Thomas Michael Rettew was four years old when he disappeared from Alton, Missouri, in autumn 2002 after traveling there with his mother, Angela Mack. The pair left Salem, Arkansas together; Angela left Thomas in the care of Clarence and Barbara Krusen in Alton, while she traveled to California. Accounts from the time conflict: the Krusens said they were in the process of adopting Thomas, while other reports suggested Angela may have sold her son to them.

Angela later returned and was picked up at a Springfield bus station to be taken to the Krusen home. Both Angela and Thomas were never seen again. Their disappearances were not reported until August 2004. Investigators learned in October 2020 about the Krusens’ intended adoption. Clarence Krusen died in 2012; Barbara Krusen later told police that Clarence had killed Angela and Thomas and said he disposed of their bodies in a furnace. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Department closed the case in April 2021 as a double murder, though no remains have been recovered.

Does anyone have information about Angela, Thomas, or the Krusen farmhouse that could help clarify what happened?