Rachael Runyan | |
|---|---|
 Runyan as the Little Miss Sunset child beauty queen in 1981 | |
| Born | Rachael Marie Runyan June 23, 1979 Ogden, Utah, U.S. |
| Disappeared | August 26, 1982 Doxey Elementary School playground, Sunset, Utah, U.S. 41°07′42″N 112°01′38″W / 41.1282°N 112.0271°W |
| Died | August 26, 1982 (aged 3) |
| Body discovered | September 19, 1982 in Mountain Green, Utah, U.S. |
| Resting place | Washington Heights Memorial Park, Ogden, Weber County, U.S. 41°10′43″N 111°58′12″W / 41.1785°N 111.9700°W (approximate) |
| Known for | Victim of unsolved child murder Rachael Alert AMBER Alert |
| Parents |
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The murder of Rachael Runyan is an unsolved child murder which occurred in Sunset, Utah, on August 26, 1982, when a three-year-old girl was abducted from a playground and murdered by an unknown individual. Her body was found three weeks later in a creek bed in nearby Morgan County.[1]
One of Utah's most notorious cold cases,[2] Rachael's murder ultimately proved a catalyst to establish the "Rachael Alert" child abduction alert system,[3] which remained in use in the state of Utah until 2003, when the state adopted the national AMBER alert child abduction emergency alert system.[4][5]
The abduction and murder of Rachael Runyan was a factor in the 1983 passage of the US Congressional Missing Children's Act, which mandated an allocation of additional resources for the investigation of ongoing missing children cases.[6]
In 2017, the Rachael Runyan Missing and Exploited Children's Day was signed into legislation in Utah. The purpose of the annual observance is to raise public awareness of missing and exploited children within the state; the annual awareness date is August 26, the date of Rachael's abduction.[7] Runyan's abduction and murder remain unsolved.
- ^ Flores, Christina (August 27, 2016). "34 Years After Utahn Rachael Runyan's Abduction, Park Named in Her Honor". KUTV. Archived from the original on May 16, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ Ginos, Becky (August 30, 2018). "Memorial Honors Rachael Runyan". The Davis Clipper. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018.
- ^ Smart & Benson 2005, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Dobner, Jennifer (April 12, 2003). "Utah's Rachael Alert Switches to AMBER Alert". Deseret News. Archived from the original on September 23, 2018.
- ^ Thompson 2017, p. 110.
- ^ Children, Youth, and Families of the Mountain West: Hearing Before the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, First Session, Hearing Held in Salt Lake City. University of Michigan: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1984. pp. 122–124.
- ^ "Missing and Exploited Children's Day". house.utah.gov. August 28, 2017. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.