Candlelight Vigil Remembers Missing Boy

DEL HAVEN – Nov. 25 marked 25 years since the disappearance of 11-year-old Mark Himebaugh, “Del Haven’s favorite son.” Nov. 25, 1991, has become, for many in the community and surrounding areas, a “moment in time we’ll never forget,” as stated by former Middle Township patrolman and retired investigator Richard McHale. 
No Middle Township child before or since has gone missing, making this occurrence an especially harrowing tragedy.    
Scores of people gathered at Cape May County Park South, the scene of Himebaugh’s disappearance, the day after Thanksgiving to hold a candlelight vigil. They were joined by representatives of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Mobile Command Unit, Middle Township Fire Department, Green Creek Fire Department, as well as present and former investigators and law enforcement officials, all of whom were involved in the hundreds of hours comprising the initial search for Himebaugh. 
The details of the young, red-headed Del Haven boy’s disappearance are well ingrained in the psyche of this community. Saying that the case had “taken a piece out of all of us,” McHale chronicled for those gathered the last known moments of Himebaugh, a possible act of catharsis done to combat the demons of uncertainty that have plagued all involved in the search.
On that fateful day, Himebaugh returned from school only to be drawn outside by the eruption of a large marsh fire that raged just south of his home on Sunray Road. The volume of vehicle traffic from the closed Bayshore Road resulted in Middle Township police and firemen redirecting it all through Himebaugh’s neighborhood.
From 3:20 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., Himebaugh was seen in the area on several occasions, either alone or talking to two men in a gray or white car, both of whom have remained unidentified. The last time Himebaugh was seen was when a Cape May County Park guard saw him at 4:15 p.m. as he entered the park accompanied by an unrecognized white female around 10 years of age.
The search for Himebaugh began when his mother, Maureen, scoured the area and came up with nothing, prompting her to call the police around 6 p.m. Operating under the premise that Himebaugh was stuck in the marshes bordering Del Haven, searchers braved blustery, freezing temperatures to pick through the area. They would be aided by the Cape May County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit.
At 9 p.m., the left L.A. Gear sneaker worn by Himebaugh was found on a stretch of beach just several hundred yards north of his house. Clay Simmons, one of the K-9 unit officers present at that time, used the shoe to get a scent and was able to track Himebaugh along the sandy strand from Eldridge to Roosevelt Avenues, where the trail disappeared in the increasingly loose surface.
For a week the search continued, involving U.S. Coast Guard helicopters, local fire departments, and police officers, as well as hundreds of people from the community.
Eventually the FBI, New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the Middle Township Police Department would create a Himebaugh Missing Persons Task Force. Over the years, the task force has vetted leads and the case remains an active and open investigation.
In 2015, after completing a two-year application process, the task force had their 450-page PowerPoint breakdown of the case and accompanying evidence reviewed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, www.missingkids.com. The National Center used a panel of experts from the FBI, national and state law enforcement agencies, and the civil service to look over the case and make suggestions on what needed more attention during the investigation.
Paul Loefflad, currently an agent with the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, was a Middle Township detective at the time and recalls that because of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, local investigators “reviewed old leads and spoke once more to people of interest.”
Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner told the Herald that another benefit of the review was the suggestion for investigators to put all the reports from the task force agencies into electronic form, making it easier for leads to be cross-referenced and fact checked.
Before the vigil started, Maureen Himebaugh told the Herald, “I hope this is going to do it.” With pursed lips and her eyes moist, Himebaugh’s mom greeted friends and family who arrived for the ceremony. For the Himebaugh family, it is important that his case remain in the public conscience.
Mark’s older brother, Matthew, said that he has come to really “appreciate what everyone has done. They have been very helpful.” Matthew also noted how dedicated people have remained to find Himebaugh, noting, in particular, the ongoing efforts of McHale and current case investigator Allan McClure.
Asked how the family continues to cope, Matthew referenced advice his father garnered when he met John Walsh, father of Adam Walsh who was abducted and murdered in 1981. “Keep yourself healthy and keep Mark’s case in the public eye,” Walsh reportedly told the grieving father.
The sentiment was echoed by Leusner, who told the crowd that his department would “never, ever give up” on Himebaugh. Maureen addressed those gathered, saying she was “overwhelmed to see so much support” and that so many people had not given up on her son.
She praised the recent documentary by Rip Roarin Productions called “The One Percent – The Mark Himebaugh Story,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCVX1UFKWrU, and thanked law enforcement officers and the media for their relentless efforts in trying to find the young boy.
Through the years, one suspect has remained at the top of the list. Currently, a prisoner in Graterford State Prison in Montgomery County, Pa., Thomas E. Butcavage Jr., 51, is still considered by many investigators to be the lead suspect. The suspicion arises from the testimony of a former male prostitute from Philadelphia, Daniel Coll, who told police Butcavage showed him a crude video in 1993 involving a boy who looked like Himebaugh.
The suspect denied any wrongdoing related to the Del Haven boy. Police raided Butcavage’s home and found dozens of videos, but not the one alluded to. In 1999, Butcavage was arrested for molesting a minor and is currently serving a 36-year prison sentence.
According to 2015 statistics gathered by McHale, 750,000 people go missing every year, with 467,000 being children. At any given time, there are 90,000 people missing and of these, 34,500 are below the age of 18.
A reward of around $36,000 is available to anyone who provides information leading to the finding of Himebaugh. Those wishing to donate to increase the reward are asked to visit https://www.gofundme.com/Help-Capture-Abductors-Who-Took-Mark-Himebaugh.
Anyone with information pertaining to the case is encouraged to call the Middle Township Police at 609-465-8700, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678, Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-463-2800 or the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135. You can also leave an anonymous tip by texting 888777 and put “tips mtpdtips” in the text field.
To contact Christopher Knoll, email cknoll@cmcherald.com.