MN MN - Richard John ‘Dickie’ Huerkamp, 15, Mapleton, 2 Oct 1965
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Brightchaser47
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It would also be very helpful and interesting to get the thoughts of Dickie's sisters regarding his disappearance and their version of events that weekend.
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It has been at least two months since Dickie Huerkamp's photo and case information was forwarded to the Minnesota clearing house of missing persons, and yet this 58 year old unsolved case has still not been listed on their website.
Brightchaser47
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Wonder why? I looked to see if there were any other disappearances in that area around that time (someone had mentioned a major athletic event). Nope.
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When asked what was the bigger problem: ignorance or apathy the bureaucrat replied, "I don't know, and I don't care."
It is hard sometimes to understand why little or no effort goes into certain cases, while others are pursued relentlessly
Brightchaser47
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But there's a big difference between uploading a photo and a bit of data to a website and actual 'gumshoeing'. js
Unless the County Sheriff's Office has turned this missing person case over to the state police, they should still have jurisdiction and should consider it an open and active case.
The Minnesota Missing and Unidentified Persons Clearinghouse (under the State's Department of Public Safety) is tasked with listing and publicising cases which have been identified to various Minnesota law enforcement agencies - it does not investigate them on its own.
In the case of Dickie Huerkamp's disappearance, there seems to have been little official activity in either investigation or in posting his photo or information. Hopefully, this case will see a resurgence in official interest.
Brightchaser47
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Then I wonder whether anyone in the next generation of local LE has studied this case, or it just sits in an office somewhere.
So the Clearinghouse is essentially the equivalent of a wall of wanted/missing person posters on a bulletin board. Thanks for clarifying that.
Possibly the current local LE feel there are just not enough leads to do anything with it. Or they just have other priorities. Wonder if Pressureandheat has found out anything.
Although they are aware of Dickie's disappearance, The Mapleton Police Department has never had jurisdiction in this case, since it was believed at the time that Dickie went missing outside of the city limits.
It was originally a case in the jurisdiction of the Blue Earth County Sheriff Department, and they were the agency which reported any information to the press in 1965 and 1966 (see previously linked articles).
I recently contacted the Sheriff and asked if he had any updates on the case. He told me that the Blue Earth Sheriff's Office does not have any files on it in their current records system, and that it may have been forwarded to the Minnesota State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) at some time in the past. The BCA handles cold cases involving missing persons.
I am awaiting confirmation from the BCA as to whether or not they have this as an active case.
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Brightchaser47
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If the case files weren't forwarded to BCA, I hope they're not "lost".
Locating the original case file will be an important step in re-opening any investigation. There will be many notes and witness interviews contained in it for cold case officers to study.
Knowing what was said and done in 1965 and follow on years will give important background data to build on today.
New information which was probably NOT included might still be obtained today, such as family member DNA samples.