Bayway Cabin, the Later Years

Bay Village Comes Through for its Kids: Bayway Cabin, the Later Years

 by Michele Yamamoto

This article is a continuation of the story of the Bayway Cabin history. The first part can be found on the Bay Village Historical website at: https://www.bayhistorical.com/bay-youth-brought-the-community-together-the-early-history-of-the-bayway-cabin/

Bonnie Hunt, Corin and Austin Bonnett outside the Bayway with “Beau,” a Troop 1943 creation, October 2003, Bay Village Historical Society

Bayway Cabin and Bay Youth (1964-1980s):

The Bayway Cabin continued to serve Bay Village as a community center for youth groups throughout the 1960s. An “Information and Regulations” document from November of 1964 lists that the Bayway was available to Bay youth groups sponsored by approved adult organizations who would provide  supervision. Bay High School football and baseball coach Jack Llewellyn is listed as director and Mary Ann Martin as secretary of the Bay Village Recreation Board which oversaw the cabin and managed service charges to use the facilities. In 1968 there was already a need for remodeling the Bayway, 10 years after the last. A proposal of $1,265 was made by one contractor to make updates to the floors, patch walls and install wainscoting.

The only information in the Bay Historical Society’s collections that we have found from the Bayway in the 1970s and early 1980s is an October 31, 1980 booklet for a “Drop-In Center.” It lists rules by an organization of parents in charge of a Friday evening program. Jim and Pauline Fowler are listed as general chairpersons of the parent organization that was in charge of operations. The center was started in the 1978/79 school year and was available for Bay students in grades 6-8. Sixteen dances were mentioned for the 1980/81 school year, planned by Entertainment Chairman Ray Biltz. “Relatively few” parents were counted on to run the center, helping in the kitchen snack bar and chaperoning the dances. The students who wanted to participate needed to register for an I.D. card at Bay Village City Hall or the Recreation Center for $1.50. Under the rules of the center is written: “This is your Drop-In Center. A lot of effort, planning, and expense have made it possible. Continued operation of your Drop-In Center depends on you. Use good judgement, common sense, and most of all…HAVE FUN!”

Later in the 1980s there seemed to be a feeling that there weren’t enough activities to keep Bay children in middle school age and older occupied beyond school clubs and sports. The next bit of Bayway history in our collections is a July 28, 1988 article from the Sun Herald that talks about a group of parents, led by Patty Kaiser and Astrida Riders, who sought to create a “gathering spot” for kids in grades 5-12 where they could just socialize and have a bite to eat after school. It was planned by a nonprofit called the Bay Youth Organization, which was made up of parents and kids. The idea was prompted, in part, by a recent story of complaints about kids skateboarding and hanging out at the shopping centers. The Bay Youth Organization proposed their idea of a new socialization club to the City Recreation Commission, who expressed concerns of being able to accommodate space to both the Bay Youth Organization’s proposed after school/weekend club and groups like the Boy and Girl Scouts, who were already using the building.

During the 1980s more parents in Bay were working outside of the home and there were worries that kids needed a safe to place to be supervised after school. The concerns were further compounded by the October 1989 after school kidnapping of Bay Village 5th grader Amy Mihaljevic from the Bay Village Square Shopping Center which seems to have had a lasting effect on the Bay Village community and worries about its children. The Mihaljevic case is listed in a January, 1997 The Plain Dealer article about Bayway volunteer and Bay Village Citizen of the Year Mary Ellen Meyers as a reason to continue her volunteer work for Bay youth. “I decided that this town is never going to see another tragedy like Amy Mihaljevic if I can help it,” she is quoted.

Concerns for Kids in Changing Times (the 1990s):

In our collection we have several news articles and reports from the 1990s about the concerns over the increasing violence in public schools in America. It was believed that the violence was fueled by poverty, drug abuse, the proliferation of hand guns and violence in the mass media. There were a lot of theories as to how to combat this. Socialization was one suggestion mentioned as an important way to increase children’s self-esteem and teach them how to resolve conflicts non-violently with their peers. Building a relationship between kids, parents and their communities and emphasizing education over punishment could create safe environments for schoolkids.

Bay High School’s publication, the Bay Window, reported on November 18, 1994 that a school levy failed to pass in Bay for the second time in less than a year by a slim margin of 96 votes. One of the many consequences of this, writer Scott Graham worried, was that extracurriculars such as clubs, sports and band would need to be paid for by the participants, which would limit them to only the wealthier families. Teacher cuts, custodial, lunch service and a freeze on new supplies were also feared. Students were quoted as being disappointed that a majority of the Bay voting community wouldn’t support them.

I spoke with former Kiwanis Club President (1996-1997) and Bay Village Historical Society volunteer Bill O’Brien who remembers the mid-1990s and his work on the Bayway. He spent many years in recreation, working for the city of Pittsburgh and in Shaker Heights. Bill and his wife Elaine have two daughters, Frances (Jessica) and Caitlin, who were in elementary and middle school at the time, and he saw the need for Bay’s own sort of Boys and Girls Club for whom he was working. He realized, as did a lot of the town’s parents, that there wasn’t a lot for kids in middle school through high school to do in Bay after school except hang out on the streets. To avoid this, the town needed a place where kids could just socialize and get help with homework, all in a safe environment. “There was a group of parents, I guess, who were approaching council all of the time about what can we do about youth recreation and there is no youth recreation facility, per se, in Bay Village other than the outdoor pools and tennis courts…let’s build something like the rec. center…it kind of distilled into, well the Bayway Cabin, maybe we can do something with that.” O’Brien became part of a committee to discuss ideas as to what such a place for youth would look like.

