Heidi Seeman
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Heidi Seeman of San Antonio, Texas disappeared on Saturday, August 4, 1990. The daughter of an Air Force Senior Master Sergeant, Heidi was abducted just before noon as she was walked along Stahl Road to her home after spending the night with a friend. Her friend walked part of the way with her and later told authorities she noticed the same red car drive past them several times as they walked. After parting ways, the friend looked back a few moments later and saw that Heidi was gone.
A massive 21 day state-wide search followed involving over 8,000 civilians, military personnel, and first-response workers aided by tracking dogs, helicopters, vehicles and horses. The search encompassed over 1,200 miles and according to the FBI, was one of the largest and most expensive searches in US history. Never before had so many people been involved in a search for one child over such an extended period of time. Over 50 miles of yellow ribbon was displayed throughout San Antonio and its environs as a symbol of the search. On August 11, 1990, then-mayor Lila Cockrell declared "Find Heidi Day," an event in which over 300,000 citizens of San Antonio came together to search for the missing girl.
Despite these efforts, Heidi would not be located alive. On August 25, 1990, Heidi's body was found in a rural area in Wimberley, Texas, 60 miles north of San Antonio.
Maj. Robert Eric Duncan, formerly Heidi's father Curt Seeman's boss at Randolph AFB, was the prime suspect in Heidi's abduction and murder. Armed with a warrant, agents from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), searched his home in Converse and collected a number of items that were taken into evidence. In July of 1996, an Article 32 proceeding, the military equivalent of a grand jury, was held to determine whether sufficient evidence existed to bring charges against Duncan. In September, the proceeding ruled that there was not enough evidence available to prosecute Duncan. The case eventually went cold, and to date, remains unsolved.
Heidi is still remembered in San Antonio. The Heidi Search Center for Missing Children was established in her memory in August 1990. The center assists families, communities, and law enforcement agencies throughout the United States in locating and recovering missing children. In addition, the center provides parents with the informational tools to help safeguard their children from child predators.
