Kipling Randolph Hess,III Missing 34 Years

DURING the early spring of 1979, 12 year-old Kipling "Kip" Randolph Hess, III was a boy scout whose troop had a deal with the church. If they helped clean the church up, they could attend the carnival and camp out on their grounds. Days later, while at the church carnival on Merritt Island, Kip was being picked on by some local boys during church clean up. Off-duty security guard John Rodney McRae came to his rescue. Once the bullies left, McRae had his son, Martin, hang out with young Kip.  Days later, on March 27, 1979, 12 year-old Kip was last seen going to school in Merritt Island, Florida. Records confirm that he never arrived to any of his classes that day, however some news reports have claimed Kip made it to school, but disappeared after first period from the school. He was never seen again.

 Kipling goes by the name "Kip". He was born on August 2, 1966. He was 5'4" and weighed 90 pounds when he disappeared. He has brown hair and brown eyes. It is not listed what he was wearing or carrying at the time of his disappearance.

Although nothing seemed out of the ordinary that morning, there was one thing his father remembered. Kip had left a note behind that morning that read: Goodbye, Mom and Dad. However, Kip was not described as a child who would run away or leave of his own free will. His family immediately called people Kip was seen with or known to hang out with. One of the people they called was off-duty security guard John McRae, whose son Martin had been hanging out with Kip. He immediately got in on the search, but for Kip's family, something about him made them question if he had knowledge of Kips' disappearance. The disappearances of three boys from the area would enforce their suspicions, and the discovery of one boy would confirm them.

 Keith Fleming vanished on his way home form his girlfriend's house. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Two years earlier, on April 28, 1977, 13 year-old Keith Dean Fleming was dropped off at his girlfriend's house by his parents, which was located in Cocoa Beach, Florida. He was supposed to be home by dinner time. Keith was a typical Cocoa Beach boy, who loved to surf and frequent the Pier in 1977. He left the residence with his girlfriend and they rode together on her bike to the end of Osceola Street at State Road A1A. Keith got off and told her he would hitch hike the rest of the way home, which was a common practice for residents in Cocoa Beach. He never arrived home and hasn't been seen since.

Charles escaped from a state prison for young criminals. He was believed to be in danger because he had a relationship with McRae. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

A year after Kip's disappearance, 20 year-old Charles Edward Collingwood was an inmate at Brevard Correctional Institution in Sharpes, Florida. This was a state prison for young offenders that housed young boys or young adult males. He was serving a four month sentence for car theft. On On December 12, 1979, Charles mysteriously disappeared from work detail and has not been seen or heard from since. John McRae was a security guard at the prison. Other prison guards revealed that McRae was having a sexual relationship with Charles during his stay there. When he was questioned in 1980, McRae denied it and claimed that Charles was nothing more then his informant, and said he would use Charles to snitch on other inmates there. For unknown reasons, other prison guard employed there at the time claim Charles was trying to purposely expose the affair. Investigators theorized that McRae drove the getaway car that helped Charles ultimately make his escape.

 In 1987, 15 year-old Randy Laufer would vanish. For weeks, authorities treated his case as that of a run away teen, but when investigators from Florida contacted them, they saw a reason to be concerned. After Randy's disappearance, the McRae's, who lived nearby, left Michigan for Arizona. Ten years later, in 1998, Randy's remains were discovered in near the Clare County mobile home under a concrete slab where McRae lived when Randy went missing. It was determined that Randy had been bound, stabbed and molested not long after he disappeared in 1987. In 1998, McRae would be convicted of Randy's murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Right away, authorities had one man in mind for all four disappearances: John McRae. When he resided in Michigan, 16 years-old at the time, McRae was convicted for killing an eight year-old neighbor boy named John Housey. John vanished on September 9, 1950, and was found two weeks later when a volunteer searching for him sat down on a broken sidewalk. When he looked over, he saw part of a child's right arm in the mud. His throat had been cut.  The hand had a silver cub scout ring on the middle finger, and that's when searchers knew they had found John Mousey, a former cub scout. A 75 pound slab of concrete had been pulled over the boy to conceal him. McRae would be paroled in 1972 for the young boy's murder, and he would move to Brevard County in Florida, where he landed a job at the Correctional Institution. From the time of his arrival in 1976, to his departure for Michigan in 1980, young boys would mysteriously vanish from the area.Authorities did not think it was coincidence that the disappearances started when he arrived, and stopped when he left. Taking his past into account with the murder of John Mousey, it seemed trouble followed him where ever he went.

