SC SC - Kevin McClam, 14, Goose Creek, 30 March 1997

I just wanted to post this because its such a mysterious case.

14 year old Kevin McClam dissapeared from his familys home at Charleston Naval Weapons Station sometime during the early hours of March 30 1997. He was last seen by his family at 1am in their home playing video games.

It is believed someone of his description was also seen in the aftenoon of 30 March walking along a dirt road in just his tennis shoes and boxer shorts. He was alone and did not appear to be distressed. Kevins clothes were later found at a nearby construction site. There has been no sign of him since- no clues no leads.

Heres Meggily Weggilys page:http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mcclam_kevin.html

And an archived news article I found
http://www.elizabethbaron.com/4-22-98.htm
GOOSE CREEK - On most days, only rats and snakes creep through the murky tunnels at Charleston Naval Weapons Station. But on Tuesday, they were joined by searchers looking for a missing boy. They didn't find him. ``Snakes and other animals in the ditch do have the right of way,'' a man instructed the team as it headed down a dark and dreary, wastewater drainage system in search of missing teen Kevin McClam.

About 50 emergency workers from the weapons station, Charleston County Rescue Squad and the Charleston, North Charleston and Ashley River fire departments searched the system for several hours. But they found no signs of the 14-year-old Marrington Middle School student who disappeared March 30, 1997.
``It's good they didn't find him there,'' said Kevin's mother, Tracey McClam. She and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent Dan McCarthy say they are turning their attention now to the public. ``How can he disappear off the face of the earth without somebody helping him?'' McCarthy said. He asks that citizens donate money to a Crime Stoppers fund so a substantial reward for information about the youth's disappearance can be offered. ``It might bring someone forward who has knowledge,'' he said. Kevin's mother is convinced her son was with someone the day he disappeared. His clothes were found on a dirt road in a wooded area at the station, and local psychic Elizabeth Baron and New Jersey psychic Dorothy Allison have said at least two people were with him. ``I know Kevin wouldn't go out there in those woods by himself,'' McClam said. The McClam family will be moving to another state next month, and McClam said she prays someone will come forward before then. ``It's very important. If somebody's out there, if they're scared to come forward, tell somebody - an adult or someone that will come forward for them. They don't even have to leave their name.'' She said she has prepared herself for the truth about what happened to her son. But the unanswered questions hurt".........

And another http://www.elizabethbaron.com/2-28-98.htm

Does anyone have ANY idea what might have happened to Kevin? I seriously have none. I remember reading that maybe Kevin had some kind of fit enduced by the the video game he was playing- but thats seems so unlikely. If that was Kevin spotted in just his boxers on March 30 afternoon where had he been all day? Where did he spend the night? His mother said it was unusual for him to even miss a meal- so why would he be gone for a whole day without contact?- as it seems likely that was him ?And who or what caused him to take of his clothes? Is it possble that Kevin is still alive somewhere and unaware of who he is?Why didnt he call for help?

Any ideas? Anyone?

Emma, you have certainly posted a puzzle with very few pieces-I can tell you that while it is true that some individuals (especially children) have had documented cases of seizures after seeing certain fast-paced TV shows, or playing certain video games, this would cause a person to become sleepy after the seizure. That doesn't sound like what happened here.
Since the family last saw him around 1:00am in their home, is it possible that either someone enticed him out of the house or that he left to meet someone? Some "gamers" do like to "act out" certain aspects of their games in real life. Do you now specifically what game he was playing when last seen?
Assuming that it was Kevin that was seen along the road in his boxers, was the road actually part of the military installation? If so, that would mean that access, to a certain point, would have been limited. I will wait to see if you have any of this info or can point me in a direction where I might find it-because it may be the start of piecing together what happened to Kevin.


Bring Maura home!

Did Kevin have any medical history of seizures or any other medical problems?
Did he have any mental health history, or history of running away?
Who sighted a young boy walking around in his boxer shorts, that didn't try to stop him and talk to him, or check on him? Did he appear to have any injury at the time of the sighting?
He was last seen at 1 am. When was he reported missing?
Was the home locked that night? Did anyone hear anything unusual?
Any history of abuse known in the household?

I agree with gatetrecker on the enticement theory, however, the 'in his boxers' seems to lead to a "dazed" or drugged type behavior. Typically kids at that age are somewhat shy (per se) and would not just cruise down the road in their undies (sp?).....

Hey guys, thanks for replying. I am searching and searching and coming up with very little at the moment.

I did manage to find a 2005 article on Kevin (a real rarity for a case this old).
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3364104&nav=0RaPa2H9

Heres what I could find from it:
Special Agent Stan Garland is with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, "There was no forced entry into the residence. There was nothing uncommon. Everything just seemed in place."- although this doesnt answer the question about the doors being locked we do know no-one forced their way in. Also dont you think this would be an extremly stupid thing for someone to do? A home on a military base is not the easiest of targets............!!


