>> she was my first friend. i remember walking by her classroom got they. i didn't know. i was scared. >> she vanished one october afternoon. 10-year-old amy mahalik. >> she never came home from school. >> she was going to buy a present for her mother. >> come home. >> it's been a mystery for more than 30 years. who took amy? now, investigators are opening their files to us. >> this is more like your ted bundy type. >> and you will get the chance to help crack this case. >> my new piece of information. >> there is still a killer out there, and somebody has to know something. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. never stop investigating until the mystery is solved. that's the mystery of detectives . there are many clues, and the decades of past, the trail of evidence has not grown cold. police decided to do something rare -- ask for your help to answer a burning question. here's josh mankiewicz with, what happened to amy? >> these are all boxes of leads and they are all numbered. the first leavy ever got in this case going past 10,000 leads. >> mark special was a patrol officer when amy disappeared. he worked the case for decades along with a team of investigators, including detective j ellis, >> i know it goes against your creed to open up the evidence locker and show pieces of evidence to orders. >> we feel the benefit would be showing people what we have and what we are looking for. >> we are willing to listen to anyone with any information about then. >> these things always involve one missing piece of the puzzle. if one person can bring that to us even now, we are happy to have it. >> it's a piece they have been searching for ever since october 27, 1989, the day amy's mom came home from work to find her daughter missing and called everyone in the neighborhood. >> and she sounds different? >> hysterical. is amy there? is amy there? please tell me if amy is there. no, she's not. i'm sorry. where is she? why are you looking for her? she never came home from school, she never came home from school. i don't know what to do. >> it's a day amy's father, mark , has lived with for more than 30 years. >> oh, you are amy mihaljevic's father . i still get that today, even. i'm so sorry. sorry to hear that. i didn't realize you were amy's father. one thing i never do, i try not to, i'll never answer that way. i say, no, i am amy's father. so -- >> and it's a day these investigators have poured over for decades. here's what they've learned and what they want you to know about the day amy mihaljevic disappeared . october 27, 1989. >> she went to school around 7:20. she rode her bike from her home. she usually writes with a friend. on this day, she did not. >> one of the friends she rode with was kristy sabo. >> i lived further from the school than she did . >> tell me what you remember about amy. >> i remember her being really sweet and really fun. she was also my first friend. my first sleepover. >> you guys were inseparable? >> yeah, we were. >> kristi's home was just a few streets over from amy. >> it was a town where everybody knew each other growing up. you knew your neighbors. it was a great place to learn how to ride bikes. >> amy made the short trip to school. she parked her bike at the rack and headed in. that day, amy was wearing silver and turquoise earrings shaped like horses heads. you can see them in these drawings. just normal school kid items that, as you will see, would become vitally important in the months ahead. at 7:45 a.m., the bell rang. amy began her day in the fifth grade gifted class. she was a good student and loved to read. she is giving a book report. amy adored animals, especially horses, and her dog, jake, and wanted to be a vet when she grew up. she also loved to draw and leave little notes for her dad, mark. >> dear dad, you are the specialist person in the world so for that, i bring you this little gift. probably fourth gift, maybe. i love how she signed it amy mihaljevic, otherwise you don't know who it is . >> she was very accomplished for her age. kristin came in with this little girl and said, this is my new best friend, amy mihaljevic. and i said, well, hi, amy. how are you? >> and with that, you were amy's second mom. >> absolutely. i adored amy. >> during one of amy's classes that day, a young patrol officer visited the school to give a talk about safety. amy sat there and listened, along with her friend kristi. >> don't go with somebody who calls you, and if somebody tries to pick you up, don't go with somebody you don't know. >> amy was there for that? >> yeah. >> that young officer, mark, rose through the ranks to become chief of police. >> you have to look back on that talk to the students. >> i do. is there something else i could have said? >> lunch time. up until this point, it had just been a regular day at school. then in the cafeteria, amy mentioned something to one of her friends, something she said was a secret. >> we learned that amy received a call from a male. this male wanted to take her to buy a present for her mother who had received a promotion at work and that they were going to go to the mall with $45 to buy this gift. >> that secret would become the focus of intense investigation for the next 30 years. >> lured by the chance to surprise her mom, amy heads out to the strip mall and into a trap. >> she did and saving about her plans today? >> no. she was seen walking down for that shop as if she is walking with a purpose. >> the kidnappers plot is set in motion. >> 210-year-olds that saw this both describes that a male walked up to her, engaged her in conversation. when they looked back, amy was gone. >> when dateline continues. the test of time. long lasting eylea hd could significantly improve your