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| Source: Framepool |
When looking at missing persons from Alabama, I found the profile
of 23-year-old man who disappeared without a trace in 1986. This man, Derrick
Kucera, was a green-eyed blond who stood at 5’9ft, but no picture could corroborate
this description. I looked for an image of Derrick in different places all over
the internet to no avail. What’s worse is that his DNA isn’t available on the
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), making his identification more complicated
in case his body is recovered.
In 1986, Derrick was living with his parents and with his brother
in Hillsboro, Alabama, and attending Calhoun Community College. On October 29,
while both parents were out on a trip, Derrick’s brother Darrell left him alone
for about an hour to buy something at the store. When Darrell came back,
Derrick was nowhere to be seen. His wallet and keys had been left behind, and
there were no signs of struggle. Friends of the family claimed to have seen
Derrick at approximately 2:00 pm on the Ivy Hollow Road, a dirt road where the
Kucera family lived. He was in the passenger seat of a LTD Ford driven by an
unidentified blond man. It didn’t take long for the police to suspect foul play
and, as a result, to search a rock quarry and 200 or 300 acres of wood. The
young man, however, was nowhere to be found.
The lack of any evidence pointing to struggle suggests that
Derrick might have left the house on his own accord, probably accompanied by
someone that he knew. Witness accounts of him sitting in the passenger side
supports this theory. I imagine it would be hard to drive and simultaneously
point a gun at someone sitting next to you, therefore, it’s likely that he got
into the car willingly.
A detail that caught my attention is that the police
“checked” the people “he had problems with”, as mentioned by an article of the Times Daily from November 22 of 1986.
While little is known about Derrick, one must wonder if he was involved with
dangerous people. If that was the case, it would explain the apparent lack of
interest in generating more leads as evidenced by the absence of a picture of
Derrick and his DNA in the system. If Derrick’s family has an idea of what
could have happened to him, they might see no point in pursuing more publicity
for the case and are just hoping to find his body. In any case, I hope his
loved ones find the closure they deserve.
If you have any information about this case, please contact
the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office at 256-974-2405.
Sources:
Turner, Winford. 1986.
“Nationwide Bulletin Issued for Missing Lawrence Man.” Times Daily,
November 14.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pBsrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5MgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1379,4611411&dq=derrick+kucera&hl=en.
Turner, Winford. 1986.
“Reward Offered for Missing Youth.” Times Daily, November 22.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rBsrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5MgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4405,6923101&dq=derrick+kucera&hl=en.
Turner, Winford. 1987. “Probe
Intensifies to Locate Missing Man in Lawrence.” Times Daily, April 3.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BGIeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5cgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2811,297301&dq=derrick+kucera&hl=en.
NamUS. 2010. “NamUs MP #
7351.” NamUs. https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/7351/0/.
I went to school with Derrick, he was my friend. When he signed my yearbook, he inked his fingers and I have his finger prints! He was different for sure. His brother is Joe not Darrell as reported which I find strange. I kinda figure he was involved with some shady people and it most likely cost him his life. I'm still praying someone will come forward and he can be lay to rest. Thank you for remembering him.
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