Another interesting thing that was in the article (regarding his clothes).-
"His clothes were separated about 5 to 10 feet apart along this road. Someone could have tossed them out of window while driving a vehicle or they just could have been walking along and tossed them. We really don't know at this time."He says there was no evidence of a struggle or a crime.

I do know that the couple who spotted Kevin in his underwear did not speak to him- I guess this is why this may be an unconfirmed sighting. However I guess the likelyhood is that it was him. Why they didnt speak to him-I dont know. However I did notice that Kevin was 5ft7 at the time he dissapeared- could it have been that they presumed he was older than he was and possibly were wary of approaching him?

Re: whether the dirt road he was allegedly spotted on was on the base or not- I am unsure about. However the most recent article states that: "The NCIS took over the case, because the incident happened on a military base"

I am trying to find out what hame he was playing. I may even see if I can contact the agent in the article. The fact that his clothes were found scattered is interesting isnt it?

In a special cold case segment, after a break-in a Goose Creek investigation, a missing persons case is now a murder investigation.

Investigators reclassified the status of a 14 year old Goose Creek boy. For nearly 9 years, Kevin McClam was considered a missing persons case. But inconsistencies in witness statements has police now looking into a murder case.
http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0106/292849.html

http://www.charleston.net/assets/we...n=localnews&tableId=116283&pubDate=10/31/2006

Goose Creek - In the woods, beneath the leaves and sticks, Navy investigators recently found items that they hope answer how and why 14-year-old Kevin McClam disappeared nearly a decade ago.

While they remain tightlipped as to what they found and whether it will even be useful, investigators uncovered the items on a 3,000-square-foot area of the Naval Weapons Station that cadaver dogs zeroed in on last week. What they found is now headed to a forensic lab for further examination.

"We turned up several items of interest," John Nicks Jr., supervisory special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, said Monday, adding that the items were not bones. "Further investigation will determine if they are relevant or not."

My initial feeling when I read about this case was that it seemed like it may have involved some sort of hazing. Maybe by the perpetrator not the victim. The only thing with that is it's likely more people knew about what happened to Kevin and no one has talked. I wonder if the phone rang that night/early morning and the boy picked it up right away? I can't imagine what they found in the woods and if it wasn't buried but just covered by leaves falling each year I wonder why it wasn't found when they searched for the boy unless it was placed there after.

Investigators hope new items help discover missing teen's fate


(Goose Creek-AP) October 31, 2006 - Navy investigators hope that recently found items will help them determine how and why a 14-year-old boy disappeared nearly ten years ago.

Investigators won't say much about what they found, or why they think it might help in the investigation of the disappearance of Kevin McClam.

The items were found at the Naval Weapons Station by cadaver dogs last week, and they are currently in a forensic lab for analysis.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mcclam_kevin.html

Kevin Lamont McClam

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: March 30, 1997 from Goose Creek, South Carolina
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: April 2, 1982
Age: 14 years old
Height and Weight: 5'7, 140 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Black hair, brown eyes. McClam may use the last name Alexander.


Details of Disappearance


McClam was last seen at 1:00 a.m. on March 30, 1997 at his family's residence in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The home is located in the Charleston Naval Weapons Station; his family was in the U.S. Navy in 1997.

McClam was playing video games with his younger sister that evening. When his mother came home, they spoke for awhile and McClam's sister and mother went to bed. McClam said he would stay up and play more video games. When his family members woke up, he had disappeared. He has never been heard from again.

McClam's clothing was found two days after his disappearance, at a nearby construction site. The articles of clothing were separated by about five or ten feet along the road. There was no sign of him at the scene.

Witnesses reported seeing a person who matched McClam's description walking along a dirt road near the construction site during the afternoon hours of March 30. The individual was wearing only tennis shoes and boxer shorts and appeared to be alone and not under duress.

McClam's mother says it is uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning; he never missed a meal and always returned home by dark. He was an eighth-grader at Marrington Middle School at the time of his disappearance, a good student who was well-liked by teachers and did not use drugs. He played basketball.

His mother believes her son possibly sneaked out of his house to meet his friends the night he vanished, but all of McClam's friends deny having seen him. There was no sign of forced entry to his home.

In early 2006, authorities announced they were investigating McClam's case as a homicide due to new forensic evidence and new tips from the public. No suspects have been named, but many people are being interviewed.

Investigators believe McClam may have been murdered by someone he knew. McClam was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His family moved out of South Carolina in 1998 and currently live in Georgia.

Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Goose Creek Police Department
803-572-4300
OR
Naval Criminal Investigative Service Headquarters
800-479-9685
OR
Naval Criminal Investigative Service Resident Agency
Charleston, South Carolina Office
803-764-7800

Source Information

The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Rino Kids Online
Elizabeth Baron: Visionary for the New Millennium
NewsLibrary
WIStv
The Charley Project

Link:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mcclam_kevin.html

http://charleston.net/assets/webPages/depa...bDate=12/6/2006

McClam suspect named
14-year-old boy disappeared in '97
Wednesday, December 06, 2006


BY NADINE PARKS



GOOSE CREEK - The reasons why a 14-year-old boy never returned home to his mother at the Charleston Naval Weapons Station has eluded Navy investigators for nearly 10 years.

On Tuesday, they named a suspect in the 1997 disappearance and presumed killing of Kevin McClam.

Kevin was slain after he left his home on Easter Sunday, said John Nicks Jr., supervisory special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Thomas Edward McCardle, 26, of Goose Creek, is the principal suspect, said Special Agent Stanley Garland, lead investigator on the case. McCardle was 16 at the time.

Investigators think at least two other suspects who were teenagers at the time were with Kevin when he died, Nicks said, but he declined to name them.

"They know who they are, and they know we know who they are," he said. "We want them to know that we're coming to get them."

Nicks said he spoke with a prosecutor Tuesday and that authorities have enough evidence to prosecute the case. The three suspects and a group of conspirators will be arrested in January, he said.

Several people had information about the homicide before and after it occurred, Garland said.

"Those people will be brought in as well," Garland said. "We're looking at obstruction charges."

Investigators hope anyone with additional information will come forward now to help piece together the details of the slaying and point them to Kevin's body.

"It's better for them to come to us than for us to come to them," Nicks said. "The train's rolling, and we want to give people an opportunity to get on the train instead of getting run over by the train."

Hundreds of volunteers through the years have scoured Marrington Plantation, a recreational facility on the weapons station, where Kevin's clothing was found a few days after he disappeared.

Agents recently explored an area that cadaver dogs pointed to near a basketball court where Kevin had played. They have determined that bones and other items found there were not related to the case, Nicks said Tuesday.

McCardle is in prison after being convicted Nov. 16 on a charge of strong-arm robbery in a 2002 incident at the Dollar General on Red Bank Road near the weapons station.

After McCardle failed a polygraph test last summer about Kevin's disappearance, he confessed to robbing the Dollar General, possibly as a way to explain why he was nervous when he took the test, Garland said. The agent contacted the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office, and deputies arrested McCardle for the robbery.

McCardle has a lengthy arrest record and has been convicted of burglary and drug charges, according to his criminal history.

Reach Nadine Parks at 937-5573 or nparks@postandcourier.com.

Investigators change missing child case to murder investigation

Kevin McClam


Also on the Web

(05/18/05) - Missing Kids Mysteries: Kevin McClam
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children



(Goose Creek) Jan. 10, 2006 - It's been eight years since Kevin McClam disappeared from his home at the Naval Weapons Station. It's been eight months since WIS told you about his case and the ongoing search to find him.

After the story aired, investigators say credible tips came in. Special agent Stan Garland with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service says, "Your station absolutely played a very important role."

Since the WIS report, the search has gone from looking for Kevin to looking for a killer. The special agent made the announcement at a news conference on a basketball court, one of the last places Kevin was reported seen.

Garland announced, "We know someone is lying, someone knows more than what they're saying about Kevin's disappearance."

Until now, it was believed no crime had been committed. But the NCIS says new forensic evidence shows Kevin may have known his killer.

There are no suspects in the case, but the agency is interviewing people of interest.

In fact, a cold case unit from Washington D.C. will now stay in Charleston till the case is closed. NCIS special agent Steve Dreiss is confident, "We solve cases construed unsolveable."

Kevin's parents were not at the news conference. They live in Georgia. But WIS' Angie Goff talked to Kevin's mom Tracy by phone.

Angie asked Tracy about the Navy's push to close the case and find Kevin's killer. She responded at this point all she and her husband can do is hold on to their faith, and that they have faith in the investigators too.

Agent Garland says, "That's awesome, coming from the family. Makes you want to work twice as hard to resolve the matter."

A $3,500 reward is being offered to anyone with information that leads to a conviction in the case. Agent Garland is asking for the public's help, "I'm very hopeful someone sees us here today and will simply want to do the right thing."

Agent Garland and the rest of the team want to end a mystery that has haunted more families than one, "Every night when I go home, I think of Kevin and I can't even imagine how the mother must feel each night, go to bed not knowing what happened to her son."

If you have information, contact the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at 843-764-7780.

You can also contact the Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit their website.

