Case File 199DMFL
Kipling Randolph Hess, III
Missing since March 27, 1979 from Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance
Hess was last seen on his way to school in Merritt Island, Florida on the morning of March 27, 1979. He never arrived for classes that day and has never been heard from again.
There is one possible suspect in Hess's case. The suspect met Hess a few days prior to his disappearance at a church carnival. He assisted in the search for the missing boy. Police also found a missing person flier for Hess taped in his locker.
The suspect murdered an 8-year-old Michigan boy in the 1950s, and served twenty years in prison for the crime. From 1976 to 1980, he worked as a guard at the Brevard Correctional Institution in Florida; the institution houses mostly teenagers. While the suspect was working there, five local boys disappeared.
One of them was a 19-year-old inmate, Charles Collingwood, who disappeared shortly after allegations were made that he had an inappropriate relationship with the suspect. He is also considered a suspect in that case, and also in the 1977 disappearance of 12-year-old Keith Fleming. None of the boys were ever found.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Brevard County Sheriff's Office
321-264-5201
Agency Case Number: 79-11702
NCIC Number: M-131672822
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
Detroit Free Press
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Charley Project