An image of John McRae, suspected murderer of Keith, Kip and Charles. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Authorities searched McRae's old residence in Brevard County in 1999 with ground-penetrating radar, but found nothing. It is frustrating when prime suspects are identified in cases, but nothing moves forward. That is the case with all three boys who remain missing to this day. Eventually, McRae would admit to spending time with Kip and Charles, but did not confess to their abductions. Families of Keith, Charles and Kip have pleaded to McRae's wife and son for information of where all three boys are, but both claim to have no information to give. In my opinion, I believe authorities are correct in this case. It can't be coincidence that wherever McRae went, boys ended up murdered or missing. The only reason he did not kill from the 1950 murder of John Mousey to 1972 is because he was behind bars until his parole. The constant moving from state to state when police started questioning him is also suspicious.
After McRae's move to Michigan from Florida, authorities searched his locker at work. They found a missing persons poster of Kipling Hess III taped to the inside of his locker. In his Brevard County residence, they found a clown suit. It has been suggested that he may have enticed Kip to leaving with him by fueling the run away to the circus fantasy. It would certainly explain Kip's bizarre good-bye note to his parents. I believe Kip reminded McRae a lot of his first victim, John Housey. John was a cub scout, and Kip was a boy scout. Kip may have been trusting of him because he was a security guard. In life, we are taught to respect and trust figures of authority, which is what he was. I am appalled that he would even be hired to work at an institution to house young boys and men, but back then procedures may have been different. McRae may have also used Martin to gain Kip's trust. All in all, I do not believe it was a coincidence that Kip vanished days after he first met McRae. I think McRae targeted him at the church, especially when he saw him get bullied because he saw vulnerability in him, and that is what predators look for. That and opportunity, which he may have seized as Kip walked to school. I wonder if Martin went to the same school as Kip during that time? Perhaps McRae offered him a ride to school that morning?
I agree with both conviction McRae received in the murders of John Housey and Randy Lauf. I also see where he had personal connections with Charles Collingwood and Kip Hess III. The drive from Sharpes to Meritt Island is only 21 minutes. From Sharpes to Cocoa Beach, the drive would have been 23 minutes. Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach are actually only 17 minutes apart. These boys vanished only a year or two apart, from areas within minutes of each other.

A map of the pier in Cocoa Beach, and the A1A State Road where Keith was last seen.

It seemsMcRae tried to build a personal connection with his victims, as they all ended up being someone he knew, from work, church or his neighbors. That is why I wonder about the disappearance of Keith Fleming. He seems to have been plucked right off the boardwalk. I wonder if there is any way Keith knew McRae? McRae had told police he enjoyed going to the Pier by Cocoa Beach to watch the young boys there. Being Keith frequented the Pier and surfed near the area, they believe he took Keith. I have a hard time believe he would just abduct him off the streets, although I agree he was involved. It seemed weird to me that Keith did not ride all the way home with his girlfriend, although it could have been because it was hott, they were too tired to pedal all the way or maybe he was behind schedule. I wonder if McRae had a pattern, and Keith knew he would be in the area, so he could catch a ride home with him to be on time for dinner? If McRae took Keith, I am hoping witnesses or anyone with information of Keith talking to McRae or his son, Martin, will come forward.
These crimes happened years ago, but there has been much advancements in forensic technology since 1977. Kip's father, Kipling Hess, pointed out his son's bicycle had not been dusted for prints until a year after his disappearance. Keith Fleming's mother just recently was able to give a DNA sample to investigators in hopes that they will give her closure of what happened to her son, Keith. All three families want closure, and want to at least have their children's remains to finally lay them to rest. In June 2005, McRae died in prison, taking with him many secrets, including the possible whereabouts of all three missing young men.
Despite all three boys' fates seeming predictable, I wanted to share their stories because until their remains are found, there is always the hope that they are still out there, or that they were not victims of McRae. I wanted to write their entry to keep their story alive. I believe they are not too far from where McRae resided if they were his victims, so I hope that readers will share their story and be vigilant. Despite this case happening in the 1970s, it is very solvable! I want nothing more then their families to get closure. I hope law enforcement never gives up on this case, and that searches will continue. The locations of where all three boys vanished from are surrounded by lots of water, rural areas and wildlife. It is not difficult to see why there has been unsuccessful searches, especially back then when there was the lack of technology. Please, share Kip, Keith and Charles' stories. They are still missing, and four decades later, their families are still searching. For them, it is still the 1970's.

If you have any information in the disappearances of Kipling Hess III, Keith Fleming or Charles Collingwood, please contact:

 (L) Charles Collingwood, (M) age progression of Keith Fleming, (R) Kip Hess. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Brevard County Sheriff's Office

321-264-5201

Sources:
Kipling Hess, III
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1999-02-27/news/9902261703_1_mcrae-brevard-dig
http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mcrae-john-r.htm\
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hess_kipling.html

Keith Fleming
http://www.broadcasthemissing.us/2011/11/30/132/
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/fleming_keith.html
http://www.myhometownnews.net/index.php?id=13252

Charles Collingwood
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/collingwood_charles.html

Randy Laufer
http://www.themorningsun.com/article/MS/20050615/NEWS01/306159996
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/062905/D8B1F1981.shtml