
attorney in a court document earlier this month that he planned to give
the couple prison time. He said their crime was not just theft but also
involved abandonment and exploitation of a child.
Information from: The Wichita Eagle, http://www.kansas.com'>http://www.kansas.com'>http://www.kansas.com'>http://www.kansas.com

August 1st, 2011
EL DORADO — Valerie and Doug Herrman are on their way to prison for felony theft.

The couple pleaded guilty in June to taking money from the state
to care for Adam Herrman, their adoptive child, for several years after
he disappeared at age 11.

Doug Herrman was sentenced to nine months in prison and Valerie Herrman was sentenced to seven months in prison.

The couple was taken into custody this afternoon at the end of a sentencing hearing in Butler County Court.

In a court document filed about a month ago, Judge David Ricke
cited abandonment and exploitation of the Herrmans' adopted son, Adam,
as key factors in his intent to impose prison sentences in a theft case
against the couple.

Adam disappeared from his Towanda home at age 11 in 1999. The
Herrmans have said that he ran away after a spanking and that they never
reported him missing.

He remains missing, investigators say.

Valerie Herrman's attorney, Chris Pate, said in a motion filed
Thursday that he would appeal if his client is sentenced to prison and
will request that she be released during the appeal.

He said it likely will take more than seven months for the Court
of Appeals to hear the case, meaning she will have served her prison
term before the appeals court issues its ruling.

Ricke had filed a document in court notifying the Herrmans'
lawyers that he intended to give each a prison sentence instead of "a
presumptive sentence of probation."

The Herrmans, now in their mid-50s, pleaded guilty in June to
felony theft by continuing to take adoption subsidy payments for Adam's
care. The Herrmans pleaded guilty to essentially stealing $15,488 in
adoption subsidies over about a two-
year period.

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/08/01/1957039/herrmans-face-prison-time-at-sentencing.html#ixzz1TpIPWO5u

Just want the little guy's picture here.  He had a sad, probably short, life and apparently this will be another case where the guilty will have to wait for the Big Judgment (but that's the one that really counts).

Doug and Valerie Herrman are accused of abusing their adopted son, Adam, and of not reporting he was missing after his 1999 disappearance at age 11 or 12. The couple continued to collected adoption subsidy payments until what would have been Adam’s 18th birthday, but told family that Adam had returned to state custody. The case came to light when someone reported that the boy hadn’t been seen in nine years. When questioned, the couple told police that Adam ran away. Relatives alleged that the Herrmans had abused Adam by punching him, pulling his hair, spanking him with a wooden spoon or belt, depriving him of food, and making him sleep in a bathtub without a blanket or pillow. Suspicions of abuse were reported by Adam’s school in 1998, after which the Herrmans withdrew Adam to homeschool him. The case is being investigated as a death.

http://hsinvisiblechildren.org/2013/05/11/adam-herrman/