The Amy Mihaljevic case: a phone call, a gift for her mother, and a man who walked her across a parking lot.
On Oct 27, 1989, Amy Mihaljevic, 10, walked from school to the Bay Square Shopping Center in Bay Village, Ohio, to meet a man who had called her. A man led her across the parking lot. Her body was found on Feb 8, 1990 in a farm field in Ashland County. No one has been charged.
Case file at a glance
The caller told Amy he wanted help choosing a gift for her mother's promotion. A jogger found her body three months later. Police and the FBI followed thousands of leads. In 2021 police named a person of interest, and no charge has followed. Three items she wore or carried have never been found.
- A planned lure.An unknown caller arranged to meet her to pick a gift for her mother, who had just been promoted. He told her to keep it secret.
- Seen with a man.The FBI says a man put his hand on her shoulder and walked her through the parking lot. Wikipedia says two witnesses saw her led to a gold-colored car.
- Dumped in a field.A jogger found her body in a field off Township Road 1181 in Ashland County on Feb 8, 1990.
- Missing items.A turquoise horse earring, black ankle boots, and a black leather binder were never recovered.
Editorial assessment of public sources, not a finding of fact. Nobody named here has been charged unless this page says so.
What happened
Details come from the FBI's page, the Ohio Attorney General listing, Wikipedia, and a July 2026 WOIO report.
The calls
An unknown man phones Amy. He says he works with her mother and wants help choosing a gift for her promotion at a magazine. He asks her to keep it secret and arranges to meet after school.
The abduction
Amy leaves school on foot and goes to the Bay Square Shopping Center. She is last seen outside a business and appears to be waiting for someone. A man puts his hand on her shoulder and walks her through the parking lot.
Her body is found
A jogger finds her body in a field next to Township Road 1181 near New London in rural Ashland County. She wore the clothing she was last seen in. The Attorney General listing says she died of stab wounds to the neck and a blow to the head.
Other calls and DNA
Other girls in North Olmsted get similar calls. Bay Village police collect DNA from several people. An author names a former science teacher as a possible suspect; no charge follows.
FBI reward
The FBI announces a reward of up to $25,000. Wikipedia says it was raised to $27,000 in October 2014; the FBI's page still says $25,000.
A person of interest
On the 31st anniversary of the discovery, police announce a man as a person of interest. He is not charged.
Family appeal
WOIO reports the family and Bay Village police have not given up and are raising funds for DNA work, which the report says remains costly. An Oct 24 5K fundraiser is planned.
Victims
A 10-year-old on her way to meet someone she thought she knew through her mother.
Photo: FBI Seeking Information page. The photo's original owner is not stated; shown at the site owner's direction. Contact us to have it removed.
DiedAmy Mihaljevic, 10
Amy Renee Mihaljevic, born Dec 11, 1978. She walked from school to the shopping center on the day she was abducted.
We found no freely licensed photo, so a silhouette is shown. Family members or others who want a photo added, changed, or removed can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Evidence
What exists, and what each piece may or may not mean.
| Item | What is known | Disputed or unknown |
|---|---|---|
| The phone calls | An unknown man phoned her before the abduction with a gift story. | Phone records and the caller's identity: not public. |
| Witnesses | The FBI says a man walked her across the parking lot. | A description and vehicle: reports differ. |
| Fibers | Wikipedia says yellow or gold fibers were found on her body. | Whether they were matched to a vehicle: not public. |
| DNA | Mitochondrial DNA was sampled and several people gave DNA. | No match has been announced. |
| Missing items | An earring, boots, and a binder were never found. | Whether any surfaced later: not public. |
Public documents
The FBI page and the state listing are the main public records.
| Document | Holder | What it shows | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| FBI: Amy Renee Mihaljevic | FBI | Reward and circumstances. | Online, free |
| Ohio Attorney General: Amy Mihaljevic | Ohio Attorney General | Case summary. | Online, free |
| 2021 search warrant and court filings | Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court | Cited by news about the person of interest. | Request needed |
| Bay Village police file | Bay Village Police; FBI | The investigation. | Withheld or sealed |
Access labels: Online, free = we could open it. Fan-hosted copy = a private researcher posted scans; originals are held by the named agency, and we cannot vouch for completeness. Quoted in news = reporters read it; we did not see the document itself. Request needed = held by an agency or court. Withheld = the holder has not released it. We cannot reach non-public records, and we do not try to.
