TOPEKA (KSNT) — In this episode of Inside Kansas Politics, Deneysha Richard sits down with Alberta Leach, who has been searching for her son, Randy Leach, for almost 35 years. 

Randy Leach was 17-years-old when he never returned home after a pre-graduation party in Linwood, Kan. on April 15, 1988. 

“As soon as I looked out the window and didn’t see his car,” Leach said, “I knew something was wrong.” 

Leach told Inside Kansas Politics that she and her husband, Harold Leach, had been searching for answers since that morning. 

She says the fight for answers became even more challenging after her husband died in 2021. Still, Alberta continued the fight for answers regarding her son’s disappearance. 

After expressing discontent with the Leavenworth Co. Sheriff’s office’s handling of the case, Alberta Leach says she reached out to Kansas legislators and got nowhere. She says she gained a sense of renewed hope after Governor Laura Kelly took office in 2019. 

She hand-delivered two letters to the administration, hoping to receive an out-of-state special master task force to look into her son’s case. 

She says she has not heard back from the Governor, but she isn’t giving up hope in honor of her son, and husband who she says ‘lead’ the search prior to his passing.

“I want to give [Governor Laura Kelly] another chance,” Leach said. 

In a statement, the office of Governor Laura Kelly responded:

Finding missing persons is crucial to the emotional well-being of family and friends affected. Governor Kelly has received letters and her office has spoken with members of the Leach family, who have offered suggestions for finding Randy. The Governor’s Office has explored those suggestions, which are determined to exceed the office’s purview.”

The Office of Governor Laura Kelly

If you have any information on the disappearance of Randy Leach you are asked to call the Leavenworth Co. Sheriff’s Department, or the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

To watch the full episode with a legislative forecast from Inside Kansas Politics capitol bureau reporter Rebekah Chung and Emporia State University Political Professor Michael Smith, click here.

And to get the latest news on Inside Kansas Politics you can check out our Twitter account.