In 1980, when Randy Leach was 20 years old, he decided to take a break from college to hitchhike through the American west. It was supposed to be a journey of self-discovery and a way for the Wisconsin man to learn about different religions and ways of life, and it was exactly that…until Leach disappeared from a dairy farm in Idaho.
Courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Justice
Episode Info
If you think you had any interaction with Randy Leach in the fall of 1980 during his travels in the American West, the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin urges you to call them at 920-459-3111.
Randall Dean Leach was 20 years old, 5’8, 140 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes when he went missing in 1980. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office
Randall Dean Leach was 20 years old, 5’8, 140 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes when he went missing in 1980. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office
A news clipping photo of Leach when he won an academic scholarship, The Sheboygan Press, March 1978. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office
A photo copy of a photo of Leach from Howards Grove High School. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office
Randy Leach’s passport photo. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office
A 1982 story from the Twin Falls, Idaho Times-News - Part One. Photo Courtesy: Times-News
A 1982 story from the Twin Falls, Idaho Times-News - Part Two. Photo Courtesy: Times-News
The Sheboygan Press article. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan Press
A 1982 story from the Twin Falls, Idaho Times-News - Part One. Photo Courtesy: Times-News
A 1982 story from the Twin Falls, Idaho Times-News - Part Two. Photo Courtesy: Times-News
A 1979 story from Wisconsin’s Lakeland College newspaper about Leach transferring from the community college to study in Africa prior to his disappearance. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office
A story from the Idaho Falls Post Register. Some details in this article contradict information provided to audiochuck by law enforcement. Photo Courtesy: Idaho Falls Post Register
Randy Leach left Howards Grove, Wisconsin Nov. 1, 1980 and hitchhiked west. He stopped in South Dakota to see his grandparents and according to phone records he made brief stops in Billings, Livingston and Bozeman, Montana before arriving in Idaho Falls, Idaho on Nov. 4, 1980. Photo Courtesy: audiochuck staff
A 1981 letter to Randy Leach’s parents from Dick Ackerman, former Bonneville County, Idaho Sheriff. Photo Courtesy: Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office
Episode Source Material
- Idaho State Journal, Police look for man who disappeared in 1980, staff report
- The Charley Project, Randall Dean Leach
- National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, Randall Dean Leach
- KTVZ, News Channel 21, Does Bend hold answer to 35-year missing person case? By KTVZ News Team
- Oxygen, Mark of a Killer
- The Oregonian, Portland detectives definitively link I-5 killer Randy Woodfield to 5 more deaths. By Tom Hollman Jr.