Barry “Bucky” Kephart

This is probably one of the most heartbreaking cases I’ve written about. I hate when children are hurt or murdered. Even worse, when they’re hurt or murdered by their own parents. The people who are supposed to love and nurture them betray them. That is most likely what happened to Barry “Bucky” Kephart.

Barry Kephart II, known as Bucky, was only 11 when he vanished in Albuquerque in August 1981. On August 22, he supposedly left his parents a note, saying “I went down the block, be back soon. Love, Bucky.” He was never seen again. Twenty-four hours later, his father, Barry Kephart, reported him missing.

With the recent disappearance of Patricia Joan Chesher just 2 years before, and the disappearances of the Sena children in 1969, Albuquerque was shaken. People thought a serial killer might be going after their children. The missing children is still a wound that many in Albuquerque have not recovered from.

At first glance, Bucky Kephart’s case seems like the others. He simply vanished without a trace. He never even made it to his friend’s house down the block. Police believed he had run away; his father told the paper that he believed his son met with foul play.

But things are not always as they seem.

Bucky’s father, Barry Kephart, drove a truck and struggled with alcoholism. He and his wife, Josephine Kephart, had four children, Bucky and three older girls. They had recently moved to Albuquerque from Denver and they said that Albuquerque was not good to them.

In 1994, Beverly Kephart, Bucky’s older sister, came forward with a chilling revelation. She said her parents had given Bucky a severe beating with belt buckles the night of August 22. Bucky’s crime? Stealing a neighbor’s chicken. Beverly Kephart lay in bed, listening to the horrible sounds of Bucky screaming and crying for mercy in the other room amid violent thuds. Then the screams and cries suddenly ceased. She cried herself to sleep.

Beverly Kephart also said that Bucky Kephart had severe dyslexia and struggled in school, so he wasn’t capable of writing the runaway note. Beverly says that her parents were very abusive, especially when her dad was drunk. Fear kept her silent for years but she finally found the courage to reveal what happened to her little brother.

An aunt also came forward and said that Josephine Kephart told her Barry Kephart had killed Bucky. He then stuffed the boy’s little broken body in the local dumpster. He waited twenty-four hours to file the missing persons report because he was waiting for the trash truck to haul his lifeless son away.

The police asked Bucky’s parents about this tip, and they denied having anything to do with their son’s disappearance. Police felt that they didn’t have evidence to charge them, so the case went cold again.

From the start, the lead investigator, Marty McGuire, suspected the parents. This was in part due to the long time Barry Kephart waited to report Bucky Kephart missing. The parents also seemed oddly nonchalant during the investigation. They weren’t able to produce the note Bucky had supposedly written. They stalled and drug their feet, barely cooperating the entire investigation. That doesn’t seem to be normal behavior for grieving parents desperate to find their missing child.

But McGuire said he never had sufficient evidence to charge the parents. He couldn’t find the body, and he doesn’t think anybody ever will.

Then, in 2006, investigators again reviewed the case and re-interviewed Barry Kephart. This time, Barry Kephart did admit to beating his son the night of the 22nd and then passing out drunk. He said he woke up and the boy was gone and the note was on the counter. Detective McGuire asked Barry Kephart if he could have killed his son and not remembered it, and Barry hesitated for several moments before saying, “I don’t think so.”

https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal/147783274/

Article from Aug 25, 2006 Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

McGuire said by this point he had the evidence he needed to close the case. However, Josephine Kephart died of cancer in 2006 and Barry Kephart was protected by the statute of limitations on murder that existed in 1981. I think it’s ridiculous that there ever was a statute of limitations on murder, especially since cases often take a while to solve. Consequently, neither parent ever faced any sort of justice or retribution for what they did to Bucky.

The police were truly devastated and hurt by this crime. Marty McGuire said that it haunted him for his entire career. Marlene Lindstrand, Albuquerque PD records supervisor, said that Bucky Kephart’s case file was mysteriously left on her desk when she was new on the job. She took the case personally and goaded investigators to take a second look at it. She kept Bucky’s photo up in her office. Every year, she celebrates his birthday with ice cream and cake. She says he is a spirit, watching over her. I think he likes knowing that someone cares about him when his own parents never did.

The sickening thing is this interview Barry Kephart gave in 1981. He practically pleads for sympathy and acts like a grieving father. He said that his son might be in a dump or lying on the mesa somewhere. Turns out, that was the closest to a confession we will get out of the bitter old man. Barry Kephart also seemed more bummed that Bucky was keeping his family trapped in Albuquerque, than concerned for Bucky’s welfare. He now lives in Farmington and maintains his innocence.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-albuquerque-tribune/147783399/

Article from Nov 24, 1981 The Albuquerque Tribune (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

Bucky Kephart didn’t have a nice life. Not only was he abused at home, but he was bullied at school, too. He was small for his age – only 4’5″ and 55-60 pounds. His father told the paper in 1981 that he didn’t think Bucky Kephart ran away because he left in old pants and rotten shoes, suggesting he was neglected.

Bucky seemed happiest when he was playing in the dirt. He liked shooting marbles and playing with cars and trucks. He was about to enter the sixth grade. I really wish this hadn’t happened to him. I wish that he could have had a nice childhood, full of the love every kid deserves, and I wish he could have grown up.

Some part of me likes to imagine that he didn’t die that night and instead he ran away and survived somehow on his own, growing up to be happy. I know that’s pure fantasy, but it’s what I would like to think.

How Barry “Bucky” Kephart might have looked today:

Barry James Kephart II