All of this discussion and buzz about the kids in the Bay community caught the attention of Bay Village Mayor Tom Jelepis. He and his wife Beverly had two daughters, Elizabeth and Caitlin, who were approaching middle school age. He remembered his experiences growing up in that age group and what an important time it is in the development of a child. During the time he was on Bay City Council (1992/1993) and Mayor of Bay Village (1994-2000) he remembers, “probably the proudest accomplishment I ever had was working with the kids because that’s important, you know, and working with the schools. At the time there wasn’t an area where especially middle schoolers could go and that is such a vulnerable age right there…so we spoke to the city, we spoke to the schools.” O’Brien credits Jelepis for lending much needed weight to the youth center project idea. “He wanted to get that done and I know he really worked hard on it, considering all of the other things he had to work on.”

Mayor Tom Jelepis plays pool with the kids at the youth center, late 1990s, Bay Village Historical Society

Bay Village Kiwanis Club is Approached:

The town knew whom to approach to get things done in Bay Village (especially for the town youth) and that was the Kiwanis Club. Jelepis credits the local organization for making a youth center happen. O’Brien remembers “I think [the town] knew to approach us. There were quite a group of guys in there, I mean every part of the community was in Kiwanis, a lot of the business guys. We considered Bay Kiwanis to be ‘the group.’ There was a strong membership for years and years, longtime members that did a lot of things for the community. People would come to [Bay Kiwanis Club] and things would get rolling because we were so involved in every other aspect in the community. We had council people on the board with us, business people, people involved in the churches…it was a pretty good community regardless, I mean we do a lot of things around here as a community anyway, but they kind of focused for us.”

Bonnie Hunt, Youth Coordinator of the Bay Village Youth Center Program:

Jelepis knew whom to ask to lead the new program, and that person was Bonnie Hunt. She initially turned down the offer but Jelepis would not give up on convincing her otherwise. He knew she was the person for the job and asked her repeatedly to interview for it. Hunt recalls what she told the mayor: “Well, I’ll interview but we’re going on vacation and don’t count on me when I get back. Well, he came to my door two weeks later and said, ‘we haven’t found anyone else more qualified than you. Would you still consider it?’ The thing of it is, he never interviewed anybody. It was just me. He just waited until I got back.” Hunt agreed to run the program on one condition. She says, “That was my caveat…if you want me to do this, the program has to be free of charge. If you charge a family for the privilege of coming then I’m missing the very kids that I’m trying to attract.”

Hunt moved to Bay Village in 1979 with her young family and volunteered extensively over the following years. She knew much about the needs of children during the 1990s and could speak with authority on the subject of kids needing a safe place to go after school when their parents were working. Through the city she conducted the Drug Free Schools Program, funded by Bay Village City schools. The focus of the program was parent education and the importance of parents networking with other families and the community at large. Once a year she conducted a parent workshop called “Parent University.” It included keynote speakers and breakout sessions for the adult participants. During the sessions parents expressed concerns that there really wasn’t anywhere that Bay Village kids could hang out safely. They wondered why Bayway Cabin couldn’t be available for kids to use in this way.

Hunt’s daughter Marcy was attending the College of Wooster at the time. Her daughter Katie was preparing to attend the University of Indiana. Hunt now had the time she needed to do even more for the youth of the community. Instead of deciding to take some time for herself, away from the needs of children, she became even more involved in the lives of so many more that were not her own. As O’Brien points out, “Her kids were past that age so she didn’t have any vested interest of her own for the kids. She just wanted something good for the community.”

History Repeats Itself and the Bay Community Again Comes Through for Its Kids:

The Bayway Cabin, as was noted in the late 1980s, was not large enough to accommodate a special daily youth program. A new wing would have to be built and it would cost money. Hunt remembers, “The bottom line was, there was no money for this…to sell the idea that this cabin, by adding this on, would improve the lives of our children, especially those who were in middle school. That was the target age range. [Bay] Middle School was located very close to the Bayway Cabin so kids didn’t need to be bused. They could easily walk. St. Raphael’s was just down the road and they were welcome, if they wanted to come. This was the target age range that made Bayway Cabin a good location.”

The City of Bay and its residents came through with much-needed funds for Bayway. The City Council was very supportive of the idea and the city put in $50,000 for the construction and remodel of the old building. Dick Martin, who was president at the time, was a major supporter. Finance Director Steven Presley would approve many of Hunt’s ideas. Director of Building Farrell Cleary used his resources to get the initial construction underway. The money from the city was matched by the Kiwanis Club and residents of Bay at $50,000.

Luckily there were lots of people in Bay and beyond who believed in the idea of an after-school youth center. As they did in the early days of the Bayway Cabin in the 1950s, various businesses and groups donated much labor and building materials. If you can name the local business or volunteer, chances are they helped in some way with the opening of the youth center. It began with a groundbreaking on March 31, 1995. In the months following, there were volunteers pouring concrete (supervised by Jim Sears in the City Public Service & Properties Department) and doing drywall. Lakewood High School students of the West Shore Vocational trade class who were learning the construction business would come and do a lot of the work, supervised by the Bay Village Building Department. Dave Volle upgraded the electrical work. A new roof was put on with donated materials and labor by Modern Roofing Supply and Fairview Roofing. A number of volunteers attended “paint parties” for the interior walls with special marbleizing techniques and stencils done by artists Carole Tate Begala and Mary Ann Campbell. O’Brien remembers, “I also helped with the remodeling. I hung drywall there, my wife and I both. Her Girl Scout troop did too. I think [the Kiwanis Club] tried to get every group in town involved in there.”

Bayway Cabin addition groundbreaking with Mayor Tom Jelepis, March 31, 1995, Bay Village Historical Society

Bayway Cabin addition groundbreaking, March 31, 1995, Bay Village Historical Society

KeyBank volunteers do some staining at Bayway Cabin, 1995, Bay Village Historical Society

The city paid the salaries of Hunt and her assistant but Hunt secured donations for the inside of the building. She procured donations of pool and foosball tables, computers, craft supplies etc. to outfit the inside with activities for the kids to do. The Bay Women’s Club, Bay Junior Women’s Club, Kiwanis Club and various other non-profits helped contribute.  Many of the parents of the children who attended also made donations to the youth center. As long as Hunt could raise the money and make it work, the center would keep running.

