The reward has been doubled to $100,000 for information about a person missing since 1999 and whose parents are considered “persons of interest” in his disappearance. The parents live in a Grand Lake mobile home park.
“An anonymous donor has doubled the reward money from $50,000 for information leading to the whereabouts of Adam Joseph Herrman,” said Kelly Herzet, the Butler County, Kan, sheriff.
http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html
In December, the same anonymous donor offered $50,000.
“We received several calls and detectives are following up on these leads from the first reward offer,” Herzet said.
Adam Herrman was 11 when he was last seen at a mobile home park in Towanda, Kan., about 25 miles northeast of Wichita, where he lived with his adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman. Authorities in Butler County conducted several searches of the mobile home park and nearby areas.
Adam’s disappearance was not reported to authorities until 2008, after a relative could not locate him.
The Herrman couple said he ran away. They told authorities they did not report his disappearance because they feared they would lose custody of him and other children. Relatives said Valerie Herrman told them Adam Hermann, who was homeschooled, had been returned to state custody.
Messages left for the couple were not returned.
When the first reward offer was announced, Doug Herrman said he was happy about the reward and hoped it would bring information about his son’s disappearance.
The Herrmans were convicted of fraud in 2011 for falsely claiming Adam Herrman on their income taxes and receiving $15,000 in adoption subsidies.
Doug Herrman was sentenced to nine months in prison and Valerie Herrman was sentenced to seven months. They were ordered to pay $5,000 in fines and $15,488 in restitution. They served their sentences and were released.
“I was very thankful to the donor when they gave $50,000,” said Irvin Groeninger II, who is Adam Herrmann’s biological father. “Hopefully with the reward money at $100,000 somebody will step forward.”
Anyone with information can call the Butler County sheriff’s office at (316) 322-4257 or (866) 484-5924.
