The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri is asking for the public’s assistance to uncover information about a 1991 cold case involving an 11-year-old boy.
According to NBC 5, Charles Arlin Henderson was last spotted at around 5 p.m., cycling near his Moscow Mills home in the Fountain N’ Lakes subdivision on July 25, 1991. Later, searchers discovered the boy’s bicycle abandoned in a bean field along North Ethlyn Road, approximately five miles from the area he was last seen.
In 2000, Joy Henderson-Leonard, Charles’ sister, was killed by her husband, Bob Leonard, who later died by suicide. Police believe that Joy and her husband knew details involving Charles’ disappearance, CBS 4 reports.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department is seeking assistance from anyone who knew Joy and Bob Leonard, and can share any relevant information with investigators to help solve Charles Arlin Henderson’s case.
“Intriguingly, in the year 2000, Charles Arlin Henderson’s sister, Joy Henderson-Leonard, 29, suffered a tragic fate when she was murdered by her husband, Robert “Bob” Leonard, who subsequently took his own life,” the sheriff’s department said.
“Investigators believe that Bob and Joy Leonard may have had crucial information related to Charles Henderson’s disappearance before their untimely deaths.”
In 2001, according to the St. Louis Dispatch, a man identified as Joshua Spangler admitted that he killed Charles at the request of two men. However, he later recanted the confession and was subsequently convicted of perjury.
“He had a whole life ahead of him, and he had so much potential,” Charles’ mother, Deborah Henderson, previously told Fox 2. “He wanted to be the President of the United States.”
“There’s not a day goes by that I don’t think of my son.”
The sheriff’s department is asking anyone with information on the case to call investigation to call the tip line at 636-462-6153 or submit a tip online.
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[Feature Photo: Pervious photo and age-progression photo of Charles/ National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)]