Hunt says, “I think it was just golden. It was just the right idea at the right time, with the right group of people behind it that…much like the making of [Play in Bay] in Cahoon Park. That was the stimulus for me to make the Bayway Cabin Youth Center a success. If a community group could get a playground built…and it was shortly after the playground got built that the Bayway Cabin and the Bay Village Youth Center kind of started taking form. It was just the right time for that kind of opportunity.”

Bay Village Youth Center Officially Opens:

A ribbon cutting ceremony and party was held on Saturday, September 28, 1996. In a press release to announce the event Mayor Tom Jelepis asked the children of Bay to bring their own scissors to help him cut the ribbon and open the doors of the 2,500 square foot addition to Bayway Cabin. “I guarantee no one will be cut from this fun opportunity to dedicate this terrific facility. We’re all very proud of this achievement and the safe environment it will provide after school for 5th-8th graders in our community.”

Bay Village Youth Center Grand Opening ribbon cutting ceremony with Bay Village Youth Center Coordinator Bonnie Hunt and Mayor Tom Jelepis officiating, September 28, 1996, Bay Village Historical Society

The ribbon is cut! September 28, 1996, from the personal collection of Tom Jelepis. Jelepis’ kids Elizabeth and Caitlin shown second from left.

There were 30-60 kids that used the new program and it ran very smoothly. Middle school kids were welcome as soon as school let out until about 6pm. 9th graders were welcomed by 1996. Registration was not required. Daily sign in and sign out notified parents of their child’s attendance that day. The responsibility for attendance was between the parent and their child. The child could call their parents upon arriving and before leaving. A flyer was sent out once a month by Bonnie’s assistant Claire to all of the town’s middle school homerooms with a list of activities offered at the center. Because it was not a fee-based program, if a kid needed to leave early, they could just call a parent and leave. If their behavior was bad, Bonnie could ask the child to leave for the day and come back on another day, when they could do better. Bay Village Parks and Recreation under Don Weeks and later Dan Enovitch was in the building and there to help, if called upon. The Police Department at the time was located next door in City Hall and would be available, which provided a sense of security. The program was held under the Community Services Department, run at the time by Adele Wheeler, who had a strong belief system in what was trying to be accomplished and took the youth center under her department for that reason. Hunt says, “None of this project could have worked if it wasn’t for the support of all of the surrounding people in the city. I didn’t feel alone.”

 Volunteers Helped Make the Center a Success:

Hunt credits the volunteers who helped the Youth Center for creating the relationships with the kids that made them want to keep coming back. It only survived with the cooperation and volunteered time and energy of a lot of people. High school kids were a big help at the center. Every day after school about five or six high school students would come to volunteer. Recruitment was mainly through word-of-mouth. The teens seem to enjoy their time with the younger children and played outdoor games they would organize for them. They became friends, which was appealing for the younger kids. Hunt was grateful for their enthusiastic help and for attracting many middle schoolers to the program. Hunt also created many projects at Bayway Cabin for the young people looking for volunteer hours to fulfill in Bay. For instance, the Boy Scouts could earn the rank of Eagle Scout by doing various projects in the building, including painting the walls, building raised beds for the garden and constructing a new sign for the center.

The adult volunteers conducted activities like crafts and supervised the computers. They ran various programs and helped supervise the indoor facilities in general. Hunt remembers how one of these adults, then Mayor Tom Jelepis, would come spend time with the kids: “He was a good pool player and so he would come from the mayor’s office and play pool every once in a while with these kids. You couldn’t imagine how these kids thought that the mayor of the city came to the youth center and played pool with us. They really got a kick out of it.” One news article in the archive details one such tournament in which the kids took on the mayor in an eight-ball pool challenge.

Youth center kids learn paper mache sculpture, probably January 1997, Bay Village Historical Society

Youth center kids with volunteers, including Amy Putnam, ca. 1990s, Bay Village Historical Society

Activities at the Youth Center:

There were a lot of activities in which the kids could participate but had a choice. Fridays were movie days and the kids could watch movies they would borrow from the video tape rental store across the street. Once a week, the children’s librarian at the Bay Village Library would present books for kids to read. There were yoga and dance programs. Several computers were used to play video games. Hunt remembers: “The Oregon Trail was one of the most popular games. I remember that, because I had a limited number of computers that kids would literally run…I could hear the bell that dismissed them from the middle school…and they ran to Bayway Cabin to get to one of those computers.” As Jelepis describes the scene for the kids: “They were in a structured environment and they didn’t know they were in a structured environment, which was the beauty of it.”

Youth Coordinator Bonnie Hunt has been given much of the credit for the success of the youth program at Bayway. Says Jelepis, “Bonnie was really the key to this. She just made it tick. I was just kind of in the position to be able to help, whatever I could do to help. Bonnie was such a gentle lady and the kids loved her. Bonnie was remarkable, I will say that. She did a phenomenal job. She really led the charge and the rest of us followed.” O’Brien agrees by saying, “Bonnie really stepped up. She said that she would run it and she did a really nice job. She’s just such a nice person, very caring and knows how to deal with kids.”

