Thursday, a crew from "America's Most Wanted" visited Omaha to re-create the disappearance of 12-year-old Amber Harris for an upcoming segment on the network program.
It was 20 years ago this week that an Omaha TV crew was recreating another child's disappearance in hopes of solving the disappearance and murder of 11-year-old Richard F. Chadek III on March 23, 1986.
Chadek, a fourth grader at Beals Elementary, rode his bicycle into a bank parking lot near 42nd & Valley — two blocks from his home — then disappeared along with a blue pickup truck that entered the parking lot after he arrived. Hope for the boy's safe return gave way to tragedy when Chadek's body was discovered eight days later in a roadside ditch northwest of Omaha.
Police said Richard died of traumatic asphyxia, possibly caused by strangulation or smothering. They also said he may have been held by his abductor for as long as six days.
There were no suspects, despite one of the largest manhunts ever organized by the Omaha Police Department. Fifty-nine investigators from nine area law enforcement agencies were involved. The force was split into six teams, with investigators working 12- to 16-hour daily shifts for several weeks.
The man who witnesses said might have picked up Chadek was described as white, 45 to 50, with a reddish complexion. The truck he was driving was described as a medium blue 1968 to 1972 Chevrolet or GMC pickup with sideboards the same color as the truck. More than 1,000 trucks in Nebraska and Iowa were checked and cleared. Investigators traveled as far as 300 miles to check leads.
Police Lt. Tony Mohatt, a second-generation Omaha Police Officer who had joined the force in 1962, told the Omaha World-Herald at the time that he had never been involved in an investigation of that magnitude.
The reward fund established after Chadek's disappearance of Richard Chadek III had reached $12,697 within two weeks after his body was discovered.
Editor's Note: Lt. Mohatt died of cancer in January of 2000. In his obituary, Omaha World-Herald reporter Tanya Eiseser wrote, "If retired Omaha Police Lt. Tony Mohatt had one regret during his long career, it was that he never solved the 1986 abduction and slaying of 11-year-old Ricky Chadek."
Mohatt retired from the Omaha Police force in 1992. The next year, Tim Dunning tapped Mohatt to be his campaign manager for Douglas County sheriff. After the election, Dunning chose him to be his chief deputy. One of Mohatt's first actions was to reopen the Chadek case. He re-retired from law enforcement in 1997.
2 comments:
It Is Just TV:
Thank you, too, for sharing your thoughts on this tragic case.
About 10 years ago, I moved into the neighborhood where Ricky's abduction took place. The bank, though now owned by another company, still displays a plaque on its exterior recalling Ricky's abduction.
Ricky was abducted on Palm Sunday in 1986. This Sunday is Palm Sunday and it would be interesting if a local station followed up on this case. I'm left wondering just how much that reward fund has grown.
There was also a story at the time that a witness had the license plate number of the truck, but they were advised by their parish priest not to share it with police.
There are several detectives still alive (nearly all of them retired) who have knowledge of this case. The reward fund, a person's guilty conscience and renewed attention on this case might be enough to crack it now.
Wasn't that Bennington Pedophile who was just arrested a suspect in the Chadek case?
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