Jacob M Jake Surber, 12, disappeared from the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln on August 30, 1975. Nine days later his body was found south of the fairgrounds; he had been stabbed multiple times. His disappearance and violent death came the same day another boy, 13-year-old Jon Simpson, vanished from the fair. Simpson’s body was later recovered in a closed hopper car that had been moved by train to Council Bluffs, Iowa, then returned to Lincoln.

Investigators linked the two killings and suspected a predator who may have worked at or frequented fairs. Attention turned to drifter William J Freight Train Guatney, a fair worker and cattle herder who could imitate sounds and who was questioned in mid-1976. A letter opener seized from Guatney matched the width and depth of wounds on Surber. Guatney was arrested in August 1979 and charged in both deaths but was later found mentally incompetent to stand trial and committed to a mental institution.

Anyone who knew Jacob, Jon, or who worked at the Nebraska State Fair in 1975 and has information is asked to come forward.