Bonnie Hunt oversees a Halloween craft at the Bayway in this clipping from The Plain Dealer, October 29, 1997

Youth center kids play a video game in this photo from the late 1990s. These graphics probably wouldn’t fly with kids today, Bay Village Historical Society

Bay Village Youth Center kids play ball outside of Bayway, ca. 1990s, Bay Village Historical Society

Doing More for Kids in Bay Village 1995-2000s:

Bay families received many wins in the mid-1990s to early 2000s. Bay Village Youth Center was named Bay Village Project of the Year in 1996, earning this distinction one year after the construction of Cahoon Memorial Park’s playground Play in Bay. Soon after, Bay Village was named the “Most Livable Community in Cuyahoga County” by Cleveland Magazine in 1995 and again in 1996. A brand-new middle school was built in 2003 which later housed a gym and weight room for the Bay community.

1997 Proclamation declaring the Bay Village Youth Center as the Project of the Year, 1996, Bay Village Historical Society

The Last Years of Bayway:

Bonnie Hunt decided to retire in 2006 to join her husband Jim and do some traveling. In 2019 they moved to Portland, Oregon to be closer to her daughter Marcy and grandson Zak. Bonnie says that leaving Bay Village was difficult to do, having made so many friends and having been so involved in community life. Hunt describes her 40 years living in Bay Village as wonderful and remarks upon what a special place residents have in Bay Village. Ask her now if all of those many hours she spent on behalf of the Bay Village Youth Center was worth it and Hunt will say, “Was it worth it? I’d do it all again in a heartbeat!”

The Bay Village Youth Center after school program continued for a least two more years under new leadership, according to Dan Enovitch. Unfortunately, the 2008 recession hit and budget cuts meant that the youth program had to eventually end. Bayway then reopened as a Kiddie Kollege daycare center in 2012.

As of 2022, there is no longer a physical reminder of the old Bayway Cabin at the spot on 27400 Wolf Road. In March 2021 the Bayway Cabin was completely demolished to make way for the new Bay Village Library building. The old 1920s building, with all of its subsequent extensions, is no more. The site of so many events, through its time as a cafeteria at Parkview School and later as a center of youth activities, will now be remembered only through photographs, papers and the stories it leaves behind. I hope that the history of the Bayway, how the town came together for its youth and the positive impact it had on so many generations of Bay kids, will serve as inspiration and continue to be repeated in other iterations for years to come.

A Call to the Kids of Bayway:

Did you attend the Bay Village Youth Center in the 1990s/2000s or participate in any of the Bayway’s activities over the years? We’d love to hear the experiences from the youth of the time and keep a record for the Bay Village Historical Society archives. We’d also like to identify the kids in the Bayway photos. You may share this information by posting on the Bay Village Historical Society Facebook page or by contacting us at info@bayhistorical.com and mention the Bayway in your subject line.

The computers where kids would spend many happy hours fording their wagons over rivers to Oregon. Taken during the Grand Opening on September 28, 1996, Bay Village Historical Society

Take a look at the location of the Bayway cabin. Next door to the, then BVPD, across the street from the Bay Square shopping center where Amy was reportedly abducted and right behind the Bayway cabin was the pool that Amy frequented often.

Why did we just say “reportedly”?

Well, Here is what bothers us about the story as we know it.

Witnesses. The Bay Square is allegedly busy with children and only a couple kids noticed Amy? Those witnesses still so fearful of this now senior citizen that they wish to remain anonymous? It’s very odd to us.

The Van. Amy allegedly darts over to a dark colored van after meeting up with her classmates at the bridge between Bay Middle School and the Bay Square shopping center. The dark van interacts with Amy briefly and Amy rejoins her friends to continue on to the Baskin Robbins side of the plaza. Just past the bridge is directly in front of the Bayway Cabin.Again we spoke to one of the girls Amy walked to Bay Square with and she doesn’t recall this van incident.

Witnesses, but no vehicle seen. Multiple sources including the BVPD state that Amy was seen walking towards the parking lot. They observed this interaction between Amy and the unknown male, looked long enough to see this unknown male “leading her away” but didn’t see where he led her away to?This springs the question yet again that perhaps Amy and the abductor walked from Bay Square to a location near the Bay Square Shopping Center where there may have been a vehicle waiting.

Why Bayway Cabin is of interest. The proximity of the cabin to key locations.The involvement of the cabin and Bay Middle School students.This cabin had volunteers.Who were they? This is a location that to our knowledge has never been researched or even mentioned.

Take a look at the following pictures. *Remember that the building shown as the Bayway Cabin looked substantially different in 1989*

If you know anything about Bayway Cabin or used this location as a child or student of Bay Middle School, we’d like to hear from you. Based on proximity alone and now learning the scouts may have used this cabin, we will be looking into this extensively.

Interesting Statement here

For the time being we are going to have to hold the recent information about 756 Bassett Rd close to the vest. Again, the data we uncovered does not prove that this house has anything to do with Amy, but it’s possible.

The team has been busy looking into new person’s of interest. There are 3 individuals that we recently discovered and one was sent to us using our tipline. We’d like to thank the families that come forward with information on their own family members. We are sure it’s not an easy thing to do but it’s the right thing to do. So, thank you. You know who you are.

Not a lot of new information to post publicly about. We are still on the ball and working to get this thing resolved.

We’ll update again soon

You will want to be here when we release the most recent information uncovered by us and our newest support member K.J, who has been an absolute rock star for us.

The latest information goes far beyond just the Al Matlock talk. We uncovered the facts and they are very interesting. In a previous post we stated that we were moving on from this house because there was nothing but hear say. All that changed this week when we revisited this subject. We will get the information out as soon as we can. This data is being submitted straight to the FBI. Nothing we have discovered, proves this house was involved, however, the data discovered within it warrants a serious look from the FBI.

Thanks to K.J for providing us with this link to share with you. Many of you probably haven’t seen the Crime Rant site.

Here you will hear from locals and various public opinions in the comments as well as some good information. A lot to sift through here. We will be very busy for the next few days at the minimum so now is a good time to post this. Whatever it takes to keep the interest up in Amy’s case. Happy Memorial Day

https://web.archive.org/web/20110604225043/http://www.crimerant.com/?p=404

If you get a Server error, try the link in a little while. Hopefully it fixes itself so you can view it.