vision and can help you go up to 4 months between treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness, or allergies to eylea hd, don't use. eye injections like eyla hd may cause eye infection, separation of the retina, or rare but severe swelling of blood vessels in the eye. an increase in eye pressure has been seen. there's an uncommon risk of heart attack or stroke associated with blood clots. the most common side effects were blurred vision, cataract, corneal injury, and eye floaters. and there's still so much to see. if you are on eylea or a similar type of treatment, ask your retina specialist about eylea hd today, for the potential for fewer injections. [♪♪] your skin is ever-changing, take care of it with gold bond's age renew formulations of 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. for all your skins, gold bond. after advil: let's dive in! but...what about your back? it's fineeeeeeee! [splash] before advil: advil dual action fights pain two ways. advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. advil dual action. wow. -incredible, isn't it? -yeah. acetaminophen blocks pain signals. well, with your home, auto, boat and rv all bundled with progressive you've got the peace of mind to really wander. yeah. yeah, i just hope it stays this way. once word gets out about these places they tend to -- -are you done? -aaand there it is. well, at least your vehicles are protected. let's hit the road. hey fam! i'm just at this beautiful lake that i just discovered. practicing gratitude, manifesting abundance. (vo) if you have graves' disease, your eye symptoms could mean something more. that gritty feeling can't be brushed away. even a little blurry vision can distort things. and something serious may be behind those itchy eyes. up to 50% of people with graves' could develop a different condition called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. see an expert. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com stuck at the dmv, and i think i'm late on my car insurance. good thing the general gives you a break with flexible payment options. let's get you a break while you wait. what is this place? this is our dmvip. vending machine charcuterie? for a great low rate, go with the general. >> just before noon on the day she disappeared, amy mihaljevic told a friend during lunch at that she had a secret. a man had called her home and offered to take her shopping to buy a surprise present for amy's mother. amy was going to meet the man after school. her brother jason you none of this. >> she didn't say anything at all. i wish she would have. >> amy didn't mention anything to her friend, kristy, either. >> i remember looking in her classroom. i thought amy. that was the last time i saw her. >> after school, which ended at 2:04, she walked with a couple of friends to bay square. bay square is a small strip mall shopping area. it's only a quarter-mile from the middle school, so kids would often walk from the middle school to the bay square. there was a baskin-robbins ice cream store there. >> fbi agent phil bores me. >> she seen walking to that shopping center as if she's walking with a purpose. >> that girl later told kristy about the conversation. >> she told me that amy told her, i'm going to meet a friend, and she thought nothing of it. she thought okay. have fun shopping with one of your friends. >> she walked down the sidewalk here to the plaza. >> to talk to j ellis retraced the steps she took that day. >> she would've felt completely safe. >> very safe. a lot of kids from the middle school would've been here. you can see how many cars are here. it would have been like this in 1989. >> two kids saw amy in the plaza standing by this black pole. >> she seemed to be waiting for somebody, and they both described that at some point, a male walked up to her and engaged her in conversation. they looked away, carried on their business. when they looked back, amy was gone. the two 10-year-olds who actually saw this helped provide a composite drawing of the individual that they saw. these are the composite sketches based on descriptions from two 10-year-olds who each had different memories of the man. they were widely circulated, and came to symbolize the face of amy's abductor. but police want you to know they may not be entirely accurate. >> these were done by recollections from a couple of 10-year-olds that were standing at opposite ends of the shopping area down here and down here with amy standing in the middle. >> investigators do believe the man is a white male with a medium build who is 30 to 35 years old at the time. he would be about 60 to 65 years old today. >> so you want to hear about everybody, even if they don't match the sketch and even if they don't look like that then? >> that is correct. >> police say the man was somehow able to gather enough information about amy to get her to trust him. >> that's a key to determining who did it. what is this method of operation that he's able to identify the mother with enough information to use their employer's information, and also know the child's name? >> however the man did it, it worked. amy walked off with him willingly, right in front of everyone. the spot where amy was taken was directly across the street from where the police station was, barely 500 feet away. this was mark spaetzel's view from the old office window. >> right down the sidewalk there is where she was last seen. >> you literally could have seen it happen if someone is looking out the window. >> yeah. >> just after 3:00 that afternoon, amy's big brother, jason, got home from school and noticed amy wasn't there. >> i walk in the door where she normally would have been, watching tv or doing homework. i noticed that