Police, child advocates still hopeful 30 years after boy’s disappearance

After 30 years, mystery continues to surround the disappearance of 3-year-old Randi Evers, who was last seen sleeping on the floor of his parents’ Las Vegas apartment.

But the case recently received a fresh look from a national organization after a request from law enforcement.

Within the last year, investigators with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children visited the Metropolitan Police Department, where the file on Randi has remained cold since 1992, to review the evidence.

Patti Davis, a representative for the nonprofit group, said its investigators explain new resources such as technological advances, particularly in DNA and genetic analysis, that might help solve older cases.

“They have identified some potential avenues that we should take another look at,” Metro Sgt. Matt Downing said this month, without providing specifics.

Despite extensive media coverage and law enforcement investigations, the whereabouts of the child and the circumstances of his disappearance remain unknown.

On Feb. 15, 1992, Randi’s father and stepmother, Mike and Tina Evers, had hosted about 15 people at their 313 E. Rochelle Ave. apartment to celebrate Mike Evers’ birthday.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in 1992 that Mike Evers fell asleep in a back room, a friend was sleeping on a couch in the living room, and Randi was sleeping on a blanket on the floor nearby. Tina Evers left the house at 11:30 p.m., and when she returned three hours later, Randi was gone.

“They don’t know how he was missing. They don’t know if he walked out the door. They don’t know if somebody took him,” Downing said.

No new developments

Tina Evers’ best friend, Tammice Mast, was one of those in attendance, according to Review-Journal archives.

In a recent email, Mast said that she now lives in Twentynine Palms, California, and that Tina Evers lives in Las Vegas.

“Maybe someone out there knows the whereabouts of Randi Evers,” Mast wrote.

Randi’s biological mother, Alexis Maynard, was living in Southern California at the time of her son’s disappearance. Maynard spoke to the Review-Journal in 2017 but declined to comment for this story. Mike Evers died in 2014.

After the Review-Journal tried to reach Tina Evers for this story, she left a voice message for the newspaper on Friday, saying she now goes by the name Tina Logan.

“Look, you guys have ruined my life, so I have nothing to talk to you about, and I will never have anything to talk to you about. You guys have ruined my family. The police have ruined my family,” she said.

The woman then used an expletive while saying she wanted to be left alone.

Maynard, Tina Evers and Mike Evers were never charged in connection with the disappearance despite multiple investigations, which included a grand jury investigation. Las Vegas police classified the disappearance as a “missing person” case.

“We haven’t had any recent changes or new developments or anything like that,” Downing said.

Metro does not have a specific person assigned to lead the investigation because of the case’s age, but Downing said if new information comes in, a detective would be assigned to follow up.

“Any information on these cases, especially a case of this age, could be important. You never know what small bit of information could link two pieces of information you have already together,” Downing said. “So anybody that could come forward with that information or anybody who may have information in the past that was afraid to come forward, we always appreciate anybody who could provide that to us.”

He said police don’t have much information, especially biological information, in the Evers case.

“Obviously DNA is a very big deal. We can use family DNA to hopefully make identification on potential remains that are found,” Downing said.

Clark County records show that the apartment at 313 E. Rochelle Ave. was authorized for demolition in 2005. Today, the property is one of several surrounding vacant lots just off the Strip. Near the hotels, casinos and tourists on a recent Sunday afternoon, the desolate corner lot on a dead-end street sat in stark, silent contrast to the adjacent glitz and glamour.

‘Never give up hope’

Nevada Child Seekers program manager Heather Doto said the nonprofit doesn’t close a case until a child is found. With flyers and volunteers hitting the streets, social media play a large role in finding missing children. The organization has a large following on social media, Doto said.

“I’m sure back then if they had the big network that we have now, the likelihood of him being recovered probably would have been far, far more likely,” she said.

Nevada Child Seekers works with law enforcement, and Doto encouraged anyone with information to reach out to police.

“We still hold out hope,” Doto said. “If he is alive, if somebody sees him, if anybody sees that age progression picture and recognizes it, that could be a huge help to finally solving the mystery of what happened to this boy.”

Nevada Child Seekers also works to prevent disappearances. Doto suggested that parents educate their children about recognizing suspicious traits in strangers, such as adults who ask children to keep secrets; a person who makes a child feel scared, sad, confused or uncomfortable; anyone who asks for personal information or asks personal questions; a person who ignores personal boundaries; and adults who seem more interested in a child than the parents are.

Doto said parents should have information about their children ready to provide to investigators if it becomes necessary. That includes fingerprinting children, getting them ID cards and having recent photos ready.

“A lot of the times when we have a child go missing, there’s a delay because families are scrambling to figure out how much their child weighed, finding a recent picture,” Doto said. “If you have that fingerprinting kit or ID card, it makes the process go a lot quicker and a lot smoother. We save that precious time.”

Doto said she has experienced cases where a child has been missing for an extended period and ended up being found.

“Never give up hope no matter how long a child has gone missing,” she said. “There’s always a chance for them to be found. And never underestimate the power of sharing a flyer.”

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.