A blog to raise awareness about missing young adult males and the often overlooked public safety issues in need of further study.
footprintsattheriversedge.blogspot.com
On Dec.11, 1992, Kansas University senior
Alexis Dillard, "Dilly" as he was known to his friends, left Johnny's Tavern at 401 North 2nd Street in North Lawrence after drinking with some Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brothers who saw him leave the bar around 12:40 a.m. He was never seen again. Police theorize that Dillard drowned in the Kansas River while attempting to swim across. His case remains unsolved.
Vanished Without a Trace
On the night he disappeared, Dillard met up with a group of his Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brothers at Bullwinkle's for pizza and beer before heading over to the The Sandbar. The group then split up briefly and met up again at Johnny's Tavern. Johnny's, according to the Buffalo News, "a popular Lawrence hangout, was crowded that night, and people in the group were coming and going from the bar intermittently. One fraternity brother, who remembers talking with Dilly at Johnny's about 10 p.m., said nothing seemed to be bothering him. No one remembers seeing him leave.
(It should be noted that an early report by
The Buffalo News said Dillard last spoke to a friend at 10 p.m. and no one saw him leave the bar. This would make his date of disappearance on December 10, 1992, but it is likely that additional witnesses came forward after this report and provided the 12:40 a.m. timeframe.)
About Alexis Dillard
Dillard's family describes him as athletic, well liked, intelligent, responsible and sensible person who would not leave without telling anyone where he was going. He did not appear to be going through any personal problems at the time. He had many close friends. He has served in the ROTC and was also a member of Phi Gamma Delta.
In 1993, KU's Student Union Activities office, through the Kansas University Endowment Association, established an award in Dillard's name. The award is given annually to students who show special leadership characteristics.
Search and Investigation
By 5:30 p.m., when Dillard had not returned home the following day---his 1989 Acura Integra still locked and near The Sandbar where he had parked it--his roommate, Alan Lowden, reported missing and called Dillard's mother, Felicie. According to the
Buffalo News, police thought he had left of his own accord and "it took a while for Alexis' friends and family to convince police that something was wrong."
Kansas Wildlife and Parks officers used boats to search the river, but the search was hampered due to the high, swift current. Dilliard's credit card had not been used after he disappeared.
On Dec. 12, one to five police officers searched the river off and on all day. State officials also patrolled from the Bowersock Dam to a point about two miles downstream and the Kansas Wildlife and Parks officials searched the river by boat for about an hour. Authorities found no conclusive clues to Dillard's whereabouts.
Police did find footprints that may have been made by Dillard on the north riverbank. The sole pattern reportedly matched the size 10 Rockport shoe, the type and size of shoes Dillard reportedly was wearing when he disappeared. The footprints were near the edge of the river several hundred yards from Johnny's, but there was also some indication that they were turning away from the river. It has never been determined whether the footprints belonged to Dillard, but the finding prompted police to theorize that Dillard had tried to swim across the Kansas River and drowned while making another attempt. He had told friends he had tried to swim the river on at least one occasion before. But friends say he had a lot of common sense and never would have tried to swim across in December.
"He was extremely intelligent, and he had a lot of common sense," Andy Martin, a friend of Dillard's, told the
Journal-World at the time. "He'd been in ROTC and he knows about hypothermia; he knows about the current."
According to Porchlight International, "some witnesses stated they saw Dillard hitchhiking on the night of his disappearance, but the sightings have not been confirmed."
It has been nearly two decades, yet no trace of Alexis Dillard has been found. And according to Lt. Kevin Harmon, one of the detectives who worked on the case, "no tips and no new information in the Dillard case have been given to police for several years."
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the Lawrence Police Department at (705) 830-7430 and refer to NCIC Number: M-610131286 .
Facts of Interest:
Name/age: Alexis Dillard, 22
School: Kansas University, Lawrence, KS, fifth year senior
Hometown: Witchita, KS
Last Seen: December 11, 1992 from North Lawrence, Kansas
Date of Birth: June 4, 1970
Family: mother Felicie Dilard, siblings Eugenie Dillard Holbrook and Hardy Dillard.
Physical Description: 5'11, 155 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes
Distinguishing Characteristics: Dillard had a fractured toe at the time of his disappearance. He has no tooth cavities, but one of his molars is missing
so sad 
