A man whose family thought he had been murdered by serial killer John Wayne Gacy has been found alive and living in Oregon, Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart said Wednesday.
For 35 years, Theodore "Ted" Szal's family thought they had lost him. But this week they learned he actually was alive and had willingly disappeared years ago while going through a divorce.
“I believe Christmas has come early for the Szal family,” Sheriff Dart said. “Being able to tell an 88-year-old father that his son, whose picture he has been carrying around for 34 years in his breast pocket, has been found alive is something special.”
The sheriff's office confirmed that Szal, now 59, is living in Beaverton, Oregon, and left town when he was 24 years old.
"He was not reported missing to authorities because Ted had a history of disengaging from his family for periods of time and then re-engaging," the sheriff's office said.
Szal told The Oregonian that he felt like the "black sheep" of his family and decided to leave town after having a disagreement with them.
“I threw my keys away down the sewer grate so I couldn’t change my mind,” he told the newspaper.
He told the paper he figured his family could find him on the internet if they tried.
Szal's description fit the profile that profile, and the general profile of several of Gacy's victims. And his car had been found abandoned near Chicago's O'Hare Airport, near where the serial killer lived. That led his family to believe he had likely been killed.
Gacy, a part-time party clown, was put to death in 1994 for the killings of 33 boys and young men between 1972 and 1978. "Victim 19" was believed to have been between 17 and 21 years old and between 5-foot-1 and 5-foot-6, investigators said.
Officials were able to find Szal as they embarked on a search to identify him as part of an ongoing effort to identify Gacy's unknown victims. They have been asking anyone who believes to submit DNA samples to see if they match any of the unidentified victims.
So in November, Szal's family gave DNA samples after speaking with the sheriff's office about their missing relative. DNA from Szal's parents were not found to match any of the victims, the sheriff said. So they began a subsequent investigation that led to Szal's discovery in Oregon.
When a detective first spoke to him and told him his family was looking for him "there was a bit of a silence on the phone," according to press release.
"Ted was completely surprised and searched for words," the sheriff's department said. "After talking with the detective for a while, he asked him to relay a message to his dad; he wanted his dad to know that he was still fishing, just the way his dad taught him when he was growing up."
The sheriff's office said that the family is currently working out what may be best way to get in touch with Szal.
“While we are so relieved to have discovered that Ted is alive and well, our thoughts and prayers are also with the families of the victims – both known and yet to be determined – of John Wayne Gacy," his family said in a statement. "We are so thankful to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Detective Jason Moran. The work they are doing is meaningful and important. With the news they were able to bring us, we do ask that our privacy be respected while we sort through the next steps with our family. Thank you."
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@JIF:
If you are talking about my post on the other thread, thank you.
In fact, thank you anyway...
You are a success story and I meant every word.
I doubt Phildo is Philip; Phildo sounds sincere and young, and we know how high in his esteem Philip holds us.
His signature words were not in Phildo's post, either.
Pls re-post comment being referenced here as many are curious.
Share with the class..
@ banasy:
I saw your post that mentioned me.
Thank you very much for saying that. I still fight that background every day. I do try to use it for strength.
I'm happy for the family, especially with this being such good news for them right before Christmas. But him..... what a piece of crap to do something like this to his family!!
Did they find him using a DNA sample?? Is he a convicted felon and the detective just discovered it using the felon DNA search engine??
I count at least 6 editing errors. This is an internationally distributed newspaper as well as an online journal. Editors looking for work could help you....
I decided to take the challenge and see if I could find all of the errors: missing 2 commas in the first paragraph, Internet is not capitalized, sentence "description fit the profile that profile.." does not make sense, "they have been asking anyone who believes to submit a DNA sample..." believes what?, "according to press release" should be "according to A/THE press release" .... how'd I do??
I'm an electrician and I could do a better job of editing – and writing for that matter. I'd be embarrassed to turn in such a piece of crap.
judging him so harshly, people....there is a reason he left his family and had nothing to do with them. He said he was the black sheep. Clearly the family did not treat him well in some way or another. My own mother had thought that the day I turned 18 I would disappear and she would never hear from me again, and it was because they beat the holy hell out of me. But I manage to keep a limited relationship with my parents, as long as we maintain our distance. My brothers and me are entirely estranged. So you really have no idea why he left and should allow for the possibility that it was too toxic for him to remain
I agree. I wish I had left when I was 24 instead of sticking around; although, it would have been kinder to leave a note, even if the family was extremely disfunctinal. The Westpoint Silent Treatment is a very cruel act – my family is great at it, and the sad part is ya walking around thinking you know what the other guy thinks... if you actually learn to communicate, you'll usually find out you were waaaaaaaaaay off. Psychologists should be as common to each family member as the family doc, dentist and ob/gyn. Talk therapy is learning about how to communicate, not about blaming (like everyone who has never been thinks).
How is it good news to find out your son had evaded you for 35 years and had no intention of seeing you again? Who thinks that is good news?
It IS good news, that their son is ALIVE. And based on the story, it appears the family was responsible for their own child disappearing the way he did.
I agree with "the voice of reason".....I mean on one hand great he is alive, but is this really good news for the family, who had their own son INTENTIONALLY leave.
Anyone read this before it gets posted, or do you just let anything fly?
How bittersweet to know that he's ok, but he left on purpose...without a word for so many years. I feel more sad than happy for them.
FOR PETE'S SAKE, all the posters on here speculating that his parents/family probably abused him so that's why he left – you need to go back and reread at least the first paragraph where it clearly says, " he willingly disappeared years ago WHILE GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE"
So, I guess daddy wasn't abusing him after all!! Maybe his ex-wife refused to put up with his crap!
It was the 70s and a lot of kids (and some 20 somethings still have the mind of a child) were "tuning out, dropping out" – or however that nutty Timothy Leary quote goes, and it wasn't always a reflection of bad parenting; just confused kids living in confusing times. Give his parents a break, already!
Glad he was found alive. Now put him in time-out. Wait...looks like he was in one for 35 years. My bad.
Now, repeat after me: 'My new years' resolution is to improve my reading comprehension skills. And if I am a CNN writer, I will run my copy by my Editor BEFORE I post it so as to not confuse readers with all those messy typos and convoluted sentence structures.
"He told the paper he figured his family could find him on the internet if they tried.
Szal's description fit the profile that profile, and the general profile of several of Gacy's victims. And his car had been found abandoned near Chicago's O'Hare Airport, near where the serial killer lived. That led his family to believe he had likely been killed." WHAT THE F ???????????????? Who writes this crap ?????
I wish I could pull that off, congrats.
“I believe Christmas has come early for the Szal family,” Sheriff Dart said.
Seems like a pretty crap present to me; a guy who didn't give a fark for over 30 years the heartbreak and worry he put his family through.
Please note, the family a never bothered to report him missing. Clearly a sign of a heavily dysfunctional family and one that he was probably happily well rid of! Either way, glad to know the man is alive and did not become a victim of JWG.