she wasn't around there, so i looked in the house, looked in her room. made a phone call to my mother about, where is she? >> their mom, margaret, was at work, working for a local newspaper. she wasn't too concerned because amy had told her she would be at choir practice that afternoon. >> i go back to doing my own homework. >> not long after that conversation, another phone call would become the most haunting moment in the case. >> at 3:30, margaret gets a phone call. the kids would call margaret at work when they got home and were safe. >> margaret assumed that call would come from home. >> exactly. >> good to have you home, amy. make sure you get a snack. there was no sense of urgency. >> in that moment, margaret did not realize that that phone call, at the time almost to routine for her to remember, would be a call she would never forget. >> when amy calls her mother, she doesn't sound upset. there's no indication anything is wrong. >> that phone call from amy did not come from home. >> he's taking a huge chance. he's willing to take risks. this is somebody that comes across as charming and ingratiating. >> this is someone who is intelligent but will commit a heinous crime. it's a very unusual pairing. >> went dateline continues. >> at 3:30 p.m. on the day she disappeared, amy mihaljevic called her mom to check in the way she always did, even though she was, at that moment, with her kidnapper. >> when amy calls her mother, she doesn't appear upset. there's no indication anything is wrong. she doesn't say anything to her mother. >> that shows an astonishing amount of daring and planning by that man. i mean, he is taking a huge chance, and yet he goes ahead and lets amy call her mom. he has no idea how that conversation is going to go. he's willing to take risks, but risks he is comfortable with. and people do that when they plan things out. >> suggesting he knew that if amy's mom received a phone call, she wouldn't start looking for her right away. >> right. he bought himself also some time to make sure amy still felt comfortable. >> police don't know where amy was when she made that call, because back then, local calls within an area code weren't even logged. they do know this -- amy was in the hands of a calculating and devious planner. >> we are talking about somebody who is intelligent but who will commit an heinous crime. >> fbi agent phil towards me wonders if she might have called from the westgate mall, which was about six miles from the shopping plaza where amy was last seen. >> it's very likely during the initial part of the subduction she is still shopping. >> he says a woman gave a detailed description of a little girl who looked like amy in the westgate mall that day between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m., roughly an hour after amy was taken. she said the girl was with a man. >> it was really her walking three food court into the mall with a white male. >> now, least want to know if anyone out there remembers seeing anything similar at the westgate mall that day. >> your kind of hoping maybe somebody remembers that. >> 5:30 p.m. that's when amy's mother returned home from work and realized amy wasn't there. she raced to the school and to a horrifying site -- her daughter's blue bike was still parked on the rack. >> we immediately took it at face value, that this child was missing. >> amy's dad mark returned home from work to a chaotic scene. >> margaret was running around the house. >> could you tell something was really wrong? >> no, no. this is the real thing. >> mark took the family dog and went right out to search for amy himself. >> we tried to find amy. >> she rushed to the local abc station with amy's class photo. >> and i said, look. i am not leaving until you put this picture on. and i didn't leave until they put the picture. and i drove in the yard. i heard this primal screaming. margaret was screaming because she saw amy's picture on the television. >> and realized all of a sudden -- she is that mom, and this is that kid. >> yes, she did. she was heartbroken. >> amy have been missing for about five hours in the company of a man who had lured her with lies, a man who had meticulously planned the whole thing. who was he? investigators have an idea about his profile, and now, they want you to hear it, too. >> so that's another thing that you want viewers to think about, is who was around back then who likes kids, can get gets to trust them. is a planner, is manipulative, and is methodical and not impulsive. >> of all those things, manipulative is the key. i may be able to interact socially with other people. some of the people that are like this, people find them somewhat charming. >> you are not looking for some frightening freak. this is more like your ted bundy type. this is somebody who comes across or hat can come across as charming and ingratiating. >> correct. >> as the sun began to set, amy's parents hunkered down, desperately hoping to hear from their daughter. >> the kitchen wall phone, that's where margaret slept that night, underneath that phone. >> yup. >> a long night past, and the call margaret longed for did not come. >> coming up. >> we want to know if any other school children of this age group had received similar phone calls. >> was immediately target? >> the man on the phone introduced himself as my moms boss by name. >> just the unknown is scary. >> had to be a moment where you thought yourself, this could have been me on the posters. >> went dateline continues. but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty and breath to be had. because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flare-ups. and with one dose a day, trelegy improves lung function