Zach Bernhardt

Zachary "Zach" Michael-Cole Bernhardt was a boy who vanished while his mother went for a walk in 2000.

Background[]

Prior to his disappearance, Zach lived with his mother, Leah Hackett, in an apartment complex in the 2600 block of Drew Street in Clearwater, Florida. The two frequently changed residence and had been facing eviction when Zach vanished. His father was not involved in his life. According to those who knew him, Zach was a cheerful and intelligent boy who did well in school.

Case[]

Disappearance[]

Zach was last seen in the 2600 Block of Drew Street in Clearwater, Florida on September 11, 2000. His mother was suffering from insomnia and decided to go for a walk around their apartment complex and a swim at 2:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. that morning as a result. Reports differ as to how long this took, some say Leah returned within about fifteen minutes while others claim she was gone for as long as two hours. She left Zach, who was sleeping in his bed, alone in the apartment. When she returned, he was gone.

An extensive search of the area found no trace of Zach. He is missing under suspicious circumstances.

Theories[]

From an early point in the investigation, authorities believed that Leah knew more about her son's disappearance than she was telling them. She has moved to Hawaii in the years since Zach vanished and has changed her surname to Hanson. Zach's father is not considered a suspect in his disappearance.

A man named Kevin Jalbert, who lived near Zach at the time of his disappearance, was investigated by police after he told an acquaintance he was a child murderer in 2001. He attempted to solicit an undercover police officer for child rape, abduction and murder in September of the same year and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Child sexual abuse material was also found in his possession. Jalbert claims to be a serial killer who murdered five children and sexually assaulted many more. However, his sister has said that he is a chronic liar and is prone to exaggerate the truth to get attention.

Jalbert led authorities to the apartment building Zach was living in when he vanished and claimed he abducted a child there, although he did not lead them to Zach's specific apartment and did not describe his clothing correctly. Jalbert denied having any involvement in Zach's case but failed a polygraph in relation to the case. While DNA evidence in Zach's case did not match Jalbert, he also has not been ruled out as a suspect.

In January 2002, another young boy was abducted from the apartment complex Zach vanished from. The five year old boy was later found alive in a bin in Bushnell, Florida. He had been lured into a vehicle with the promise of ice cream and his abductor had driven around with him for approximately ten hours before leaving him in the bin. Authorities investigated the possibility that this case was connected to Zach's disappearance but found no evidence to support this theory.

Characteristics[]

Blond hair.
Blue eyes.
Scars under his chin, on the right side of his upper lip, between his eyebrows, and on the bridge of his nose.

Clothing and accessories[]

Boxer shorts.

Zach Bernhardt

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