This Ohio Teen Was Found Dead Five Days After Going Missing From A Halloween Party, And Over 40 Years Later, What Happened To Him Still Remains A Mystery
It’s heartbreaking to hear stories of young people who go missing after celebrating a holiday or having fun with friends.
One of those stories is that of Kurt Sova, a teenager who was tragically found dead five days after being reported missing following a Halloween party. It’s been over 40 years since he mysteriously died, and to this day, no one knows for sure what happened to him.
In 1981, the year he died, Kurt was a 17-year-old boy living in Newburgh Heights, Ohio, with his and three older brothers. He was a good student at his high school and had great relationships with friends and family.
However, during Halloween that year, he began doing things that were out of character.
On Friday, October 23rd, Kurt skipped school to hang around a liquor store. He eventually convinced someone to buy him a bottle of Everclear, and he spent much of the afternoon drinking it at a friend’s house. Later that evening, he bumped into his friend Samuel Carroll, who was headed to a Halloween party at a Duplex home two miles from Kurt’s house. Kurt decided to join him.
Samuel claimed that Kurt became even more intoxicated and sick during the Halloween party. At one point during the night, he went outside with Kurt to get some fresh air. Samuel was standing near a fence with Kurt when he briefly re-entered the house to grab their jackets. When he went back outside a few minutes later, Kurt was nowhere to be found.
However, since such a short amount of time went by, Samuel figured Kurt had gotten a ride home.
It was unusual for Kurt to get home late at night, so when he didn’t return from the party the next morning, his parents became very concerned and began looking for him.
They called friends and drove through the neighborhood, hoping to see him, but they had no luck. On Sunday, October 25th, they decided to call the police to report Kurt missing.
Ohio Attorney General – pictured above is Kurt
Over the years, Kurt’s family has expressed disappointment in the way local police handled Kurt’s investigation. They had to do a lot of searching and digging for information themselves. For instance, Kurt’s parents confronted the owners of the duplex where the Halloween party was held.
At first, they denied ever having a party or seeing Kurt, but eventually changed their story after a pizza delivery man mentioned he had delivered food to the party.
Kurt’s family also hung up missing person flyers all over town. A local shop owner approached them and said that Kurt had died and his body would be found a few days later. But when police questioned him, they determined the man was mentally ill and had no connection to Kurt’s disappearance.
Then, on October 28th, three kids were playing near a furniture warehouse when they noticed a body lying in a ravine. It turned out to be Kurt, and he was located only around 500 yards from the duplex where the party was held. He was floating face-up in shallow water and was missing a shoe.
Kurt’s body had minor scrapes and bruising, but there were no signs of trauma that indicated foul play. His blood-alcohol levels also weren’t high enough to kill him. The chief deputy coroner struggled to pinpoint exactly what could’ve happened to Kurt, so his death was determined to be caused by a probable accident. But to the police, it was listed as suspicious.
After re-examining any information and evidence they had, the Newburgh Heights Police Department continually struggled to figure out what happened to Kurt. In 2019, his case was re-opened, and Tiffin University criminology students were brought into the investigation.
In 2020, Kurt’s case was used for CrimeCon CrowdSolve. In this event, true crime fans and enthusiasts work together to examine evidence and develop new theories about what may have happened in certain cases.
While these newer updates to Kurt’s case gave the police some leads and new theories, nothing has led to a solid answer. Hopefully, Kurt’s loved ones will finally get the information they need to give them some proper closure after his tragic loss.
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