so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful. i'm a bird stuck in larry bird's attic. and i'm goin' cuckoo. what the heck. what you got larry? may the best bird win. brick. you may be a legend on the court but you're an amateur up here. heads up lar. so get allstate... save money and be protected from mayhem... ...like me. now you're the bird stuck in the attic. >> welcome back to dateline. i'm andrea canning. amy mihaljevic's mother spent all night by the phone hoping to hear that her daughter was safe. that call never came. police were now searching for amy and her kidnapper, a man believed to be intelligent, manipulative, and possibly well practiced. turns out amy may not have been the first little girl on his wish list. back to josh mankiewicz with, what happened to amy? >> we have called everyone we know. >> the day after amy mihaljevic was taken, her parents went on tv asking for help . >> just find her, tell her to come home. whatever is wrong, just have her come home. >> if anyone has seen her get into a vehicle, that would help quite a bit. >> detectives pushed forward with their investigation, looking for any information about the man who had called amy at home. >> we wanted to know if any other school children of this age group had received similar phone calls. >> they sent out a letter to thousands of local students and received a frightening wrist fonts. in the months before amy disappeared, two young girls living in a neighboring town received calls almost identical to amy's. police believed the girls may have actually spoken with amy's kidnapper. those two girls are now grown women. even all these years later, they've asked us to shield their identities -- a measure of the lasting damage this crime has inflicted on so many. they still wonder if that man is out there, watching. >> the person on the phone introduced himself as my moms boss by name. >> we are calling this woman pam. she was just 10 years old when the man called her. >> what did he want? >> he addressed that my mom was getting a promotion. he was really excited about it. and he wasn't sure what to get her for a gift, and they wanted it to be a surprise, and he wanted to pick me up after school to go pick something up, because he wanted to get something special. >> but when the man overheard pam tell her brother about the call, his tone suddenly changed. >> he was angry, almost, like you are going to ruin it. at that point, i was like, i'm sorry, i can't go. >> you really saw several different sides of the sky. in the beginning, he tried to charm you. >> it was excitement and wanting to collaborate and all that, and then it was -- wait. she is not an easy target. >> just the unknown is scary. >> this woman, who we will call katie,'s with the man several times before her older sister made her hangup. >> these calls would only happen when your mom was out of the house? is it the person you your mom was out of the house, or just a coincidence? >> they definitely knew my mom was out of the house. >> katie said she noticed a car parked outside her home at the time the man was calling and remains convinced he was watching her. >> had to be a moment where you thought for yourself, this had could be me on the posters. >> i thought about that a lot. i pray about that, and i pray for amy and amy's family. you know, it ripped the town apart. >> armed with this new information, investigators searched for a link between the children who had been called. they got all the families together in a room and have them fill out questionnaires. >> did they go to the same dry cleaners? did these the same dentist? did they get their car fixed at the same place? we try to draw comparisons and commonalities >> to go anywhere? >> unfortunately not. >> there is one undeniable link. the man saying he knew the children's mother. investigators want to know if that m.o. rings a bell with any other law enforcement agency out there. >> it's not going to be something that this person is just going to be able to turn off after he abduct amy. it would most likely be a person that did it before, because he did a very good job of luring amy to the shopping plaza on october 27th of '89. >> a case like this that happened before that that wasn't as refined, and that the amy case was him getting better at it. >> maybe not a case where someone was abducted and killed, but may be a case where this guy had some type of sexual relationship with a child and got away with it, or maybe he did do time for it and he was out at that point. >> fall turned to winter. there was still no trace of amy. >> life changed a lot. there was times when we would cry and just be scared. not knowing what is going on, talking about, when is she going to come home? >> december 11th was amy's 11th birthday. she had been missing for 45 days. >> margaret invited me in on amy's birthday. >> connie deacon was a reporter for nbc station w kic, and lived down the street from amy. >> she still believed that amy was alive and she was going to throw this birth day party that she hoped that, if there was some publicity, someone would see this and decide to let her go. there were birthday presents stacked up on the fireplace. >> it's very difficult to have a birthday party without the birthday girl. >> i was holding back tears. so is my photographer. >> even kristy sabo, just 10 years old, did her best and reached out to her friend the only way she could. happy birthday, amy. i hope you are still alive and i hope you can hear me and i hope you come home soon. >> was a weird feeling to be talking to your friend through television? >> it was weird and i was nervous. >> he was there dog, a big black dog. >> a lot of the way i handled it was to not -- writing my bike with jake, going up to