Search at Bonner Springs site in Randy Leach cold case finds no evidence

BONNER SPRINGS - Investigators and volunteers searched a wooded area in Bonner Springs on Thursday in connection with the disappearance of Randy Leach, the Linwood teenager who has been missing since 1988, KSHB 41 reported.

Agents with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Leavenworth County Sheriff's Office, out-of-state searchers and volunteers gathered near the 12000 block of Loring Road on Thursday morning, according to KSHB 41. Officials were at the site for a little over two hours, the station reported.

KBI spokesperson Melissa Underwood told KSHB 41 that searchers "used cadaver K9s and ground penetrating radar to search" and that "no evidence was found today." She said a private group, Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, joined the effort.

"The KBI and the LVCOSO will continue to follow up on any new and credible leads on the case," Underwood told the station, referring to the sheriff's office.

According to KSHB 41, the site was identified through a lead pursued by Blake McMahan, a Kansas City-area police officer and family friend who has been investigating the case on his own time.

A 38-year-old case

According to the KBI, Harold and Alberta Leach of Linwood reported their son missing to the Leavenworth County Sheriff's Department on April 16, 1988. He was last seen in the early morning hours that day at a high school pre-graduation party given by a classmate in rural Leavenworth County.

Leach had driven to the party in his mother's gray 1985 Dodge 600 four-door sedan. The KBI says no one was found who saw him or the car leave the party, and neither has been located.

A Governor's reward of up to $5,000 is available for tips that lead to resolving the case, according to the KBI. Anyone with information can call the Leavenworth County Sheriff's Office or the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME.