BAY VILLAGE – Authorities have received “approaching 100” calls related to the Amy Mihaljevic case since investigators asked for the public’s assistance last week identifying two key pieces of evidence.
Bay Village Police Chief Mark Spaetzel said Wednesday that the department has received a wide range of calls since the June 23 press conference where a blanket and curtain linked to the case were revealed to the public.
“None of them are earth-shattering. Some of them are stronger than others,” Spaetzel said. “Some will definitely require more follow-up.”
The chief said some of the calls have been related to the new evidence, while others were focusing on a specific suspect and others were people the investigators have heard from before. The Bay Village Police Department has been following up on leads tied to the area, and have been sending others to the FBI for follow-up when appropriate.
At the press conference, FBI agent Phil Torsney showed a handmade curtain and a store-bought blanket which were discovered a little more than 1,000 feet from Mihaljevic’s body when she was discovered on Feb. 8, 1990, on County Road 1181 in northern Ashland County. Investigators recently were able to definitively link the items to Mihaljevic thanks to modern scientific tests proving dog hairs found on the items belonged to the Mihaljevics’ dog, Jake.
Investigators believe the blanket and curtain were used to wrap Mihaljevic’s body at the crime scene and transport her to Ashland County. Identifying the origin of those objects will lead to a suspect, investigators said.
According to the investigators’ timeline, on Oct. 27, 1989, 10-year-old Mihaljevic was abducted from Bay Village Square Shopping Center in Bay Village. The victim left school at 2:05 p.m. and walked approximately one quarter mile to the shopping center. The final confirmed sighting of Mihaljevic was outside a business at the square between 2:15 and 2:30 p.m.
At the time of her abduction, two separate witnesses said they observed a white male with her at the shopping center. One observed the man speaking to Mihaljevic, and the second witness saw him approach the girl before directing her towards the shopping center’s parking lot.
This white male was described as being between 30 and 40 years of age, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10 in height, with a medium build, dark hair and possibly glasses.
Investigation indicates that Mihaljevic received a telephone call from an unknown individual some days prior to her abduction. The caller arranged to meet her after seeking her help in choosing a gift for Amy’s mother to reward her for a job promotion. At the time, Amy’s mother worked for “Trading Times” magazine in Westlake.
At approximately 3:30 p.m., Amy’s mother received a brief phone call at work from her daughter. She assumed Amy was home and checking in as she routinely did after school. Only upon returning from work around 5 did Margaret Mihaljevic realize that Amy had not been home. She then discovered Amy’s bike still at Bay Village Middle School, and at 5:58 p.m., went to the Bay Village Police Department to report her daughter missing.
“We have never given up, never stopped working this case, and we never will,” Spaetzel said at last week’s press conference.
There is a $50,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. Anyone with information on the case should contact Bay Village police at (440) 871-1234 or bvpd@cityofbayvillage.com.