the lake. just sort of watching the water. >> mark tried to keep to the family routine as best he could. >> i would get up before i went to work, and her and i -- excuse me. her and i and the dog would go deliver the papers before school. >> i still deliver the papers on thursday morning. me and the dog. >> so she would have something to come back to. >> yup. we delivered the paper. >> for margaret, there was the added torment that the kidnapper had used her name to lure any away. >> it's a constant pain and constant torment, wondering what she is going through, where she is, and why. i kept asking why. >> it would be months before amy's mother would find out what had happened to her little girl. >> coming up. >> i talked to mrs. mihaljevic this afternoon. >> she was adamant. connie, it's not her. it's not amy. >> discovery on a country road. heartbreak in bay village. and how you can help solve this case. >> one of the things you are looking for is whether anyone has seen a pair of child's boots like that? >> correct. but these are extremely unique items. if anyone had seen them before, they would probably recollected. >> when dateline continues. lin if you have wet amd, you never want to lose sight of the things you love. some things should stand the test of time. long lasting eylea hd could significantly improve your vision and can help you go up to 4 months between treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness, or allergies to eylea hd, don't use. eye injections like eyla hd may cause eye infection, separation of the retina, or rare but severe swelling of blood vessels in the eye. an increase in eye pressure has been seen. there's an uncommon risk of heart attack or stroke associated with blood clots. the most common side effects were blurred vision, cataract, corneal injury, and eye floaters. and there's still so much to see. if you are on eylea or a similar type of treatment, ask your retina specialist about eylea hd today, for the potential for fewer injections. [♪♪] ask your retina specialist about eylea hd if you're only using facial moisturizer in the morning, did you know, the best time for skin renewal is at night? olay retinol24 renews millions of surface skin cells while you sleep. wake up to smoother, younger-looking skin with olay retinol24. (psst! psst!) ahhh! with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. spray flonase sensimist daily for non-drowsy long lasting relief in a scent free, gentle mist. flonase all good. also, try our allergy headache and nighttime pills. i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up, i've got symptom relief. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi is the first il-23 inhibitor that can deliver remission and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and the majority of people experienced long-lasting remission at one year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease. ♪ now's the time to ask your gastroenterologist how you can take control of your crohn's with skyrizi. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ ♪ learn how abbvie could help you save. reporter connie deacon was at work when the news broke on february 8th, 1990. >> into our newsroom, we have the scanners going all the time, and the word was that a body had been found 50 miles south of town in ashland. >> deacon had become friendly with amy's mother, margaret, and called her right away. >> i talked to misses mihaljevic this afternoon. she was adamant. it's not amy. she honestly thought amy was somewhere in the area being cared for by someone who wanted a child. >> within hours, authorities had their answer. it was amy. >> it all came to a heartbreaking and down this quiet country road. >> we came home and the chief of police was at the house. our minister came to the house. i think someone from the fbi came to the house, and we all sat around and held hands when they explained what they found. >> christie heard the news at school. >> we all found out it was amy, and there was guidance counselors in school. i remember putting my head down and crying. >> you went to the funeral? >> yes. yeah, it was huge. it was my first funeral. for my friend. it was packed. it was -- her poor mom and dad and brother. that poor family. >> the thing that still sticks in my mind is going past the police department and seeing the flag at half staff. and after that -- excuse me. after that, they were always questioning, always asking, always looking for something. they never stopped. >> for 105 days, we were looking for amy. we were looking for the killer. the day her body is found, we are now looking for the killer. >> that search began here in ashland county. 50 miles from bay village. >> the perpetrator more than likely is comfortable with this area to dispose of the body. >> this isn't just a place you stumble onto or drive-by at all. it is well off the highway. it's not as if you took a couple rights off the highway, you are there. it's very rural. for some reason, this perpetrator chose this location. >> investigators collected every bit of debris within a mile of where amy was found. her body yielded food few clues. there was some indication of sexual assault, but nothing conclusive. reticle examiners believed she been in the field for a while and was most likely killed shortly after she was taken. amy had been hit on the head and stabbed in the neck. the most telling clue might be what was not found at the scene -- her backpack wasn't there. it created buick binder like this one, which her dad had given her from his job. it said best in class on the clasp. also missing, amy's boots, and those horsehead shaped earrings -- the ones she put on that last morning. >> is it reasonable to believe