Final preparations for exploration of an area of Metroparks in North Olmsted are underway. This exploration is based on newly acquired audio in which claims were made that Amy was taken to this area after her abduction. We will go at this from both the ground and the air. This is the site of an old girl scout cabin. Since Amy was a Brownie in the Girl Scouts, this lead is being taken very seriously. BVPD Has been notified. Through some Law Enforcement connections we are hoping to have them assist us.

Public Assistance request: We are not experts in The Girl Scouts. Our knowledge at this time is limited to the basics. We would like to hear from anyone who was in The Girl Scouts in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. We need a better understanding of their operations, activities, locations, camp supervision, road trips, day hikes, overnight trips ect. We are looking also for meeting locations of Amy’s troop. Specifically places like churches. If they had meetings at United Methodist Church on Lake Rd we will possibly have another good connection to a pastor there that we previously posted a photo of and gave some background on.

Lastly, we need a picture of Amy’s Girl Scout uniform if one exists. We are looking for a specific badge. Specifically the sewing badge similar to what you see here. The Girl Scouts learned hand sewing and machine sewing.

K.J has helped us on this subject and is an expert on the subject of The Girl Scouts. The badges below were no longer used after 1980

The reason we are looking for a badge like this on Amy’s uniform is that we know The Girl Scouts often repurpose old items including textiles. If Amy was taken to this Girl Scouts location we offer up this way outside the box idea and question.

What if Amy herself or her Girl Scout troop made the curtain?

Amateur Made ✅

From a location that might repurpose textiles, like the bedspread before it was made into a curtain✅

Has Amy’s hair on it from direct contact with Amy✅

The Curtain might already be at the location Amy was allegedly taken to✅

The Girl Scouts would have Amy’s information✅

Amy would trust them enough to go with them✅

From Bay Square to alleged location = 7 Miles

Directions from Bay Square: East on Wolf Rd, Right (South) onto Columbia Rd, Left onto Mastick Rd, Right onto Shepard Lane, Arrive at Shepherd Lane Trail on right.

SHEPHERD LANE TRAIL PHOTOS

As these trails are navigated, there is one thing that is nearly certain. If Amy was taken here, Whoever chose this spot almost had to have known these trails very well.

Metroparks commonalities

1.Executive Cleveland Metroparks Director Vern Hartenburg is considered at the minimum, a POI in the Mihaljevic case. Hartenburg was convicted of exposing himself to an undercover Ranger. The previous Cleveland Metroparks director was also convicted of sexual crimes.

2. Margaret Mihaljevic’s arrest by Metroparks Ranger Richard Stark on 6-24-1989. This was a very minor offense and we do not know if Amy was with Margaret at the time of arrest. Richard is also a retired Lieutenant with the Cleveland Fire Department and an arson investigator. Ranger Stark lives in Bay Village with his wife. Here is a photo of Richard. We can’t help but wonder if he was one of the mounted Rangers who helped look for Amy.

3. Amy’s good friend Kristy Sabo’s Father Martin J Sabo was found dead in the Cleveland Metroparks from an apparent self inflicted gun shot wound. We have the full report given to us by his son, the late Cleveland Police Officer Nick Sabo. Nick wanted us to review it. We did. The conclusions within the full report are highly questionable. We’ll leave it at that for now. Worthy of mentioning on the subject of the Cleveland Police. Former Bay Village Police Chief Bill Gareau’s Uncle and long-time Amy case POI Kurt Van Gunten’s Father both worked for Cleveland Police. Gareau’s Uncle Patrick was prominent in the Sam Sheppard case and Kurt’s Father was also a composite drawing artist who was killed when his own police car allegedly ran him over. The famous composites in the Amy case were done by an FBI artist

4. Now this 2004 audio claiming Amy was taken here after abduction.

This blog will be updated as we hone in on this cabin. We would like to thank K.J for all the expert help on the subject of Girl Scouts. We will be posting some of what K.J has sent us in regards to the Girl Scouts. A lot of very useful information.

Information from K.J

Our search has now widened to include the Fort Hill Loop Trail.

Conclusion: The above pictured Girl Scout Cabin was located on the Fort Hill Loop Trail and not on the Shepherd Lane Trail as the radio host suggested. The cabin was destroyed by fire in 1967, long before the abduction of Amy Mihaljevic

Read on for all the details from K.J, an expert on the subject of Girl Scouting

Blaze,

I figured out when Old Fort Hill Cabin was built and when/how it was destroyed. The real story isn’t as dramatic as I thought, but I still suspect the real reason it wasn’t rebuilt was because it was on sacred Indian ground.

Old Fort Hill Cabin was built in 1934 in the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks.
It was destroyed by fire in 1967. The Girl Scout council decided not to rebuild it because the cabin had been repeatedly vandalized.
Therefore, this cabin was long gone by the time Amy was born. (However, I learned where camping was done in the 1980’s by girls in this council, including family camping. See my next email for these details.)
I also found a little info about Wintergreen Cabin you mentioned in your earlier email to me.

I’ve attached everything in a Word document. All the links on the word document work. The body of the word document is also included in this email (below).

K.J

I. Old Fort Hill Cabin
      A. Creation and Destruction:
Old Fort Hill Cabin was built in 1934 in the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. It was destroyed by fire in 1967. The Girl Scout council decided not to rebuild it because the cabin had been repeatedly vandalized.
Citation 1 of 2:
Girl Scouts of Lake Erie Council. (2002). A Promise Kept: Ninety Years of Helping Girls Succeed: 1912 – 2002. Cleveland.

