25th Anniversary Vigil for Mark Himebaugh

The following is a release from Richard McHale, retired detective with the Middle Township Police Department.
DEL HAVEN – A candlelight vigil at Cape May County Park South Nov. 25 will mark the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of 11-year-old Mark Himebaugh, who lived just down the street on Sunray Avenue. Himebaugh’s disappearance sparked an intense search and “Missing Persons” investigation that is still active today.  
Himebaugh, who was in the 6th grade of Ocean Academy in Special Services School District in the Crest Haven Complex, got off the bus in front of his house Nov. 25, 1991 at 2:30 p.m. 
At approximately 2:50 p.m., a large marsh fire erupted in the meadows just south of his house where the smoke and flames could be seen for miles and drew a large number of on-lookers. Villas Fire Company handled the fire. 
Himebaugh, who lived with his mom Maureen and brother Matthew, 12, told his mom he was going to check out the fire, while his brother was still at school for play practice. Maureen told Himebaugh she was driving her neighbor down the street to pick up their car from repairs and would be right back for dinner. That was the last time Maureen would see her son. 
Himebaugh walked south from his house to check out the fire as confirmed by witnesses, and was also seen returning from the fire. While walking back, Himebaugh was observed stopping to talk to two “persons of interest,” in a small white or gray car at approximately 3:30 p.m.
A composite sketch, shown, of the male passenger was later developed by the New Jersey State Police, but that person, nor the driver have ever been identified. 
At 4 p.m., the park guard saw Himebaugh, and a younger white female entering Cape May County Park South on Bayshore Road. This was the last time anyone saw Himebaugh before he was abducted from this section of Del Haven. 
An intense search by police, K-9 units, fire, community volunteers and a Coast Guard helicopter was conducted that night and for the following week, without finding Himebaugh.
At approximately 9 p.m., on the first night, the left shoe from a pair of white leather hi-top LA Gear sneakers, belonging to Himebaugh, shown, was found on the beach, several hundred yards north of his house, by searchers. 
Leading up to the sneaker were two sneaker impressions in the sand.  Afterwards, there was a clear, left foot impression and a right sneaker print impression in the sand, until they drifted up into the soft sand. This section of the beach is between Eldridge Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue in Del Haven. The K-9 Unit of the Cape May County Sheriff’s Department tracked Himebaugh’s scent from where the sneaker was found on the beach to Roosevelt Avenue, where the scent stopped. 
FBI, New Jersey State Police, Missing Persons Unit, Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the Middle Township Police Department created the Himebaugh Missing Persons Task Force and began a major case investigation into the abduction of Himebaugh. 
In February 1993, a male prostitute came forward to the Philadelphia Police Department, reporting that a white male named Thomas Butcavage of the Haverford section of Delaware County, Pa., showed him a home video of Butcavage molesting a red-haired boy that looked like Himebaugh, based on a “Missing Persons” flyer he saw in Philadelphia. 
The Himebaugh Task Force began an intense investigation into this information which included a search warrant of Butcavage’s apartment and vehicle but neither the homemade video nor any direct evidence of Himebaugh’s abduction were ever found during that time. 
Hundreds of investigators from numerous law enforcement agencies as well as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) have expended thousands of man hours looking into this case. 
In 2016, a documentary was released by Rip Saling of Rip Roarin Productions and Ed Claypoole of Memideo Productions, outlining the disappearance of Himebaugh.  
On Nov. 25 at 4 p.m., representatives from those agencies and the Himebaugh family are going to remember and honor Himebaugh with a candlelight vigil at the very same location Himebaugh was last seen on Nov. 25, 1991 at Cape May County Park South.  
A “Go Fund Me” page has been created to increase the current reward up to $50,000 to entice others to come forward with the missing link to solving this case. The current reward stands at $30,580.