- Justice For Branson Kayne Perry -

Missing Man Not Forgotten

Dottie Botkin has been a friend of Becky Klino for years.

But ever since Klino’s son, Branson Perry, went missing seven years ago, friendship and support like Botkin’s has never been as important as it is now.

“I just think if it was my child,” explained Botkin. “Then I’d sure appreciate somebody standing beside me no matter what the outcome is.”

Lois Cowden met Klino while volunteering at the United Way of Kansas City, were Klino works.

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“Anything I can do to help,” said Cowden. “I don’t have any specific information, but if I can help support to get somebody else to step forward and say something.”

“It’s just doing what I can to support Becky.”

The support for Becky and her missing son came in the form of the first ever “RAMP Fest.”

Community members donated numerous items for the auction and raffle, everything from glass ware to autographed chiefs paraphernalia.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Klino. “It lets you know that people do care–and It’s not that i ever doubted that they care–but when you don’t see them for a long time or whatever you don’t know if they still remember, but they do.”

Perry dissapeared from his Skidmore home in 2001. The current reward to help find him is $10,000.

All money earned by the RAMP Fest will be used to increase that amount.

!!!! RAFFLE WINNERS !!! – R.A.M.P FEST APRIL 12, 2008- BENEFIT TO HELP FIND BRANSON PERRY.

!!!! RAFFLE WINNERS !!!
- R.A.M.P FEST APRIL 12, 2008- BENEFIT TO HELP FIND BRANSON PERRY.
ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE TICKETS SOLD BENEFITED THE BRANSON PERRY REWARD FUND.

42” HDTV Fran – Edwardsville , KS

Handmade Quilt Jody – Gower , MO

Winchester 12 Gauge Shotgun Kris – St. Joseph , MO

Raven .25 Caliber Handgun Dick – Linwood, KS

(Above photos) FROM LEFT TO RIGHT- BECKY ( BRANSONS MOM) – “Fran from the Speedway Grill” Hugger333@aol.com (THE WINNER)- GENTLEMAN THAT SOLD THE WINNING RAFFLE TICKET FOR THE TV

St Joe News.Net- St Joseph, Mo.

Friday, April 11, 2008

SKIDMORE, Mo. — Becky Klino always keeps her missing son Branson Perry close to heart, even as she prepares fundraisers for his reward fund.

Today marks the seventh anniversary of Mr. Perry’s disappearance from Skidmore, a mystery that law enforcement officials have yet to unravel yet continue to actively investigate.

Family and friends will help Ms. Klino arrange fundraisers Saturday on the former Skidmore school grounds. She says simply staying busy with the events — such as an auction — keeps her from dwelling on the case. But thoughts of her son never go far away.

“I think it’s been a little bit easier,” Ms. Klino said of the anniversary. “My mind’s been preoccupied … It’s been emotional, yes, but it’s been busy.”

Nodaway County Sheriff Ben Espey reported no new activity on the investigation for the past year. Mr. Perry disappeared April 11, 2001, from his Skidmore home when he was 20 years old. He left the residence on foot and was taking a pair of jumper cables to a shed on a lot adjacent to the family home.

“I wish we had some new leads,” Mr. Espey said.

Ms. Klino said she is usually unfamiliar with any activity in the case, but said she does occasionally speak with Mr. Espey.

A $10,000 cash reward is offered, along with a $25,000 recording contract at a Nashville studio. The fundraisers seek to increase the cash reward.

“They (investigators) think it definitely could be a help” by enlarging the fund, Ms. Klino said.

Another weekend event seeks to shine awareness on Mr. Perry’s case. A race car team will field an entry this season in Montgomery County, Mo., near St. Louis. The team will feature Mr. Perry’s photo on one of its mini-stock cars. The effort is a partnership with The Shawn Hornbeck Foundation, named after the missing eastern Missouri youth who was found alive last year in Kirkwood, Mo.

“I think it’s an awesome avenue of getting the information out,” Ms. Klino said.