This book (in full) can be found at https://archive.org/details/promisekeptninet0000girl

Citation 2 of 2: https://www.friendsofrhp.org/camp-programs-expand.html

      B.    Photos (2) of Old Fort Hill Cabin

1. Photo 1 of 2: Caption reads, “new cabin in the Girl Scouts Reservation” located in Rocky River.
   Citation/Link:
   https://nddaily.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-new-deal-for-girl-scouts-boy-scouts.html
2. Photo 2 of 2: Description reads, “Girl Scout Cabin in Rocky River Reservation”. This photo was obviously taken a few years later, based upon comparison of trees – a few years of growth in photo #2.
   Citation/Link: https://clevelandmemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/metroparks/id/78/rec/46 C.     Girl Scouts’ Use of Old Fort Hill Cabin             1.    1940’s
   Citation/Link: https://www.friendsofrhp.org/the-first-seventy-five-years.html             2.    1950’s
     Citation/Link: https://www.friendsofrhp.org/camp-programs-expand.html

D.     Recent photo of where I think the Old Fort Hill Cabin was located:

  Citation: https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/parks/visit/parks/rocky-river-reservation

II. Wintergreen Cabin
            A.  Creation and Location:

Wintergreen Cabin was built in 1954, was a different cabin located in the Metroparks system at Fair and Eastland roads in Strongville.
Citation:

Girl Scouts of Lake Erie Council. (2002). A Promise Kept: Ninety Years of Helping Girls Succeed: 1912 – 2002. Cleveland.

            B.    Use by Girl Scouts:

Wintergreen Cabin was used by Girl Scouts until about 2005. The Girl Scouts stopped using it because of its deteriorated condition. After it remained “idled” for about 10 year, the Strongville Rotary sponsored its restoration. In 2015, Metroparks re-opened Wintergreen Cabin for public use.

Citation:
McFarland, S. (2016, April 16). “Brigadoon” Opens Friday night at Strongsville Community Theatre: Strong Points. Cleveland.com.
https://www.cleveland.com/strongsville/2015/04/brigadoon_opens_tomorrow_night.html

III. Other Girl Scout Cabins in Cleveland Metroparks
At one time, the Girl Scout Council owned “several cabins in the Metroparks and sought to add others.
One such cabin was built in 1960 in the North Chagrin Reservation on the eastern edge of Cuyahoga County. At first, it was called Euclid Girl Scout Cabin. Later, it was renamed Intergrove Cabin.
Citation:
Girl Scouts of Lake Erie Council. (2002). A Promise Kept: Ninety Years of Helping Girls Succeed: 1912 – 2002. Cleveland.

Is a Girl Scout related pathway to the answers a dead lead? Absolutely not.

What we would need however, might not be obtainable by us. We would need proprietary information about Amy’s activities that the girl scouts organization might not be willing to disclose. Things such as dates, locations and events. With that said, we would have to investigate this angle by interviewing other girl scouts that were in Amy’s troop, the Mihaljevic family and others who would openly share the information..The BVPD and FBI have likely done their due diligence on this subject. We will continue to seek further information, uncover other possible POI’s and look into how Amy’s troop may have intersected with other entities, such as Churches, Pools, Campgrounds, parks, Youth Groups, Kiwanis, Nature Centers and the people affiliated within them. It’s a somewhat overwhelming angle to cover but The Amy Army does not back down from challenges easily. We will keep fighting for answers. Nothing is off the table.

Here’s what we are working on.

Work on our new POI continues. Can’t get into details as BVPD was just sent the data on him but he checks a lot of boxes, has the right connections and might explain why Salyer’s farm was chosen as the place to dispose of Amy’s body. He also likely did some sewing as he worked for The Thomas Creative Apparel Company, manufacturers of ceremonial, choir and religious gowns. The company was owned by former New London Mayor Barney Thomas. Barney also owned the Box Office Restaurant in New London, made famous in the Amy case as the location where Hursel Case claims he saw Amy and an adult male sitting on a bench in front of the restaurant. This account was deemed unsubstantial by many. We continue to look at it with an open mind. It is also worth mentioning that Barney’s brother was big into horses and was involved with buying/selling/breeding them.

All it took was for one of these POI’s to visit Holly Hill for any number of reasons. Cunning individuals, particularly those with perverted minds are very creative in their approach and information gathering process. All a POI had to do was visit the stables during the time Amy was going there unsupervised in the weeks leading up to Oct 27, 1989. Maybe he was showing a horse. Maybe he was friends with Harold Bound or Jeffrey Taylor. All it took was that moment for him to get his eyes on Amy and his cunning side comes alive to quietly gather the information he needed to plan Amy’s abduction. Maybe he was talking with Harold Bound and Bound unknowingly offered up the info the abductor needed, Maybe Bound told him “yeah, that girl’s Mom doesn’t even care about her. She was yelling at her and threw her boots out the window at her one day, hell, she’s here almost everyday by herself”. Opportunity then becomes planning for the perp. Its game on for the pedophile. Maybe someone at Holly Hill was complicit. These are just a few of the many scenarios that are possible. We feel Holly Hill is the incipient location for the crimes against Amy. It’s one of the only places Amy was left completely unsupervised preceeding the abduction. Those last two unsupervised weeks of Amy’s life at Holly Hill would also fit in the timeline for when Amy allegedly received the phone call(s) if you believe the calls actually occured. An undocumented glancing encounter is all it took. It didn’t need to be more than that for a cunning individual to do this to Amy. This also makes things factually hard to track. While we are sure Holly Hill was asked who was there at the stables for the last couple weeks before the abduction, it is easy to forget or have the perp slip through the cracks.

We have pin pointed the Restaurant in Nova that allegedly had a safe containing a porn movie showing Amy. The restaurant is on the corner of 511 and 224 in Nova, across from Callihan’s Corner Store. It was called The Reed House Family Restaurant. Even if we don’t put a lot of stock into the existence of such a video tape, it is well worth looking into. Allegedly, when Capt Roger Martin investigated the video tape and visited the Restaurant, The tape was no longer there. We also couldn’t help but notice the avacado green window shutters.

