Steven Allen Hafer, 32, disappeared from Grant’s Lick, Kentucky, in late March 1989. He was 5 feet 11 inches and about 240 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes; he was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and white gym shoes. Family members initially believed he had left voluntarily amid a difficult divorce and child support issues, and he was not reported missing to the Campbell County Police Department until June 1992.

Over time, investigators received multiple tips linking David Lee Smith to Hafer’s disappearance. In 1995 an ex-wife of Smith cooperated with police and wore a recording device; on those tapes both Smith and Hafer’s wife, Linda, acknowledged that Hafer was dead but did not admit to killing him. A 2002 tip said Hafer’s body was buried near the Licking River. In March 2008 a third witness came forward; Hafer’s wife then told police he had been murdered inside the home. Smith was arrested in June 2008. Police say Smith and an accomplice, identified as Linda’s lover Rick Lear, attacked Hafer; Lear reportedly struck Hafer with a blunt object while Smith held him down and Lear suffocated him. Smith later admitted helping dispose of the body but denied killing Hafer.

Does anyone have information about Hafer’s life in Grant’s Lick or the Licking River area that could help locate his remains?