The fundraisers will include item giveaways and the auction, set to begin at 4 p.m. A motorcycle poker run will begin at Terrible’s St. Jo Frontier Casino at 11 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. at Skidmore Park. Refreshments will be available.

Any money not used for the reward fund will help provide scholarships for Nodaway-Holt County senior students in Mr. Perry’s memory.

Racing team publicizes search for the missing

04/06/2008

WARRENTON — Next month it will be a year since Kara Kopetsky, then 17, was reported missing from her high school in Belton, Mo., near Kansas City.

Her mother, Rhonda Beckford, has not given up hope of finding Kara.

So when the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation contacted her earlier this week about putting Kara’s picture on one of the Team Hornbeck Racing cars, Beckford jumped at the chance.

“It’s all about creating awareness and getting the word out,” Beckford said Saturday at the annual Warrenton Home and Garden Show, where Team Hornbeck debuted six cars for this year’s dirt track season.

The team is a partnership of race car drivers that helps support the foundation’s mission through financial support and by featuring photographs of missing children on its cars.

The foundation was formed by Shawn’s family after he was reported missing in October 2002. Shawn was found in January 2007— along with William “Ben” Ownby of Beaufort, Mo. — in the Kirkwood apartment of their abductor, Michael Devlin.

Photographs of 30 missing Missouri children will be rotated throughout the season.

The team was founded last year and had three cars featuring photos of missing children. This year, said Craig Akers, Shawn’s stepfather, they wanted to have a driver in every category: This season’s first race was to be held Saturday night at the Montgomery County Speedway in New Florence, Mo., but was canceled because of weather.

Races are held every Saturday through September.

Ideally they would like to find all of the missing children, Akers said, but he hopes that through the team’s efforts, families might at least be able to find some information about whether the children are still alive.

“You hope for a positive outcome, of course, but even a negative outcome is better than not knowing,” Akers said.

That’s what Becky Klino, of Skidmore, Mo., is hoping. Her son, Branson Perry, who was 20 at the time, was last seen in 2001. Since then, the family hasn’t stopped looking for him, but they have heard nothing, Klino said.

“You never know where the leads may come from,” she said. “This may help us find him, or at least we will know what happened.”

Apr 05 2008

(KTVI – myFOXstl.com) –

It’s not unusual to see stock cars covered with advertisements and sponsor’s logos. In Warrenton they unveiled some cars with special signs. They are adorned with the pictures of missing children. It’s all part of Shawn Hornbeck Foundation and Team Hornbeck Racing. 17 year old Kara Kopetsky disappeared last May. Her mother is glad the teenage girl’s photo is on a stock car. The mother, Rhonda Beckford told Fox 2, “The public forgets so fast you have to do things to make sure it stays out there because if people don’t look she’ll never be found.”

Craig Akers the C.E.O. for the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation said, “The ultimate goal would have this lead to the recovery of one of the children featured on the cars.” They are using age progression photos in the cases of kids who have been gone for a long time. Becky Klino’s son Branson Perry disappeared 7 years ago, she said, “Does it get easier to live with? No. There’s still that emptiness still that heartache.”
The stock car drivers are happy to be part of a winning cause. Lane Ehlert is a driver, he said, “I really hope we can find them just keep awareness up saying we’re still looking for them.” Organizers say the program also promotes child safety.

3/20/08

It’s been nearly seven years since Branson Perry went missing from his father’s home in Skidmore.

Seven long years.

On April 11, 2001, Perry, who was 20 at the time, was cleaning his father’s house with a friend. At approximately 3 p.m. that afternoon, Perry took jumper cables out to his father’s nearby shed and was never seen again.

Seven years later, Perry’s mother, Becky Klino, hasn’t lost the love for her son, nor her hope for his return.

“My faith believes in miracles,” Klino said. “I believe in miracles and so you constantly are believing that, and praying and hoping that he’s going to be OK. That he’s going to come home. That he just had to get away and for whatever reason, that part doesn’t matter anymore, and you hope that one day he’ll just decide to come home.”

