Almost 42 years since the kidnapping and murder of a toddler in Utah

SUNSET, Utah – Forty-two years ago, an incident in a Davis County park changed a family and a community forever.

“It's been hard,” said Elaine Runyan. “This is not the journey I was meant to take, it's not the way it's meant to be.”

On August 26, 1982, Elaine's daughter Rachael Runyan was kidnapped from a park behind her home in the town of Sunset. She was three years old.

“She was lured through the park to a main street in another park, and they said they were going to get the kids ice cream. Rachael said she liked bubblegum ice cream, so he said something like, 'Come and follow me,'” Elaine said.

About three weeks after her abduction, Rachael's body was found on the outskirts of Morgan County. But even all these years later, we still don't know how she got there or who killed her. Rachael's mother has made it her mission to advocate for missing children and give families a voice.

“It changed my whole life. I've spent basically my whole life trying to find out who did this and keep their story alive,” Elaine said.

Before AMBER alerts were used nationwide to find abducted children, they were called Rachael alerts in Utah. The alert was introduced a month before Elizabeth Smart's abduction in 2002, so it was in use at that time.

“When something like this happens, you get these text message alerts, you get these smartphone alerts, a radio chime goes off and things like that that make everyone stop because they hear that sound, and they see a vehicle description, they see a child's name, they see a direction and a license plate. That didn't exist in 1982,” said Jason Jensen, co-founder of the Utah Cold Case Coalition.

“If the Rachael Runyan case happened today, I am 100% confident that with the technology we have, we could solve it almost immediately,” said Sunset City Police Chief Brett Jamison.

Jamison took over the case when he became chief two years ago and regularly looks through the files to find anything they may have missed. The investigation is ongoing.

“There is not an officer in this department who does not think about little Miss Rachael Runyan on a daily basis,” said Chief Jamison. “We have analyzed every lead we have come across, and yet we have no physical evidence that could link anyone to this particular case.”

The family says they have some ideas about who might be responsible, but they are working with investigators on their leads. They hope that bringing this story to light will remind someone of a small detail that could help bring closure to Rachael's tragedy.

“I know she is in heaven and no one can ever hurt her again. I had to spend many years without her,” Elaine said.