Missing Man: Richard Ray Barnett - ID - 08/31/1982

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/barnett_richard.html

Upper Images and Lower Left Image: Barnett, circa 1982;

Lower Right: Age-progression at age 25 (circa 2004)

Richard Ray Barnett

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: August 31, 1982 from Grangeville, Idaho

Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Date Of Birth: November 26, 1979

Age: 2 years old

Height and Weight: 3'0, 32 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Barnett has a hairline scar over his left eye and a mark below that eye. His nickname is Ricky. Some agencies list Barnett's eye color as brown.

Clothing/Jewelry Description: Red and blue coveralls, a pajama top and cowboy boots.

Medical Conditions: Barnett had hip braces on both legs to correct a bowlegged condition; the braces were removed six months prior to his disappearance.

Details of Disappearance

Barnett was last seen visiting his paternal grandparents' home on August 31, 1982. They lived on Hillcrest Farms, a chicken farm in the Grangeville, Idaho area. The farm was seven miles north of Grangeville and encompassed several hundred acres. Barnett apparently wandered away from the residence sometime during the day and has not been seen again. Extensive searches yielded few clues as to his whereabouts.

Barnett's grandparents were suspected in his disappearance for almost two decades afterward. His grandmother agreed to a polygraph exam in May 2001 and passed; she was cleared of an involvement in his case as a result. Barnett's grandfather also agreed to take a polygraph, but he died before the exam could take place. Barnett's parents live in Oregon and his mother has been active in the search for him. His disappearance remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Idaho County Sheriff's Department

208-983-1100

RICHARD BARNETT

DOB:  Nov 26, 1979
Missing:  Aug 31, 1982
Age at time of disappearance: 2
Sex:  Male
Race:  White
Hair:  Brown
Eyes:  Brown
Height:  2'6" (76 cm)
Weight:  32 lbs (15 kg)
Missing From:
GRANGEVILLE
ID
United States

Print a Poster:
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=600215&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US

Richard's photo is shown age-progressed to 25 years. He was last seen at a dairy farm in Grangeville, Idaho. He has a scar below his left eye.

Idaho County Sheriff's Office (Idaho) - Missing Persons Unit

IDAHO MISSING PERSONS CLEARINGHOUSE

http://www.isp.state.id.us/mp_viewer/showMissingPerson.action?id=M090053509

http://www.usacrusader.com/past_issues/2008-01.pdf

Richard has now been missing for 26 years.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/2070/3/

NamUs profile for Richard Ray Barnett - Case 2070

Age progressed photo to 31 years of age

http://www.idahocountyfreepress.com/news/2014/sep/17/cold-cases-why-they-matter/

Cold cases: why they matter

By David Rauzi As of Wednesday, September 17, 2014

You would hope that someone has not forgotten, that someone is searching for answers, that justice is being sought.

Cold cases are of great interest to the public, and it doesn’t matter whom it involves or how long ago the incident occurred. This is evidenced in the recent news that the identity of Jack the Ripper may finally have been determined by DNA evidence. But many cases continue to draw our fascination: The Black Dahlia murder, the Cleveland Torso killer, and the revisiting of where notorious labor leader Jimmy Hoffa may be buried.

But there is always something closer to home, such as Mr. Bones.

I came across this cold case (featured on page 7A in this issue) in 2007 while researching the backstory of the Lankford brothers’ case regarding the 1983 Bravence murders. Cold cases, historic mysteries, these have been a fascination of mine, and I was excited to find something close to home that I could revisit in the newspaper.

Partly, it was the fascination of the mystery. Also, it was knowing this person has largely gone forgotten, his incident revisited by law enforcement as limited time and scant information seldom allowed. Someone needed to be his advocate, to give this death a voice that maybe this time it will lead to some kind of resolution; at the least, identification.

That path started in 2007 and through a file folder of county records that told of a thorough search based on the limited leads available. But there the story stopped halfway as those involved more than two decades prior were gone, moved on, or did not respond to inquiries.

Then a few years later, a letter to the editor by a California man struck a chord: Why was that name familiar? Turned out it was Kevin Reynolds, a former Idaho County Sheriff’s deputy who had first investigated the case. That chance connection re-energized the story, and when spare time finally allowed, I was able to connect with him and conduct an e-mail interview for his insight and reflections into the case.

It took a while, but with his help and great cooperation from the sheriff’s office on follow-up information and documents, the story pulled together. And I rebuke myself by saying, “Finally!”

I’m pleased to have pulled it together, especially knowing this coverage will have extended reach through the search engines of the Internet. And maybe this time, it will be solved.

But the mystery continues, and not just in this case.

This year marks the 20th that Grangeville’s infamous double-homicide/arson goes unsolved: Twenty years ago – Saturday, April 2, 1994, the bodies of Bruce and Lynn Peeples were found in the bedroom of their South Florence Street home. The couple had been strangled and their home had been set on fire intentionally, apparently to destroy evidence of the crime.

What’s the update in this case? The same as it’s been: unsolved, awaiting new information and leads to justify a fresh inquiry into a case frigidly cold. While TV detectives can solve a case in an hour (or 45 minutes minus commercials), real police work is much more time-consuming and often less rewarding.

Idaho County literally has a book (Over a Century of Murder in Idaho County) covering its crime and murder mysteries, and the region has also seen a slew of strange disappearances through the years, such as 1984’s Ricky Barnett vanishing, and more recently, Todd Hofflander of Riggins, last seen Sept. 27, 2010, while backpacking with a friend in the Seven Devils area. These are among at least eight cases, dating back to 1978, of individuals who disappeared in Idaho County.

And there are more. In my search for feature items for our summer historic special section, I came across more mysterious incidents, crimes and disappearances, extending as far back as microfilm records would provide. And those are just the ones we think we know about.

Whether my story on Mr. Bones leads to any sort of resolution is just part of the reasoning behind researching it. It’s also because this unknown person was someone’s son, and this person’s story has value as much as any of ours do. And we’re going to give this one another shot for whoever may be waiting for news on him out there, and the hope that others would do the same for us if – God forbid — we’re the ones playing the waiting game for word on someone – our children, a parent, a friend — who one day never came home.