Online discussion (unverified)
Where people talk about this case online, and how to read it.
| Platform | Live search | What you tend to find |
|---|---|---|
| Google: Reddit | site:reddit.com search | Public Reddit threads that Google has indexed, including old discussions. |
| Google: X and Twitter | X and Twitter posts | Public posts and profiles that appear in search results. |
| Google: Facebook | Public Facebook pages and posts | Only public pages and groups that Google can see. Private groups never appear. |
| Google: Instagram and TikTok | Instagram and TikTok | Public posts, memorials, and videos. |
| Google: forums | Forums and message boards | Long-running true-crime forums. |
| Google News | Latest news | Newest reporting, which is usually more reliable than posts. |
| Search Reddit | Long discussion threads and theories, often by amateur researchers. No sign-in needed to read. | |
| X (Twitter) | Search X | Short posts, news links, and anniversary notes. May require sign-in. |
| Search Facebook | Public groups and family or community pages. Requires sign-in. | |
| Search #amymihaljevic | Memorial and true-crime posts. Requires sign-in. | |
| YouTube | Search YouTube | Documentaries, news clips, and interviews. Quality varies widely. |
Be careful with online theories. Naming a private person as a suspect can harm an innocent family, and many "identifications" on forums have been wrong. Our own tools could not read these platforms: Reddit blocks automated access, and the others require an account. The Google searches above work from your browser. To get new public mentions by email, make a free Google Alert for the case name in quotation marks.
Coverage timeline and verification
What local and national reports say, and when we last checked for a solution.
| Date | Outlet | What it reported | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | |||
| FBI | |||
| Reward up to $25,000. | |||
| Read | |||
| Feb 8, 2021 | |||
| Wikipedia (summary) | |||
| Police announce a person of interest; no charge. | |||
| Read | |||
| July 1, 2026 | |||
| WOIO / Cleveland 19 | |||
| Family fundraiser; DNA testing remains costly. | |||
| Read |
Status is re-checked on a regular schedule. If you know of a development we missed, use the clue form near the top of this page or the contact form, and include a link.
Suspects
Police have named one person of interest and have not charged anyone.
A man announced by police in Feb 2021
Why named: Police said he was a person of interest after further investigative work.
Against: No charge has been filed. Police have not said evidence ties him to the crime.
The caller and the man in the parking lot
Why named: An unknown adult male phoned Amy, and a man led her away.
Against: No identification has been made public.
Where a card shows a silhouette, we found no photo. Anyone who wants a photo added, changed, or removed can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Latest lead: DNA technology and the 2021 person of interest
The newest public item is a family fundraiser for DNA work.
What is known
- The FBI offers up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
- Police named a person of interest on Feb 8, 2021; no charge has followed.
- In July 2026 the family said DNA testing has improved but remains costly.
What would settle it
- Genetic genealogy on any male DNA recovered from her clothing or the scene.
- Trace the fibers to a specific vehicle make and carpet.
- Match the caller's phone records to anyone near the school and shopping center.
A planned lure by an adult who knew her family's details
We put the chance that the killer knew details about her family (such as her mother's promotion) at roughly 80%. We put the chance of a solution within five years at roughly 15%, because DNA tools are improving and police have an active person of interest.
Editorial judgment, not statistics.
Elimination matrix
"—" means no public information, not a clean result.
| Person or idea | Link to the lure | Physical link | Legal outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person of interest (unnamed) | ? per police | — none published | — not charged |
| The caller (unidentified) | ✓ phoned her | — none published | — unidentified |
| A random abductor | ✗ she was called by name | — | — |
✗ excluded or contradicted · ✓ supports · ? disputed · — nothing public. No cell is an official finding.
Our hypothesis
Editorial reading of public records. A working theory, not a finding, and it names no individual.
A planned lure by someone who knew her mother's news
- He knew a private detail. Her mother's promotion.
- He controlled the meeting. He asked for secrecy and picked the place.
- She was taken at once. A man walked her across the parking lot.
- The body was moved. It was left in another county.
Judgment, not statistics.
Missing links
Questions raised by gaps in the public record.
1. The caller
Phone records, calling patterns, and any recordings.
