Join the Club
Randy Leach - Featured Image
Share

MISSING: Randy Leach

For over 36 years, the people of Linwood, Kansas, have been asking the same question… what happened to Randy Leach?

Listened to this episode? Let us know what you think here.

Randy Leach

Photo found here

Randy (left) and his mother, Alberta (right).

Photo found here

The routes that Randy could have driven back towards his home.

The routes that Randy could have driven back towards his home.

Photo screenshotted from Google Maps.

Randy Leach.

Photo found here

Randy age-progressed to 51 years old.

Randy age-progressed to 51 years old.

Photo found here

Timeline:

April 15, 1988
April 15, 1988
6:30-45pm

Randy heads out for the night in his mom’s grey Dodge sedan.

7pm

Randy stops at his cousin’s house.

8:30pm

Randy and his older friend, Steve, drive back to De Soto to look at Randy’s graduation present, an old mustang that is being restored.

9:30-10pm

Randy arrives at the bonfire party.

April 16, 1988
April 16, 1988
12:30-1am

Randy is helped back to his car, but he can’t find his keys. A friend agrees to drive him home, but he must first take someone else home.

2am

Randy is seen waiting for the bathroom at the party.

2:30am

The party is over, most patrons have left, and Randy and his car are gone – the friend who meant to take Randy home cannot find him.

6am

Alberta, Randy’s mother, realizes Randy never made it home the night before.

April 17, 1988
April 17, 1988

Randy’s parents file a missing persons report.

2001
2001

Randy is declared legally dead.

2016
2016

Randy’s parents sue the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office for records release, but it fails.

Map of important locations in the missing case of Randy Leach.

Linwood, KS Farm

Where the bonfire party was held.

The Leach Home

Edwardsville Cave

A tipster said he may have seen someone who looked like Randy hanging, dead, in this cave. The statement was later recanted, but the cave was eventually searched.

Please contact the authorities if you have any information:

Kansas Bureau of Investigation

If you know anything about the disappearance of Randy Leach on April 15, 1988, in Linwood, KS, or may have seen his car, a 1985 Dodge 600 sedan with Kansas plate LVJ8721, please contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-572-7463.

More information

For more information about Randy and the efforts to find him, please visit InSearchofRandyLeach.com. 

The other Randy Leach

To learn more about the other Randy Leach, listen to The Deck’s Randall Leach (4 of Hearts, Idaho)

We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.

If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:

[email protected]

Episode Source Material

Suggested Episodes

MISSING: Kerry O’Brien-Krueger

Aug 3, 2026 | ,

When Kerry O’Brien-Krueger vanished in 1989, her husband claimed she left for a work trip that never existed. Decades later, investigators are still untangling shifting stories, missing evidence and some crucial clues that could help reveal what happened – and they need Crime Junkies’ help.

read more

MISSING: Brittany Wallace Shank

Jun 22, 2026 | ,

On November 30, 2018, 23-year-old Brittany Wallace Shank showed up barefoot and bleeding at a stranger’s door asking for help. She said the man she was with had crashed their car and ran away. Deputies were on the way. But before they arrived, Brittany disappeared into the darkness. She has never been seen again.

read more

MISSING: Christopher “Cole” Thomas

May 18, 2026 | ,

On Black Friday 2016, 22-year-old Christopher “Cole” Thomas was driving through rural North Carolina with two coworkers. Hours later, the coworkers approached police and said Cole had suddenly panicked, pulled over, and ran into the dark, never to be seen again.

read more

Share The Good With Us

You can learn more about The Good segment and even submit a story of your own by visiting The Good page on our website!

Share the Good