COLD CASE: It can warm quickly

Our family will NOT give up even though it has been 27 years, and no answers! That was the day my nephew Ryan Gregory Hoeffliger died. This case has been ruled as “suspicious.” It is officially a COLD CASE! All we know is that he was found in Hayden Lake, drowned on the afternoon of Nov. 11, 1984.

There are so many unanswered questions. Someone has to know something! Looking back at the old newspaper articles, it brings back all of the memories of that horrible day. Was he alone? Was he scared? Did he suffer?

Even though I lived out of state at the time, I was on the earliest flight the following day. I still can remember listening to the news on the radio in my rental car: “A 2-year-old Hayden Lake boy was found dead.” Totally surreal!

What happened to this innocent little boy? I recently read, “A cold case isn’t determined by a precise length of time from when the crime in question was committed, but rather after investigators have exhausted all of their leads and progress is at a standstill.”

I beg everyone out there, if you know or remember anything, please don’t hesitate to call the police. It could take the slightest bit of information to help solve this mysterious/suspicious death. There are many known cases that have been solved after decades. With that missing link needed, this case can easily be one of the solved!

MARTHA MacDONALD DeWEESE

Paso Robles, Calif.