Kansas Killer Strikes Again? Michael Packard Found Dead

This weekend popular DJ Michael Packard unwittingly joined a growing list of missing young males found dead in the Lawrence Kansas area:

The 26-year-old vanished New Year's eve while "working the door" at the Granada Theater. 

He was officially reported missing by friends when he subsequently failed to show for a regular disc jockey gig at the Bottleneck bar on Thursday evening. 

Following a fruitless search for him, Packard's corpse was just discovered Friday on the grounds of Clinton State Park. 

Why he would have gone there at all still remains a mystery, but, as with other young men who've met up with a similar fate in this district recently, police are already claiming there was "no foul play" involved in either his disappearance or premature demise.

However, a cause of death for Michael Packard has yet to be determined.

MORE MISSING-FOUND-DEAD IN KANSAS

MISSING PERSON ALERT: Gianfranco Villagomez

BREAKING NEWS: Body matching description of  Gianfranco Villagomez -- missing since December 7th -- has been found today in or near his own home, and not far from where he was last seen. Read today's update HERE / original story below:

With the weird disappearance of Gianfranco Villagomez-Saldana on Saturday, yet another young male appears to have done the Kansas Vanish:

In fact, Villagomez, a grad student at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, lives only about a half hour from missing man Brad Cook, who was recently found dead in an area thought to have been thoroughly searched already.

Both young men abruptly disappeared after dark and are only in their early twenties -- an age (and gender) generally considered suspect by law enforcement...

On Friday night Gianfranco Villagomez, 23, had attended a small party with a few close friends, and they all say he left on foot early Saturday morning for his girlfriend's house nearby.

According to the group, Villagomez didn't appear inebriated, yet for some reason he never made it to his destination. 

He was last spotted at the intersection of Ninth and Michigan at 2:30 AM, but hasn't been seen or heard from since.

Villagomez, who hails from Peru, is dark-haired, brown-eyed and wears glasses. The 5-foot 9-inch tall industrial-design student weighs 165 pounds and was wearing a blue shirt with a KU Jayhawk logo on it, a long-sleeve gray shirt, black jacket, blue-jeans, and white tennis shoes when he went missing.

Anyone with knowledge of his current whereabouts or of what happened to waylay him is urged to call the Lawrence police at 785-832-7509 or CrimeStoppers at 785-843-8477.

Also read/share his missing person alert on GatherNews.

MISSING IN KANSAS: Brad Cook

BREAKING NEWS: Police say body found in De Soto, Kansas this week is missing man Brad Cook:

Cook, 22 from neighboring Olathe Kansas, mysteriously disappeared late in the evening of October 20th 2013, leaving behind his cellphone, wallet and a prized motorbike. He has not been seen or heard from since.

The avid cyclist is the proud owner of a valuable Harley-Davidson, and friends and family say it's highly unlike him to have abandoned it anywhere, let alone outdoors unlocked for an extended period of time.

It's also unusual for the young man to be out of contact with them for so long.

Brad Cook, who shares a home with his sister, left their house abruptly on bike at 10:10 PM October 20th and then inexplicably vanished. 

The sister says there were no messages or texts registering on his phone which might explain where he was headed in such a hurry.

The motorcycle was later found parked near a town tavern, but surveillance video from that establishment didn't capture any images of Cook entering or exiting.

There's been no banking activity since that night either, and his family has no idea now what happened to their loved one. They say the business student wasn't depressed and that none of his guns are missing.

Adding to the puzzling disappearance, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that the body discovered by a passerby in the area of 95th and Lexington in De Soto on the 29th is in fact Brad Cook. 

They insist no foul play was involved in either his death or disappearance. 

Police classified the event as an “unattended death” and withheld Cook’s identity pending an autopsy and notification of the family.

A second corpse of a young male, found the next day approximately two miles from Cook's, has not been identified yet. Police claim that particular death does seem "suspicious" and continue to investigate.

Updated from 10/29/13 & developing - bookmark for more updates.

Phone police with tips @ 913-715-5560 or 816-474-TIPS

Also visit the Bring Brad Cook Home facebook page
*Read all updates to this case in the comment section*