Zachary Bernhardt

On September 10th, 2000, Leah Hackett put her eight year old son, Zachary Bernhardt, to sleep in her bed at 11pm. Over the course of the next five hours, she watched television, chatted online and went for a walk and swim. After taking a shower, she discovered that Zachary was no longer in her bed, and he was missing. A frantic 911 call led to the Clearwater Police Department responding with multiple units and within hours a massive grid search was being executed, but Zachary was nowhere to be found.

Over the years, Leah has become the subject of a great deal of speculation. A local pedophile would take credit for the crime, and then later deny it, and a yet unidentified man would abduct another child from the same apartment complex. A year after Zachary's disappearance, a photo was discovered near Boulder, Colorado, some 1800 miles away, depicting a young, blond haired boy bound at his wrists and ankles with duct tape. The similarity to Zachary was difficult to dismiss, though ultimately this photo cannot be verified.

Podcasts

 * Trace Evidence: 045 - The Disappearance of Zachary Bernhardt
 * Crime Junkie: MISSING: Zachary Bernhardt
 * Crime Over Coffee: Zachary Bernhardt - Missing
 * Crimelines True Crime: Zachary Bernhardt
 * And Then They Were Gone: Zachary Bernhardt