11/23/2002 - news

Divers make another search for missing Benton Heights boy
By SCOTT AIKEN / H-P Staff Writer

BENTON TOWNSHIP -- A search Friday for a Benton Heights boy missing since early 2001 was officially a housekeeping matter, an effort to make sure no stone was left unturned.
But there was more at stake for the 15 or 20 police officers and firefighters who combed the wet woods, fields and creek bottomland east of the Southwestern Michigan Regional Airport for some sign of Steven Kraft II.
"We're all looking for a little closure," said Benton Township Detective Tom Vaught. "We don't think a boy can just vanish."
On the evening of Feb. 15, 2001, the 12-year-old, a sixth-grader at Benton Harbor's Hull Elementary School, went outside the family's house at 2103 Holly Drive to play with two family dogs while his mother fixed dinner. He never returned.
A massive search by police equipped with helicopters, dogs, horses and help from the FBI turned up no sign of the boy. He was last seen wearing a tan and white striped shirt, tan parachute pants, black boots and an aqua and purple Charlotte Hornets jacket.
In the days that followed, hundreds of volunteers covered a six-square-mile area in follow-up searches. They also came up empty-handed.
Vaught said Friday's effort covered ground that was not thoroughly searched at the time Steven disappeared.
"We don't have any specific information that Steven is back here," Vaught said. But he believed a more careful look was in order for an area north of the airport and south of Wood Avenue.
Although the searchers found no trace of Steven, Vaught said that was expected, and he is not disappointed.
"It was a really productive day," he said. "We eliminated several things. You have to keep going."
Although a lot of time has passed since Steven vanished, it is not difficult for investigators to stay focused, said FBI Special Agent Al DiBrito.
"You continually think about the victim and the victim's family," DiBrito said.
And although the case is 21 months old, new information comes in regularly.
"This case has never not had a lead," said DiBrito.
Some of the calls are not credible. "But we will take seriously any call we get," he said.
To prepare for Friday's search, the area was reconnoitered earlier by helicopter. With the leaves down and no snow on the ground, searchers were hoping to spot something that might have been missed earlier.
Benton Township police and firefighters, Berrien sheriff's deputies and reserves joined in the search.
The sheriff's department dive team, wearing dry suits for warmth, carefully checked the bottom of three shallow, murky ponds.
Visibility in the cold water was nearly zero, and divers felt through the deep muck on the bottom for clues.
Sheriff's Sgt. Don Goulooze said the team searched other ponds after Steven disappeared.
In May 2001, divers searched four miles of Blue Creek and the pond behind Harbor Haven Ministries.
The boy's father told police Steven might have gone to the then-ice covered pond on the February evening he disappeared.
No cracks were found in the ice to indicate someone might have fallen through.
The search took police and the FBI to Milwaukee, where Steven's family had relatives. Officers eliminated several possible explanations for his disappearance.
Police initially got about 200 tips to check. By the summer of 2001, the number had fallen to a few each month. But tips continue to come in, Vaught said, and police take each one seriously.
On Friday, the search team was assisted by a dog trained to smell cadavers. Trooper Ric Hetu said the German shepherd, named Ki, reacts when it picks up the scent, even if a body is under water.
Vaught said investigators are not about to give up on the search for Steven.
In an attempt to jog memories, the boy's picture appeared on nationally televised NASCAR truck races in July and earlier this month.
Steven's sister, Jody Bopp, was able to get information about the case aired on the Montel Williams television show.
DiBrito said a new television show about missing persons will describe Steven's disappearance in a segment.
Tips can be reported to the Benton Township Police Department, 926-8221; the FBI office in St. Joseph, 982-0390; or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 1-800-843-5678.