FORT SMITH (KFSM)- A Fort Smith father wants to know who killed his young daughter 30 years ago.
Leslie Haag was 14 years old when she disappeared after going out on a walk in Fort Smith. Fred Haag, Leslie's father, says his life since his daughter's death has been a journey of justice.
“They cheated me out of so much," he said. "It's pitiful. [I] didn't get to see her graduate, didn't see her married. No grandkids, no nothing. Every time I go over there and sit at her grave it tears me up that's all I can say.”
Leslie went missing on Nov. 1, 1985. Court documents state her death was ruled as a homicide, but there have been no suspects arrested in the case.
“They picked [Leslie] up, that's what I suspect, and they killed her in the car and then dumped her up on the Bailey Hill Reservoir,” Haag said.
Documents show investigators also found an unopened six-pack of lite beer near her body.
“I was told that she had one of her shoe strings around her neck out of her shoes,” Haag said. “Her shoes have never turned up. That's still a mystery.”
Haag said about a week ago investigators were able to gather evidence that wasn't available back in 1985.
“They didn't have DNA evidence back in 1985," he said. "The clothes that [Leslie] was wearing that night have been sent to [the state crime lab] in Little Rock."
Leslie is buried at the Fort Smith National Cemetery since Haag served overseas in Japan.
“I just tell her how much I miss her and what she's been missing all these years,” he said.
Haag said not knowing who murdered his daughter before he dies is impossible for him to understand.
"That's why I want this settled," he said. "Because my dad died at 87 and I'll be 87 in May and medical statistics show you live as long as your biological parents."
Leslie Haag's case remains open and active.
“I lost a good person, a good human being, and I miss her like hell," Haag said.
If you have any information related to the case, call police.