2. The vehicle
The gold car and the carpet fibers.
3. The missing items
Whether the earring, boots, or binder ever surfaced.
4. The DNA
Whether usable male DNA exists for genealogy work.
5. The 2021 lead
What evidence supports or weakens the person of interest.
6. The wider pattern
Whether similar calls to girls link to the same man.
Evidence gaps
"Not public" means we could not find a report.
| Item | Tested | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Fibers | Collected from her body. | Match results: not public. |
| DNA | Sampled; many donors tested. | No match announced. |
| Bay Village police file | Held by the department and FBI. | Public index: not available. |
Forensic tech
| Tool | What it could do | Status here |
|---|---|---|
| DNA from retained evidence | Identify a donor or exclude people. | Unknown; not reported |
| Forensic genetic genealogy | Identify an unknown donor from relatives. | Needs usable DNA; none reported |
| Ballistics database (NIBIN) | Link recovered casings or bullets to other crimes. | Not reported |
Solved cases
Local cases that moved after decades.
Carol Sue Klaber (Boone County, KY, 1976)
Investigators say a private genealogy investigation helped them identify Thomas Dunaway, who died in 1990, as the man who killed the 16-year-old. He cannot be indicted, so prosecutors sent a letter saying he would have been charged. The lesson: genealogy can name a killer after decades, even when no trial is possible.
Forensic genetic genealogy training
In 2024, local investigators were being trained in the technique, which has already helped solve Cincinnati-area cases, according to FOX19. The lesson: the tool is now local, so cases with usable DNA have a real path forward.
Golden State Killer
Old crime-scene DNA matched relatives in a public database and led to a 2018 arrest. The lesson: a usable sample can still work after decades.
Case details come from public news coverage and the Boone County Sheriff's cold-case list. Confirm in court records.
False leads
| Claim | Source and date | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| A teacher named in a book was the killer | Author's theory, 2007 to 2008 | No charge followed. Treat as unproven. |
| A link to an identity thief | Reported 2018 | Authorities later said they had extensively investigated all suspects. |
| Reward amount | Wikipedia and the FBI differ | FBI page: up to $25,000. |
Where
She was abducted at the Bay Square Shopping Center in Bay Village, west of Cleveland. Her body was found in rural Ashland County, near New London.
Open in maps: Bay Square, Bay Village. We show no photograph of the scene.
Source ratings
| Source | Type | Rating | Use with care because |
|---|---|---|---|
| FBI Seeking Information page | Federal agency | A | Reward and circumstances. |
| Ohio Attorney General listing | Agency | A | Case summary and photo; opened. |
| Wikipedia: Murder of Amy Mihaljevic | Encyclopedia | B | Detailed, but includes unproven claims about named people we do not repeat. |
| WOIO, July 1, 2026 | Local news | B+ | Family event story; no new evidence. |
Records
Bay Village Police Department
Lead agency. Bay Village: 440-871-1234 (as reported); please confirm before calling.
FBI Cleveland Field Office
Tips: 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.
Ashland County Sheriff and Coroner
Where her body was found.
Sample public-records request
Under the Ohio Public Records Act, I request copies of non-exempt records relating to the October 27, 1989 abduction and murder of Amy Mihaljevic in Bay Village, including incident reports, laboratory reports, and any evidence inventory. Please send electronic copies. If any part is withheld, please identify the exemption relied on and release all reasonably segregable material.
Agencies often withhold records of open investigations, so expect partial answers.
Remembering the victims
Amy was 10. Her family keeps the case in public view and runs the Amy Fund.
News & databases
In the news
Loading headlines…
News archives
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Where they disagree, we say so above.
- Amy Renee Mihaljevic, FBI Seeking Information (reward, circumstances, tip line; photo).
- Amy Renee Mihaljevic, Unsolved Homicide, Ohio Attorney General (case summary).
- Murder of Amy Mihaljevic, Wikipedia (timeline, 2021 person of interest).
- Amy Mihaljevic's family using local festival to help find her killer, WOIO / Cleveland 19, July 1, 2026.
The Bay Village police phone number and the $27,000 reward figure come from a search summary and Wikipedia and are unconfirmed. We do not repeat allegations about named individuals. We found no arrest.
Change log
- Oct 8, 2026: File published.