We are preparing our drone team and assembling a ground research group for operations in a new area that few know about within the Cleveland Metroparks. It is close to Bay Village. We are acting on some old recently discovered audio claiming that Amy was taken to this location after her abduction. This area is deemed by us to be dangerous as it has a history of murder and challenging topography. We will send our best on this one. In this area lies the remaining foundation of a Girl Scout cabin. Since Amy was a Brownie with the Girl Scouts, this is an area of high interest for us. This operation will be planned thoroughly and possibly include Rangers and local Law Enforcement. We will update if we can substantiate the alleged claims.

The Death Certificate for Paula Varney was found this week. We’d like to thank K.J for locating the document. Liz Rush was telling the truth. We would like to publicly apologize to Liz for our remarks on this subject. While we still have great interest in Paula Varney and associates, we no longer have to entertain that this was a faked death situation and can move forward with investigations accordingly.

Update on Harold Bound. We are still very much interested in H.B despite whatever else is being said about him being eliminated as a suspect. Bound is now in a nursing home/assisted living in Tennessee. Recently we uncovered an old address of H.B’s. At this same address we found family of the Child Apprentice and Wilbur Salyer. This information also connects to our new POI. additionally, the Father of the person who is listed at the address with H.B visited the same V. A hospital as Harold Bound. At this same address are relatives of Paula Varney.

A note about the child apprentice. Do we realistically believe a 12 yr old child killed Amy? No, but we keep an open mind. We believe the informant on the subject of Henry Newell Jr and the child apprentice may have been trying to throw the two deceased individuals under the bus for the murder of Amy. However they knew enough that it peaked our interest and after we thoroughly investigated, led us to a group of POI’s that we speak about regularly.

We have gathered information and the accounts of locals in New London about what they describe as a huge Satanic Cult and drug problem in New London in 1989. One goes on to say, “no matter how you look at it, the cult was involved, whether Amy was sacrificed in a Satanic ritual or not, the cult was involved”. A very interesting statement indeed. Main stream media won’t touch this subject. Police hate to talk about it and the other investigative journalists quickly discount it and claim there is no evidence of this being a cult killing. Based on quite a few facts and body scene evidence, we respectfully disagree and in our opinion, Amy’s killing could very well be the work of a local, body area cult. Let’s keep our minds open everybody. Let the facts and evidence take the lead. Hear say and local rumors have their importance in a case like this but keeping the facts forefront, is key. There is enough data here to solve it.

Our recommendation?

We would like to have formal meetings with BVPD, Ashland County Sheriffs Office and combine all we have with all they have. We feel strongly this would be productive in solving Amy’s case. What is there to lose by doing so? We have repeatedly offered our manpower to work for free with them.

Going on 35 years ladies and gents. The official investigation has had nearly 35 years to get it done. Although a lot of good work has been done, this case is still unsolved. We ask Law Enforcement to have some faith in the “citizens” they themselves call on to help solve this case. We are ready when they are.

Lastly, The Amy Army would like to extend our sincere condolences to the Family, Friends and Co-workers of slain Euclid Police Officer Jacob Derbin. Jacob was ambushed, shot and killed in the line of duty. This cowardly, senseless crime against a young man who had his whole life in front of him and was going to get married in July is unacceptable and it makes us sick to think about it. R.I.P Officer and Hero, Jacob Derbin. SALUTE!

The simple answer to the question of why the abductor would use a disguise is obviously he would wish to hide his identity but does this lead us into clues whether the unknown male is local or not?

In simple thought, if the abductor is from Bay Village, he would likely use a disguise as he would fear being recognized but…

Regardless of where the abductor is from, a disguise seems likely. That added layer of protection as he carries out his cowardly abduction of Amy.

The biggest indicator: The Jacket

Here is the weather for the week of Friday October 27, 1989

Ask yourself a question. Who would wear a lined jacket or a jacket at all, at the peak of a very warm day? Does the jacket indicate the hiding of body markings such as tattoos or scars that could be used to identify the abductor? It’s possible. The jacket, to us, is the first glaring clue that a disguise was used for the abduction. Once he is in private with Amy, he would likely remove the jacket. We can see this scumbag, while still in Amy’s good grace in private saying, Wow, it’s a warmer day than I thought it’d be, better take this jacket off. It pisses us off to even think about the unknown male’s cowardly, manipulative ways and how he may have acted before Amy knew she was in trouble.

The glasses are the next indicator:

Nothing will transform the face more than a simple pair of glasses, particularly, round glasses, do this transformation very well, as seen in the famous composite drawing. These glasses mask key facial features such ss eyebrows and cheek bones.

It is interesting that the 2 child witnesses observed the unknown male with and without glasses. Does the abductor actually use this as a tactic by removing the glasses sometime within his interaction with Amy while in public view to create 2 different looks? If they are disguise glasses, it wouldn’t seem likely that he would remove them. Why 1 witness describes with glasses and 1 witness describes him without glasses could be as simple as the angle of observation. The glasses are described as dark rimmed, thick round glasses. The ‘Where is Waldo’ glasses. On a side note, it is interesting that we actually looked at people from Waldo Kentucky. Likely means nothing but we did.

Let’s talk about the glasses

What is interesting to us about the glasses is that these dark colored round glasses are readily available before Halloween as costume glasses.

