Bill would open up investigative records on missing-person cold cases

Harold and Alberta Leach say they’ve had to relive the worst day of their lives over and over for almost 29 years.

Their 17-year-old son, Randy, went to a graduation party on April 15, 1988, with the family car. He never returned.

The Leavenworth County family became increasingly frustrated that the case remains unsolved and that records from years of investigation remain closed by law enforcement. They want access to the case files to help the investigation or provide closure about what happened to their son.

“We are in the sunset of our years so please understand that we can’t wait,” Harold Leach said in testimony to the Kansas Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee. “He is our only child.”

Criminal investigative records are typically closed to the public and the media by an exemption in the Kansas Open Records Act.

But a bill in the Kansas Senate inspired by the case would allow certain records in cold cases to be released by removing them from the exemption.

SB 200 would apply to records more than 15 years old in investigations where the person has been missing for more than 25 years.

Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, introduced the bill after he was contacted by the Leach family. He said it could provide more information to them about their son’s disappearance and “provide some closure for parents doggedly seeking answers to such a tragic event.”

Law enforcement organizations oppose the bill, saying it would harm the investigative process. Kansas Bureau of Investigation director Kirk Thompson said in written testimony that it would lead to the release of false allegations and sensitive information gathered during investigations.

“Knowledge that information shared privately and in confidence with an investigator could later be disclosed to the media or general public would have a chilling effect on the cooperation of both victims and witnesses,” Thompson wrote.

Ed Klumpp, a lobbyist for several law enforcement groups, said improving forensic science would make more cold cases solvable, meaning the bill could “unintentionally jeopardize” investigations down the road.

“It is risky to go down the path of opening all records of missing persons or any other investigation based simply on the age of the case,” Klumpp said.

On Wednesday, senators heard testimony and advanced the bill to the full Senate. Sen. Lynn Rogers, D-Wichita, said afterward it was the probably the fastest he had seen a bill heard and passed during his first term.

“It’s a heart-breaker to hear the story behind it,” Rogers said. “It probably won’t change the case, but at least it can give people an idea of what’s going on.”

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Bill would open up investigative records on missing-person cold cases."