Since Perry went missing, authorities from Nodaway County and the Missouri State Highway Patrol have been investigating the disappearance. The investigation remains active and open Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Merrill said, but added that authorities can’t discuss many details.

Not being able to hear about leads has been extremely tough for Klino.

“As a parent, you want to know what’s going on. If they know something, you want to be able to know that, so that way you know that things are being done,” Klino said. “That they’re following up on things, however trivial they may be, or insignificant they might be. You just … anything, you want to hear anything that’s happening.”

Through the Internet and billboards supplied by both herself and Lamar, Klino hopes to help keep people thinking about her son in hopes that it will bring any new information to light.”I feel it’s very important to keep the awareness out there, to keep the public constantly being renewed with: that the case is open, that it is still unsolved,” Klino said. “I’m thinking maybe, hopefully, that people who do have the information, maybe one of these times they’ll go by and they’ll see it or they’ll hear something about it and maybe the guilt will get to them.

“Then maybe it’ll cause them to come forward.”

Klino is also planning a fundraiser April 12 to observe the anniversary of Perry’s disappearance. A raffle, auction and poker run are all being planned. In keeping the awareness out, Klino has found support from her friends, both old and new.

“I have got amazing friends,” Klino said. “I’ve had amazing support from people I’ve never even met before.”

Klino said that while she holds out hope for Perry’s return, she also has confronted the possibility of a worse scenario. But what she wants more than anything is to know where her son is, or what has happened to him.

“I’ve met many people or talked to many different families who are in the same situation. And all of them have made the comment that the not knowing is worse than the knowing,” Klino said.

A $10,000 reward has been issued for any information that leads to the discovery of Perry or for the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for Perry’s disappearance. A $25,000 reward is also being offered by Castle Records. Anyone who has any information is encouraged to contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol at (816) 387-2345 or Klino at Raperry@hughes.net. Klino also reiterated that tips can be submitted anonymously.

“Somebody knows what’s happened. There may be more than one somebody that knows what happened,” Klino said. “You may have heard something that you just blew off that has no importance whatsoever, but it may be the key answer to everything. No matter how small it is, or how trivial you might think it is, please don’t hesitate to contact the law.”

Klino also had one last message for Perry if he had the opportunity to hear.

“You are loved just as much today as you were that day that nobody saw you again,” Klino said. “We still love you and we still miss you.”

David Lohr

Branson Kayne Perry

Branson disappeared on the afternoon of April 11, 2001. The circumstances of his disappearance remain sketchy and, unfortunately, his father, Bob Perry – a person who may have been able to shed some light on the case – has since passed away.

“At the time of Branson’s disappearance, Bob and I were divorced, and I was living in a small town about 20 miles from Skidmore,” Branson’s mother Rebecca Perry wrote in an e-mail. “Bob had been in the hospital and was due to come home that Friday. Branson wanted the house to be clean when his father came home, so a friend was helping him that Wednesday. The alternator had also gone out of Bob’s car prior to this day and there were two men replacing it where it was parked on the street in front of the storage shed that sat on an adjacent lot to the house. It is still unclear to me as to who asked them to fix it, whether it was Bob or Branson.”

According to Rebecca, the story related to her was that a friend of Branson’s was at the house that day and she witnessed several strange behaviors on the part of both Branson and the men who were working on his father’s car.>

“At one point, the friend saw Branson run into the kitchen and take something out of one of the cabinets, then run out the back door. She said that when Branson returned, he wouldn’t tell her what he was doing and acted like nothing had happened. She said later she had taken a shower and when she came out of the bathroom, she saw one of the men that had been working on the car going through the cabinets in the kitchen. She said she asked him what he was looking for and he told her, ‘Nothing,’ and went back outside.”

At about 3:00 p.m. that afternoon, Branson’s friend said Branson told her he was going to put some jumper cables in the shed and that he would be right back. For reasons unknown, Branson never returned and he has not been seen or heard from since.