The use of glasses is prominent in serial killers and has been well documented

Since the 2 child witnesses observed the unknown male with and without glasses, we must at least entertain the idea that he removed them at some point while in public view and interaction with Amy on the sidewalk at Bay Square. What does this tell us? Well, if they were prescription glasses, his need to wear them is much greater than if they were readers or costume glasses. Our guess is they were not his regular glasses if he needed glasses at all. If you think about it, the famous people who wore round glasses are kind of known for wearing them. John Lennon, John Denver, Gandhi, Groucho Marx, Geddy Lee from Rush ect… In those cases, the glasses are identifiers and integral parts of their look and are counter productive to what the abductor would be trying to accomplish by wearing such a pair of glasses. Our guess is, these glasses were part of the disguise, perhaps purchased or acquired for the sole purpose of wearing for the abduction. They are likely Halloween costume glasses.

Hair color:

It is easy to discount any POI with light hair because the witnesses both state the unknown male had dark hair but should we? Probably not, because there is another product that is available during the Halloween season. Remember this stuff?

Now, staying open to all possibilities, how might colored hairspray being used effect the “bald spot” when viewed from 72′ away? Is it unreasonable to think that the abductor had lighter hair, used this product and didn’t spray the crown of his head good enough for thorough coverage, thus, creating the illusion of a bald spot when viewed from afar? It is certainly within the realm of possibility, albeit less likely

Then comes the variable of, did the abductor believe there was a chance that Amy’s brother Jason would be at Bay Square that day? Did he know for a fact Amy got out of school an hour before Jason? If this was an inside job type of scenario and Amy knew her abductor, perhaps Jason would too, thus creating the need for a disguise for this different reason. Again, we are staying open to all lines of thought and possibilities. It is most likely the abductor knew he had a limited time window to abduct Amy and Jason’s possible presence at Bay Square was not a variable he had to worry about. Maybe this scumbag is just very lucky in a multitude of ways.In closing, there was no real downside for the abductor to wear a disguise. The extra safeguards a disguise provides, covers the many possibilities that could arise for the abductor at Bay Square and in our opinion, it’s likely that he used one.

We are open to all discussion on this and any other topic we discuss. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts, questions or concerns.

We are coming for you Waldo. If it isn’t obvious by now, we aren’t going away. Whether those responsible are dead or alive. The identity of those responsible will be discovered. It is a mathematical certainty and only a matter of time. The Amy Army has the balls, manpower, dedication, resources, perserverance and tenacity to see this thing through. And we will…

By the way, We have another new POI for the abduction of Amy. More soon…

The Amy Army is one connection validation away from something big. We have been quietly working on something and today a huge connection was made. It’s looking good!

We will update. No big shockers for us, just a needed validation of what we have been suspecting for a long time. We constantly review our information as we learn and move forward. We cannot recommend this practice enough if you are looking into this case on your own. It’ll keep your old and saved information fresh in your mind and useful for cross referencing newer information. Remember that there is a reason you saved the info in the first place. This is how we found what we did today. Something sitting right in front of you today that has no meaning could be the tidbit needed tomorrow that ends this nightmare case. It doesn’t matter to us who ultimately gets credit for solving it. All that matters is that it does.

More Soon

Well this is sort of interesting. We’d have to have an actual photograph of Amy’s boots to compare but a piece of a vintage looking girls ankle boot was found in Southern Ohio in an abandoned house deep in the woods with nearly no access to it. The artist rendition of Amy’s boots is all we have to compare. We have tried to pinpoint the same boots Amy had so we had a more accurate idea of what her boots looked like. No success. That in mind we’ll share the photo comparing the two boots.

First a photo of the artist rendition of Amy’s boots. The box in red shows the section of the boot we’d like you to focus on.

Now here is the picture of the section of girl’s boots discovered in the abandoned house in the woods. The boot section is covered in many years of sediment. It does appear to be black in color beneath the grime and the same type of boot construction. In the video he also finds a piece of the sole of the boot. Additionally, one might question why the boots are torn apart in such a way? There are boots on the ocean floor of similar construction at the Titanic wreck site, under water 112 years that are still intact. None of us are experts on footwear but it seems peculiar that pieces of a female boot are in this house. As with anything else, until the case is solved, everything that has any chance of being related to Amy’s case must be looked into. Here’s the photo.

Very similar and if the artists rendition of Amy’s boot is inaccurate with the stud locations, it becomes even more interesting.

Here is the house

Inside, there are various names written on the walls and this writing. “Death is certain Life is not”

Now the frustrating part, We have no idea where this house is! All we know is, it is from an abandoned house walk through video posted on YouTube. All we know for a location is “Southern Ohio” close to Amish country. Interestingly, the same YouTuber posted the video of the Nova House on US Highway 224. The guy who filmed both houses appears to not be active on YouTube anymore. We’ve asked where it is but so far, nothing. Houses like this are the reason we started our drone program.

Here is the video of the house:

Here is something interesting in the comments of the Nova House video the same YouTuber filmed. It appears that Daniel Lecorchick, a relative of Nova house owner Karen Lecorchick wasn’t too thrilled that people were in the Nova house filming. Interestingly, Daniel originally posted his comment before changing his YouTube handle to his name. His old channel name is shown as someone replied before he changed it. #27 Mind27. A very interesting number to say the least. We catch a lot by constantly monitoring online activity.

We are working on a new post for the Nova House based on newly acquired information. Look for that in the near future.

So does this new boot section photo get us any closer? Probably not but it is very interesting. Again, given that Margaret and Amy both seemed to like vintage things, it’s not impossible that Amy’s boots were vintage as well. Most boots we see for horse riding look nothing like Amy’s boots and are very long, ending just below the knee. We continue to scour the web hoping to find the exact boots Amy owned. We need more than the artist rendering for photographic reference. We would assume the drawings were created by descriptions from Amy’s family. That leaves room for error. Perhaps there are other identifiers on Amy’s boots that the artist rendering does not illustrate or maybe there are inaccuracy issues with the rendering. Anyone can search on the web for Amy’s boots. If you ever find boots that look exactly or mostly close in appearance to Amy’s boots, please let us know. That is something we’d like to have. Thanks.

More Soon…