ALLEGAN, Mich. — Three days before Christmas, 34 years ago, 21-year-old Richard Hitchcock went missing. Richard was last seen at the Riverfront Bar in Allegan, now called Mug Shots Coffeehouse. More than three decades later, Richard's family is still looking for answers.
Richard's brother, Steve Hitchcock, was just 17. "It’s hard to wrap your head around your brother coming up missing,” Hitchcock said.
Richard's cousin, Kellie Boers, recalls the moment she first heard of Richard's disappearance. "My mom said, get down to the Riverfront," Boers said. "We got to search for Richie. He's missing.”
Boers explains that on December 22, 1990, Richard went to the Riverfront Bar after work. Boers says that Richard was asked to leave the bar, and he did. However, Richard came back to the bar later that night and had too much to drink. So, Boers says he was escorted out. From there, as Boers puts it, the water gets muddy.
"It’s a long time to go wondering where a loved one is... the wondering is the hard part," Boers said. "You know, if you bury someone in a cemetery, you know where they are. When you don’t, it’s hell.”
A few days after Boers went missing, his car was found with Christmas presents still inside. "There's no clothing, no blood, no hair, no skin, nothing left behind," Boers said. "So how does that happen?"
Richard’s case is still an open investigation. Matthew Luyk, Officer with the city of Allegan, has been connected to the case since 2010. "I was attached to a cold case task force that spent about six months working on the Richard Hitchcock case," Officer Luyk said.
Even though Officer Luyk says they’ve pursued leads throughout the years, it hasn’t ever gone anywhere. "We felt like we had done everything we could do up to that point," Officer Luyk said. "Every lead that we looked at ended up as a dead end."
The investigation into Richard Hitchcock's investigation will remain open, and his family just wants closure. "I have a son that has never seen his uncle," Hitchcock said. "I just wonder what it would be like to have my son have an interaction with his uncle.”
"Our family needs something," Boers said. "Tell us where his remains are, and we'll go get him.”
Richard's family has raised $15,000 as reward money for whoever finds the location of his remains.
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