My daughter who was 10 at the time was frightened. We live(d) in the country. I assured her those things did not happen in our neighborhood, and if it did happen, her Dad and I would find her.
It seemed to reassure her and we didn't discuss again, but it remained heavy in my heart. A long time ago, but reading your column triggered the same anxious feeling for my Grands.
Thank you Dave Busiek for writing, re-issuing, and reminding us.
It's hard to put a "like" on this, Dave. So I'll just say thanks for remembering him. And Eugene Martin. And I wish the case of slain Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook-Morissey and Elizabeth Collins would be solved.
Yes-I remember too. And how Norene Gosch was bashed for doing all she could think of to find her son. She raised awareness of child abduction and what we now call human trafficking.
Our daughter was only 4-1/2 months old when Johnny was kidnapped. We lived in rural Kelley, Iowa. We lived in so much fear of child abduction that we had her footprints taken. Such a tragic event. Excellent story, Dave.
I just watched the documentary on the cousins. I also read about the other boy that disappeared from the Southside of Des Moines that isn't mentioned like Johnny and Eugene.
We had just moved to Bellview, Nebraska (Offutt AFB) from Riverside, California in July 1983. Our son was 8 yrs old. Whew! Now we were in a nice safe midwestern town. Soon after that a young newsboy went missing. Soon after, another. And then another. Eventually, they caught the person responsible. His name was John Joubert, an airman at Offutt. Further investigation revealed that he had also killed a young boy in Portland, Maine in Aug 1982. Joubert was later convicted of all the murders and he was executed by the state of Nebraska in 1996. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Joubert ) Dave's story sounded so similar and brought back such memories of our first few months in Omaha that I couldn't help telling the story.
My daughter who was 10 at the time was frightened. We live(d) in the country. I assured her those things did not happen in our neighborhood, and if it did happen, her Dad and I would find her.
It seemed to reassure her and we didn't discuss again, but it remained heavy in my heart. A long time ago, but reading your column triggered the same anxious feeling for my Grands.
Thank you Dave Busiek for writing, re-issuing, and reminding us.
MWeaver
It's hard to put a "like" on this, Dave. So I'll just say thanks for remembering him. And Eugene Martin. And I wish the case of slain Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook-Morissey and Elizabeth Collins would be solved.
Pat, after a certain amount of time, it seems unlikely these culprits will ever be caught. It’s heartbreaking.
yep. there was considerable speculation that the cousins' slayer or slayers was known to one set of parents. I'll leave it there.
Yes-I remember too. And how Norene Gosch was bashed for doing all she could think of to find her son. She raised awareness of child abduction and what we now call human trafficking.
She did, Char. And after the Gosch case, police learned to react a lot more quickly.
Dave, this remains as compelling as when you wrote it two years ago. Thanks for printing it again. Such sadness for both families.
Our daughter was only 4-1/2 months old when Johnny was kidnapped. We lived in rural Kelley, Iowa. We lived in so much fear of child abduction that we had her footprints taken. Such a tragic event. Excellent story, Dave.
I just watched the documentary on the cousins. I also read about the other boy that disappeared from the Southside of Des Moines that isn't mentioned like Johnny and Eugene.
I feel so bad about the cousins in eastern Iowa. Hope they find the culprit or culprits some day. How anybody can hurt a kid is beyond belief.
Did you watch the documentary? It appears the killer may be dead.
I hope the killer is no longer on the loose.
We had just moved to Bellview, Nebraska (Offutt AFB) from Riverside, California in July 1983. Our son was 8 yrs old. Whew! Now we were in a nice safe midwestern town. Soon after that a young newsboy went missing. Soon after, another. And then another. Eventually, they caught the person responsible. His name was John Joubert, an airman at Offutt. Further investigation revealed that he had also killed a young boy in Portland, Maine in Aug 1982. Joubert was later convicted of all the murders and he was executed by the state of Nebraska in 1996. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Joubert ) Dave's story sounded so similar and brought back such memories of our first few months in Omaha that I couldn't help telling the story.
David Jackson
Thanks, David. I’m vaguely aware of the Joubert case but don’t know the details. Sounds frighteningly familiar.