Reported by Angie Goff

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4345981

It has taken a long time, but I am glad they are making progress in this case.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3364104&nav=0RaPa2H9

Missing Kids Mysteries: Kevin McClam

Kevin McClam



(Goose Creek) May 18, 2005 - Sgt. Jerry Merrithew says sometimes police work can become very personal, "In a way you kind of form a relationship with a person you never met just by the information you gather."

Merrithew with the Goose Creek Police Department is talking about the closeness he feels to Kevin McClam. The teenager disappeared back in 1997. Merrithew was one of the original investigators in the case, "I have kids myself and knowing what the family must be going through, it bothers me."

McClam was last seen at his home at the Naval Weapons Station the night before Easter. His parents say they last saw him playing video games. The next morning they went to wake him and he was gone.

Special Agent Stan Garland is with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, "There was no forced entry into the residence. There was nothing uncommon. Everything just seemed in place."

The NCIS took over the case, because the incident happened on a military base.

Garland says the only physical evidence they have to work with was found less than a mile from Kevin's home the day after he disappeared, "His clothes were separated about 5 to 10 feet apart along this road. Someone could have tossed them out of window while driving a vehicle or they just could have been walking along and tossed them. We really don't know at this time."

He says there was no evidence of a struggle or a crime.

A massive ground exploration of the area was launched, but it didn't uncover anything. Garland says divers also spent days searching dozens of waterways and alligator infested swamps, but nothing surfaced, "It's like Kevin just totally dropped off the face of the earth."

Sightings of the missing teen have taken investigators to Florida, across to California and recently to a small town in the midwest. Garland says all trips turned up nothing, but the hunt is far from over, "You know, we just celebrated Mother's Day and you know for 8 years Kevin's mom has been without an answer and I think its important that we continue to investigate this case to give his mom closure."

Meanwhile, back at police headquarters in Goose Creek, Merrithew also struggles to answer the question if Kevin is out there, "I have some personal feelings on that. I'm not sure if he's dead or alive. I don't know."

The police sergeant says the case has taken its toll, "You hug your kids a lot more, because this highlights the fact your only given day by day and you never know when it's your turn." He keeps even more hope in his heart that someday, somewhere, someone will find Kevin McClam, "I feel like we will get it solved one day. And again it may not be by me, but we're gonna get it solved and when it's solved, if I'm still here, it'll definitely be a celebration."

The two investigators have stayed in contact with Kevin's parents over the years. News 10 talked to Kevin's mom Tracy by phone. She said she couldn't do an interview because she wasn't ready to go down that painful road again.

Any idea if these leads ever came to anything?

http://charleston.net/assets/webPages/depa...bDate=12/6/2006

McClam suspect named
14-year-old boy disappeared in '97
Wednesday, December 06, 2006


BY NADINE PARKS



GOOSE CREEK - The reasons why a 14-year-old boy never returned home to his mother at the Charleston Naval Weapons Station has eluded Navy investigators for nearly 10 years.

On Tuesday, they named a suspect in the 1997 disappearance and presumed killing of Kevin McClam.

Kevin was slain after he left his home on Easter Sunday, said John Nicks Jr., supervisory special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Thomas Edward McCardle, 26, of Goose Creek, is the principal suspect, said Special Agent Stanley Garland, lead investigator on the case. McCardle was 16 at the time.
snip
Agents recently explored an area that cadaver dogs pointed to near a basketball court where Kevin had played. They have determined that bones and other items found there were not related to the case, Nicks said Tuesday.

McCardle is in prison after being convicted Nov. 16 on a charge of strong-arm robbery in a 2002 incident at the Dollar General on Red Bank Road near the weapons station.

After McCardle failed a polygraph test last summer about Kevin's disappearance, he confessed to robbing the Dollar General, possibly as a way to explain why he was nervous when he took the test, Garland said. The agent contacted the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office, and deputies arrested McCardle for the robbery.

McCardle has a lengthy arrest record and has been convicted of burglary and drug charges, according to his criminal history.

snip

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3364104&nav=0RaPa2H9

Missing Kids Mysteries: Kevin McClam

Kevin McClam



(Goose Creek) May 18, 2005 - Sgt. Jerry Merrithew says sometimes police work can become very personal, "In a way you kind of form a relationship with a person you never met just by the information you gather."

Merrithew with the Goose Creek Police Department is talking about the closeness he feels to Kevin McClam. The teenager disappeared back in 1997. Merrithew was one of the original investigators in the case, "I have kids myself and knowing what the family must be going through, it bothers me."

McClam was last seen at his home at the Naval Weapons Station the night before Easter. His parents say they last saw him playing video games. The next morning they went to wake him and he was gone.

Special Agent Stan Garland is with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, "There was no forced entry into the residence. There was nothing uncommon. Everything just seemed in place."

Lots more, with full articles here
http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=10514&st=0

Bumping this. I wonder what happened to Kevin?