“The friend just thought Branson had gotten sidetracked, so she left after she finished what she was doing,” wrote Rebecca. “Bob did not come home that Friday, so his mother had come to the house to check on Branson, since she hadn’t heard from him for a couple days. When she got to the house, all the doors had been left open and the radio was on. She went to check again Saturday, and still nothing. She became concerned and started making phone calls to his friends. No one had heard from him. I called Bob on Sunday and he called me that evening. Bob got out of the hospital Monday morning and I met them at the police station to file a missing person’s report.”

According to Rebecca, investigators were unable to find any clues suggesting what might have happened to Branson. However, one thing that still troubles her is the mysterious disappearance and eventual reappearance of the jumper cables Branson had gone to put away when he vanished.

“When they (the police) checked the shed for the jumper cables, they were not there,” Rebecca wrote. “Two weeks after the investigation started, they mysteriously showed up in the shed, just inside the door.”

The investigation eventually came to a standstill, and the case remained cold until April 2003, when police began to focus the investigation on a man from Fulton, Missouri, who had allegedly bragged about the kidnap, torture, and murder of a blonde-haired man from Skidmore. That man, who remains behind bars for unrelated crimes, denied any involvement in the case. Investigators have yet to completely rule him out as a suspect; however, they continue to explore other scenarios.

“I have never been a person to ask for much,” Rebecca wrote. “I am asking, pleading, even begging for your help in finding my son or finding out what happened to him. I need for this nightmare to end. It is a roller coaster that doesn’t ever stop. From the outside, I may appear to be fine. Inside, I will never be ok. If you have ever lost someone who has died, then you know that feeling of complete despair. Over time, it eases and becomes bearable.”

Branson is described as a white male, 5’8″ tall, 140 lbs., with blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Nodaway County Sheriff at 660-582-7451 or the Missouri Highway Patrol at 816-387-2345.

For more information on this case, visit www.bransonperry.com.

1/09/2009
Becky Klino hopes a larger-than life image of her son’s face in lights will stir someone’s memory about his nearly seven year-long disappearance.

SKIDMORE, Mo. — Becky Klino hopes a larger-than life image of her son’s face in lights will stir someone’s memory about his nearly seven year-long disappearance.

The Lamar Advertising Co. recently placed two electronic billboards along the Belt Highway — at Sherman Avenue and Gene Field Road — that display Branson Perry’s face and contact information to help jog the memory of those with possible tips. It’s an effort that Lamar officials believe could turn the case toward resolution.

Mr. Perry disappeared April 11, 2001, from his Skidmore, Mo., home when he was 20 years old. He left the residence on foot and said he was taking a pair of jumper cables to a shed on a lot adjacent to the family home. Ms. Klino admitted she can’t afford the cost of large stateof-the-art billboards.

But the possibility of new progress in finding Mr. Perry is precisely why Lamar has decided not to charge for displaying his photo, said vice president/general manager Bob Fessler,with the company’s Kansas City office.
“We want to get more awareness” about Mr. Perry, he said. “It’s out there 24 hours.”

Mr. Fessler said the company started displaying major crimes on its billboards with the Ali Kemp case in the Kansas City area in 2002.
A rendition of an artist’s sketch of a suspect included with a Crime Stoppers phone number told the public about a fugitive wanted in Ms. Kemp’s murder.The signs have proven themselves in creating tips with a Crime Stoppers phone number told the public about a fugitive wanted in Ms. Kemp’s murder.

The signs have proven themselves in creating tips and are also being used to release information about missing children and weather alerts, he said.

“We treat (such cases) just like we would any other public service,” Mr. Fessler said.

To Ms. Klino, anything that puts Mr. Perry’s face before many eyes is worth the effort. She expressed “incredible gratefulness” at Lamar’s assistance.
She’s placed several plywood signs about her son in Nodaway County. She and supporters plan to hold a fundraiser in mid-April — near the date Mr. Perry disappeared — in Skidmore on behalf of search efforts.

Nodaway County Sheriff Ben Espey said there are no new leads in the case. A possible breakthrough in Oregon, Mo., didn’t pan out, he said. “He didn’t give us any information we didn’t already know,” Mr. Espey said of the tipster.

