Circumstances of Disappearance
According to his parents, Kephart left a note for his family at their home on the day disappeared, which stated he was going to a friend's house.
In August 2006, Albuquerque police concluded that Bucky was murdered by his parents. According to the final report, Bucky was beaten and killed by his parents, and his remains was disposed of. His body may have been tossed in a Dumpster near the family's apartment at 329 Texas Street S.E. It may rest now under the Journal Pavilion, a landfill at the time. Few expect it will ever be found.
His sister says that the boy wouldn't have written a note for his parents because he was dyslexic. She also recalls hearing her parents beating Bucky the night before he disappeared. And then the next morning Bucky was gone.
His mother died in 2005, and his father will never face any charges because the statute of limitations for murder in 1981 was 15 years, a deadline that lapsed in 1996. The father claims he's innocent, and blames any child abuse on his dead wife. He also claims to not remember anything about the night Bucky disappeared. Bucky was the only son and the youngest of four children.