The Disappearance of Randy Leach | 1980's Satanic Panic | Do Small Town Police Mishandle Cases?

This week, Yergy and Drewby tackle another listener suggestion (thank you, Amir!) - the unsolved disappearance of Randy Leach. We discuss the hard facts, and ponder whether or not the combination of the 1980's "Satanic Panic" phenomena and shoddy police work rendered his case unsolvable. Randy was a senior at Linwood High School (Linwood, Kansas) in 1988. He left his home at 6:30 p.m. to attend a friend's pre-graduation party which took place on a farm owned by Annie Erwin, the mother of one of the graduating teens, on April 15, 1988.

Randy did not arrive at the party until between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. He was driving his mother's gray four-door 1985 Dodge sedan with the Kansas plate number LVJ8721, and carried about $50 or $60 in cash.

There were between 70 and 150 guests at the party and there was considerable drug and alcohol use by the mostly teenaged guests. Some witnesses reported Randy was acting drunk, however there were conflicting accounts on this, and it's unclear whether he actually took any substances.

He may have left the party between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m., but some witnesses reported seeing him there as late as 2:15, and no one actually saw him leave. Randy never returned home and has not been heard from again.

Randy was reported missing by his parents on April 16, 1988.

Randy's parents then contacted police. Investigators went to the site of the party Randy had attended, but it had already been cleaned up and there was no evidence to be found. The farm burned down soon thereafter due to mysterious circumstances.

Authorities do not believe Randy left of his own accord, since he left behind the 1966 Ford Mustang he was restoring and his friends and family say he had no plans to leave home. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do after graduating high school, but he was thinking of enrolling in trade school.

The house where the party was held was destroyed by a fire shortly after Randy's disappearance. Rumors circulated that Randy was abducted and killed by a Satanic cult that was supposedly active in the Linwood area, however this was never proven. Many people were harassed by local police, as well as wrongfully arrested due to the narrative that Randy's disappearance was due to a cult sacrifice.

Several people have come forward about Randy's disappearance and those people have since disappeared or died in mysterious ways.

His case remains unsolved to this day.

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