Jan. 30—Nearly 13 years ago 28-year-old William “Billy” DiSilvestro vanished from Hamilton, and he’s never been found. This month, a 16-year-old girl whose family and police suspected ran away to be with her adult boyfriend eluded Middletown detectives for 12 days before she was found safe.

Missing and runaway cases, whether they involve adults or juveniles, are some of the most difficult to solve for law enforcement. And while they may get criticism for what might seem like a lack of progress, detectives say cases are investigated.

These days with cell phones and social media, just about everyone — even if the they are homeless or have drug and legal issues — has someone they see or check in with. When that doesn’t happen and a missing report is made, detectives start the hunt.

Adults can and do walk away and don’t tell anyone — and they don’t have to say a word. Sometimes it is a challenge to investigators to determine if they just wanted time away or are in danger.

“We have to take it on a case-by-case basis to see what the background is, even with adult,” said Butler County Sheriff’s Detective Dan Turner.

What happened prior to the missing report being filed? Does the adult have drug or alcohol issues? Do they have an upcoming court date? All are questions detective probe. And there sometimes are red flags.

“Woman leaves for work and never returns is a whole lot different than when someone tells us ‘We got in a fight and now I haven’t heard from her for two days,'” Turner said.

Hamilton seeking Hyde, Fields

Hamilton detectives have been looking for Kara Hyde, who was 23 when she went missing and last seen on Grand Boulevard in Hamilton on Dec. 5, 2021. Despite a reward and pleas from the police and her mother for information, her whereabouts remain unknown.

After two years, Hamilton Police Sgt. Brian Ungerbuehler said Hyde’s case is both a missing person and a homicide investigation.

“You have to treat it as a missing person and homicide because you are trying to find her whether she is out of state somewhere or someone did do something to her. You have to look at all the information and follow up on all tips. But at some point those tips dry up,. It is a slow-moving case once it has been this long,,” Ungerbuehler said.

More recently, HPD posted Hamilton missing person Timothy Fields, 59, who apparently has not been heard from since October.

“He’s been around town for years and hasn’t talked to anyone since October, but no one knows where he is. Now he is reported missing,” Ungerbuehler said, noting Field is an adult who is free to go where he wants and has been homeless, in and out of shelters over years.

“This is a case where you really don’t even know where to start. So you start on the street asking questions. He may have just gone down south, or something may have happened.” he said.

On Monday, Ungerbuehler said Fields remains missing. Anyone with information or who has talked with Fields is asked to call Detective Jim Gross at 513-868-5811 ext. 1227.

“True kidnappings don’t happen often,” Ungerbuehler said. “We deal with walkaways and runaways and, in many cases, the parents of the friends they are with are not even aware the juvenile is missing,” Ungerbuehler said.

24-hour wait is a myth

Prompt reporting of a missing adult or juvenile is key, according to all police agencies. Despite what you see on TV, you don’t have to wait 24 hours to report a person missing.

“If someone doesn’t come home from school or work, call us, have us come out to the house. A lot of times it is a matter they just forgot to check in or text, and we are able to solve right away,” Ungerbuehler said.

Debbie Winkler Estes, DiSilvestro’s mother, who has become a advocate in her relentless search for her son and others, said she wishes now she knew the truth about that myth.

“Billy was an adult male who lived with his grandma, and had an alcohol addiction, I thought maybe he just wanted to be with people his own age. So I waited a few days,” she said. “I should have gone with my gut instinct. And you don’t have to wait 24 hours, I believed that and so do others still. I tell others all the time you can report them missing as soon as they go out the door — which is something I wish would have known.”

The sheriff’s office has searched woods, dug up ground and put diving teams in the water multiple times over in search for DiSilvestro. Turner said they continue to get a tip or two a year and they are explored, but many are based on old rumors than didn’t pan out the first time.

“The DiSilvestro case is extremely rare, but they do happen,” he said.

Estes said she holds onto a little hope her son will be found, but is also fearful of the reality.

“I hold on to that little bit of hope they will find him,” she said. “Sometimes, though, I put it in my mind maybe it was so horrific that God doesn’t want to reveal it to me. I am a strong person, but that might really break me.”

‘Searching the whole time’

Juveniles who walk away usually do so because they are upset with rules at home or wanting to be with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Detectives say most are very good at disappearing, depending on the sympathy of others and friends, until they decide to return home or are found.

They are savvy on social media and often plan well before leaving. Others are habitual runaways and can slip out of the house, be found, taken home and runaway again in the same week.

“Runaway cases are concerning, but they happen more frequently than people realize,” said Middletown Juvenile Detective Gary Bender said. Social media can both help and hinder investigations with misinformation.

In the most recent high-profile Middletown runaway case, Bender said despite what social media posts said, he was investigating the entire time, knew who she was likely with and did not believe the girl was in imminent danger.

“We were searching the whole time,” he said.

The cases are entered into NCIC after 24 hours, and other agencies know the person has been reported missing. When the Middletown teen was found, officers for multiple agencies were at the scene.

Juveniles can face consequences in juvenile court for being a runaway, but it is an unruly status classification, not a criminal charge, so being detained is rare, unless they have previous encounters that are more serious with the court.

In 2023, Butler County Juvenile Court had 522 unruly cases filed, and, of those, 45 were classified as runaways.

So what can be done about a habitual runaway or to stop it after the first time?

“That’s a mystery for the ages,” said Tim Myers, juvenile court administrator. “It is really one of the more difficult cases we have to deal with because there are so limited sanctions that we can impose as a court to child that is running away by law.”