Billboards and other signs can be effective by informing the public about potential rewards that can be remitted for valuable information, he said.

The Branson Perry electronic billboards will continue operating in St. Joseph indefinitely, Mr. Fessler said.

Man Still Missing, But Not Forgotten

1/18/08

Time has not brought the needed answers in the disappearance of Branson Perry, Skidmore, who has been missing now for seven years.

The search carries on through various venues and an effort is constantly made to keep Branson’s name heard and his pic­ture viewed in hopes that someone will come forward with informa­tion leading to answers. Branson Perry was last seen in Skidmore at his home by a friend. Branson, who would now be 26, was cleaning his home in preparation for his father’s return from the hospital on April 11, 2001. Although events of that day are sketchy, he was last seen after telling a friend he was taking jumper cables to a shed on the property. Oddly, the jumper cables never made it to the shed on that fateful day and Branson has not been seen since. Leaving behind his personal belongings he apparently vanished without a trace. A mystery follows the jumper cables which were not lost with Branson and returned to the shed shortly after Branson’s disappear­ance. Even though no concrete answers have come to head, foul play is now suspected in his disappearance. His mother, Becky Klino, still waits for answers.

Branson has been featured on the Road to Remember Tour which stopped in Craig, Mo. this summer. He is also listed on several missing persons websites and has been featured on America’s Most Wanted. These organizations keep an active voice for missing persons so they will not to be forgotten.

April 11, 2008 marks 7 years since Branson Perry disappeared. The day won’t pass unno­ticed as a day of remembrance will be observed. Jannel Rap of the band Clementine and founder of website www.411gina.org will be performing a concert on that day. Plans are underway, but a location and time has not been confirmed to date. Other planned future activities are searches put on by Cue Center, www. ncmissingpersons.org, and Texas Equusearch, www.texasequusearch. org.

The search continues for more information leading to Branson’s dis­appearance. The family offers a $10,000 reward and a $25,000 recording contract is also offered by Castle Records out of Nashville, Tn. The recording contract can be used for the person coming forward or for some­one they nominate. It is hoped these rewards will encourage those with information to come forward.

Any individual can support the search by do­nating to the reward offered. Donations can be made through the family website via Paypal. The family states, “We will never give up our search for answers in regards to what has happened to Branson Perry. Someone out there knows something.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Nodaway County Sheriff at 816-582-7451 or Crime Stopper TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS. Confidential tips can also be submitted through www.bransonperry.com.

The search Branson Perry, the Skidmore man missing since April of 2001, has fi new help in the form of bill­boards located in two differ­ent locations of St. Joseph, Mo. The 14 ft by 48 ft bill­boards are displayed at Fredrick and Sherman and Fredrick and Gene Field Rd. for free by Lamar Advertising Company.

January 11,2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo . — A mother continues to push for new leads to find her missing son.

Branson Perry, 20, disappeared in April 2001 from his Skidmore home. He said he was going to put away jumper cables and hasn’t been seen since.

Perry’s face is now posted on two Missouri billboards.

“There’s always the hope — until there’s evidence found that says otherwise — there’s always hope somebody knows where he is,” mother Becky Klino told KMBC’s Chris Nagus. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know.”

Two years after Perry vanished, there appeared to be a break in the case when the FBI arrested Jack Wayne Rogers, of Fulton. Investigators found messages on Rogers’ computer claiming he had driven to Skidmore and abducted a blond-haired boy.

The lead didn’t pan out; Klino said she believes Rogers was lying and that someone else was involved in her son’s disappearance.

“It’s a small town, but I do believe there are people, maybe not in Skidmore, but in that area that do know the answers,” Klino said.

She said she hopes the billboards can provide some answers.

“If you hear anybody talking — Branson isn’t a common name,” Klino said.

Anyone with information in the case can call the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office at 816-582-7451 or the Crime Stoppers TIPS hot line at 816-474-TIPS.