Tamara Ann Haas, known to her friends and family as "Tammy," was a 19-year-old woman from Yankton, South Dakota, with blonde hair and brown eyes. Those who loved her remember a vibrant young person whose life was cut short, leaving a void in their community that has yet to be filled. Her mother, Nancy Haas, has held onto faith while waiting for answers, stating that to her family, Tammy will forever be 19. A childhood friend, Sally Smith, recalled the lasting impact of the loss, saying, "It truly haunts this town, it haunts me and every person who knew Tammy. She deserved so much more than what has happened."
On the night of Thursday, September 17, 1992, Tammy attended a homecoming party with her boyfriend, Eric Stukel. The party was held at a vacant farmhouse across the state line in Crofton, Nebraska, a small town nestled along the Missouri River. After that night, Tammy was not seen alive again.
Her disappearance launched a frantic search that ended in tragedy six days later. On September 23, 1992, a golfer searching for lost balls discovered her body in a dry ravine near the Crofton Lakeview Golf Course, less than two miles from where the party had taken place.
An autopsy revealed that the cause of death for the White / Caucasian female was a broken neck resulting from hyperflexion. Investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol and Cedar County Sheriff's Office concluded that her death was a homicide. Evidence suggested that after she was killed, her body had been placed in the trunk of a vehicle and then dumped into the ravine along a Nebraska highway. The discovery turned a missing person case into a complex and divisive murder investigation that would grip the small communities of Yankton and Crofton for decades.
The investigation continued for three years, clouded by conflicting accounts from the night of the party. In 1995, just before the statute of limitations was set to expire, prosecutors in Cedar County, Nebraska, indicted Tammy's boyfriend, Eric Stukel, on a charge of manslaughter. The state's complaint presented two possibilities: that Stukel had killed Haas without malice during a sudden quarrel, or that he had unintentionally caused her death while committing an unlawful act. The trial took place in 1996. Despite nearly 400 potential witnesses being subpoenaed, the prosecution struggled with a lack of direct evidence or a confession. Hair fibers were found in Stukel's trunk, but no one testified to witnessing the crime. After hearing the evidence, a jury acquitted Stukel.
No other arrests have ever been made in connection with Tamara Haas's death. The case went cold, leaving her family and friends without resolution. Over the years, community members have worked to keep her memory alive and push for answers. A "Justice for Tammy Haas" Facebook page was created, gathering thousands of followers and serving as a hub for updates and remembrance. In 2005, a friend, Marc Merrill, published a novel titled "The Homecoming," a fictionalized account of his personal grief and the facts of the case, hoping it would reinvigorate the investigation. Tammy's mother supported the book, hoping it might encourage someone with information to finally come forward.
As of April 2021, the homicide remains an open and active cold case investigation. The Yankton Police Department and the FBI continue to seek information. On what would have been Tammy's 48th birthday, law enforcement held a press conference to announce a renewed push for leads. "We know there has been some uncertainties since 1992 about what happened but we do have some certainty, and that is someone out there knows what happened to Tammy," said FBI special agent in charge Michael Paul. Yankton police commander Todd Brandt noted that the vandalism of Haas's grave in 2020, while unsolved, indicated the case was still on people's minds.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information that uncovers exactly how Tamara Ann Haas died. Authorities believe someone still holds the key to solving the nearly 30-year-old mystery. Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI’s Sioux Falls Resident Agency at (605) 334-6881, the Yankton Police Department at (605) 668-5210, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
