Friday, November 9, 2007

William Majewski now missing 16 years, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania

A month and a half ago, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review did a short story on William.
Article from http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/rss/s_529061.html:

McKees Rocks boy went fishing and never returned
By Jill King Greenwood
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, September 24, 2007
Every Monday, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and local police publish details of unsolved cases. Anyone with information on today's case can call Allegheny County Police communications dispatch at 412-473-3000 or county homicide Lt. Christopher Kearns at 412-473-1253. Callers can remain anonymous. People with information also can visit the county police headquarters at 400 North Lexington Ave. in North Point Breeze.
William Majewski was 8 years old when he disappeared from a riverbank in McKees Rocks 15 years ago.
Police still have few clues about what happened to him.
On the afternoon of Nov. 9, 1991, the boy was playing in his Chartiers Avenue neighborhood before coming home for dinner about 4 p.m., Allegheny County police
Sgt. Andrew Schurman said. He left home again at 4:30 p.m., with his fishing gear in hand, Schurman said.
Majewski went fishing along Chartiers Creek, behind the parking lot of an Eat 'n Park restaurant along Chartiers Avenue, Schurman said. When William didn't return home at 6:30 as he'd promised, his mother became concerned and started looking for him, police said. His fishing gear was beside the creek, but the boy was nowhere to be found, Schurman said.
William's mother called police and a large search party was organized, Schurman said. Divers searched the river after police dogs indicated they detected William's scent on the riverbank, investigators said. Police conducted hundreds of interviews but were never able to identify a suspect or motive for William's disappearance.
Detectives have no evidence to suggest Majewski is alive or dead, police said. Other than the boy's fishing gear, there was no physical evidence found along the riverbank where William was last seen.
His mother no longer lives in the Pittsburgh area, Schurman said. William was one of five children.
Jill King Greenwood can be reached at jgreenwood@tribweb.com or 412-321-2160.
William's Charley Project profile (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/majewski_william.html; source of above photo and age progression):
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: November 9, 1991 from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: April 25, 1983
Age: 8 years old
Height and Weight: 4'1, 50 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Sandy brown hair, blue eyes. Majewski had gaps between his teeth at the time of his disappearance. His nickname is Willie.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A gray hooded sweatshirt, gray pants and black tennis shoes.

Details of Disappearance
Majewski's mother, Alice Stubenrauch, told authorities that she last saw her son at approximately 4:00 p.m. on November 9, 1991 as he left their residence in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. Witnesses saw Majewski shortly afterwards walking to Chartiers Creek near the Ohio River with his fishing gear. His equipment was found later along the banks of the creek behind the Eat N'Park Restaurant, approximately 100 yards from a homeless persons' camp. Majewski's gear was undisturbed and there were no signs of a struggle at the scene.
Witnesses gave conflicting reports as to his movements the afternoon he disappeared. People reported seeing Majewski at the McKees Rocks Plaza; another person stated that the child was seen speaking to a "scruffy-looking man" in a nearby store. An additional witness said that Majewski was pulled into a burnt orange-painted Nova by an "unkempt man" that afternoon in McKees Rocks. The unidentified man and his vehicle have never been located.
Majewski's missing child's report was delayed by several hours on November 9 because
Studenrauch was playing bingo and did not realize her son had vanished until several hours after he was last seen. She later agreed to take a polygraph test, but moved away from the area before the exam could be conducted. Authorities have said that Studenrauch was uncooperative during their initial investigation into her son's case. Her whereabouts are currently unknown; she is not listed as a suspect in Majewski's disappearance.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that Majewski's case may be connected to a homeless man named Joseph Cornelius. Cornelius was arrested in late 2000 for the murder of Scott Drake, a young boy from the same Pennsylvania region as Majewski. Cornelius reportedly confessed to Drake's homicide, telling authorities that he killed the boy because Drake allegedly stole Corenlius' radio. Cornelius lived with Helen Arlott in 1991; Arlott was a good friend of Studenrauch's at that time. Arlott, who is now deceased, claimed that Studenrauch was a good mother during the 1991 investigation into Majewski's case.
It is not known if there is a connection between Cornelius and Majewski. Majewski's fishing equipment was located near a homeless camp that Cornelius was familiar with in 1991. The case is now being re-investigated. It is unlikely that Majewski died in an accident since his remains have never been located despite extensive searches conducted in the area.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
McKees Rocks Police Department
412-331-2300

You can also call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

You can print a poster of William at http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=761273&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US.

For more about Joseph Cornelius and Scott Drake, see http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20001005murder5.asp.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wish this close would close. I was friends with him at the time when he vanished.

I always suspected the mother had something to do with it.

Anonymous said...

I knew a William Majewski in high school in Natrona Heights PA two years ago... sorta weird I find a missing person report out for a person with the same name in PA...