On a summer day in the small community of Union Mills, Indiana, 13-year-old Duane Bush disappeared. It was Thursday, June 3, 1971, when the young boy, a son of Mrs. Lucy Bush, vanished from his home. In the initial confusion and absence of answers, authorities considered the possibility that Duane had run away, as he had reportedly had recent issues with juvenile authorities.
The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, with no sign of the boy, leaving his family to grapple with a painful and terrifying silence.
The search came to a tragic end three months after Duane went missing. A hunter walking through a wooded area five miles northeast of Union Mills made a grim discovery: scattered skeletal remains. Using dental records, forensic experts were able to confirm the identity of the deceased. It was Duane Bush. The heartbreaking discovery transformed a missing person case into a homicide investigation, but with few leads to follow, the case grew cold. For more than a decade, the question of who had killed the young boy remained a painful, unanswered mystery for his loved ones and the community.
The break in the case came from the unlikeliest of sources: the confession of a man already in custody for other horrific crimes. In 1983, authorities in LaPorte County arrested Frank R. Davis, a serial predator who had committed a series of brutal attacks on teenage boys. After being identified by two survivors of a violent assault, Davis began to talk. From his jail cell, he gave a full confession to a string of crimes, including two other murders. In his confession, he admitted to a crime that had haunted the region for twelve years: the murder of Duane Bush.
Davis revealed the horrifying details of what happened on that June day in 1971. He had kidnapped Duane, subjected him to sexual assault, and then strangled him to death. With this confession, the long-unsolved murder was finally cleared, and Duane's family had the answer they had been denied for so long. The man responsible for their immeasurable loss had a name and a face. Frank R. Davis was a serial killer whose violent spree had begun with the murder of Duane Bush.
Frank R. Davis was never tried specifically for Duane's murder, as he was already facing charges for the murders of 14-year-old Darrin Reed and 15-year-old James "Jeff" Lopez, as well as two counts of attempted murder for other assaults he committed in 1983. He pleaded guilty to these charges. Initially sentenced to death, his sentence was later commuted. For his proven crimes, Davis was ultimately sentenced to a total of 220 years in prison.
The resolution of Duane's case brought a measure of justice, ensuring his killer would never harm another child. Frank R. Davis died in prison on January 22, 2008, taking the full story of his violent life with him. While the legal case is closed, the memory of a 13-year-old boy, whose life was stolen on a summer day, remains.