that the items that were missing from amy, her backpack, the binder, her boots, the earrings -- that those were retained by her killer? >> it's possible. it's possible they were kept as a trophy. >> so one of the things were looking for is a anyone has seen these earrings or a pair of child like that? >> correct. if anybody had ever seen them before, they would probably recollected. >> the decades have brought many theories about what happened to amy mihaljevic. recently, the case was in the headlines again. no arrests have been made, and police say their overall investigation continues. >> we could go on and on about the number of investigative leads that have been followed up on. >> 10,000 tips, 30,000 interviews, and 100,000 man hours later, they are still looking. >> every officer that works in our police department is aware of the amy mihaljevic case. whether they worked there in 1989 or they started after that. and it is something we will never forget about. >> there is one more clue, a very important one that investigators want you to know about. it might just be the key to solving this whole case. >> discarded cigarette butts. maybe a soda can. this is the kind of evidence detectives might use to zero in on a killer. in this case, the clue that caught their eye is something you may have seen. will you be able to help? coming up. >> it's so unique, were hoping somebody can identify it. we want to hear from you. >> we think it would be someone that would recognize it and say to themselves, you know? i suspected this guy may be of this. it's like a needle in a haystack hope. >> when dateline continues. you weathered the storm and just lived with the damage that was left behind. but even after all this time your thyroid eye disease could still change. restoration is still possible. learn how you could give your eyes a fresh start at tedhelp.com. when enamel is gone, you cannot get it back. but you can repair it with pronamel repair. it penetrates deep into the tooth to actively repair acid weakened enamel. i recommend pronamel repair. with new pronamel repair mouthwash you can enhance that repair beyond brushing. they work great together. ♪ you're the one that i want ♪ nexgard® combo is the only monthly topical that protects against fleas, ticks, tapeworms, and more. use with caution in cats with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. nexgard combo,... ♪ you're the one that i want ♪ ...the monthly one-and-done you want. dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. norman, bad news... without talking to your doctor. i never graduated from med school. what? -but the good news is... xfinity mobile just got even better! now, you can automatically connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go. plus, buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. i gotta get this deal... i know... faster wifi and savings? ...i don't want to miss that. that's amazing doc. mobile savings are calling. visit xfinitymobile.com to learn more. doc? >> welcome back. for 3 long months, police searched for amy mihaljevic, hoping to bring her back alive . but after the little girl's body was found, the hunt was on for her killer, and it never stopped. investigators are looking at old clues with fresh eyes, and there's one piece of evidence a hope leads to a breakthrough. here's josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of what happened to amy. >> when detectives found amy mihaljevic in this field, they gathered every shred of evidence they could find. >> anything that didn't grow there, we basically grabbed up. cigarette butts, papers, whatever. >> including this green curtain. >> it's very unique. it's a homemade curtain. almost look like a bates bedspread was made into a curtain. >> the curtain, along with all the other evidence, was periodically tested over the years. because maybe the constant march of dna science might one day yield a clue. and in 2016, it did. >> what we found was, there were minute pairs identified on this curtain, and these hairs were identified as being dog hairs. >> and not just any dog hairs. >> when amy went missing, one of the things investigators did was they took samples of their dogs hair for comparison. >> jake is long gone. his hair outlives him, carefully collected and preserved in this vile for decades. a lab compared it to the hairs on the curtain. the result was a huge leap forward. >> so the dog hair and the hair on this curtain matched up. so based upon that, there's the theory that possibly she was wrapped in that curtain. >> jake, amy's constant companion during her short life , may have provided a crucial key to finding her killer. >> she loved jake very much. >> and now jake may help solve her murder. >> 10, 13 years after his death, he is still trying to save amy. he was a good dog. he was the best dog. >> and now, the curtain has yielded a new clue. when detectives are revealing for the first time. further testing uncovered even more hairs. this time, they were human. and they were amy's. strengthening the theory that amy was wrapped in that curtain , and that the killer may have used it to transport her body. investigators really want you to take a close look at it. >> it's not something that back in the day you would've bought at sears or jcpenney. some but he made it just quickly out of something they had, but it so unique that were hoping somebody can identify that. >> you want our viewers to look at that curtain and see if they've seen anything like that before? >> yeah. we want to hear from you. >> remember, the curtain may have been a brighter green back in 1989. the quilting and design are unique. as is the crude way in which it was sewn together. >> we think that it would be someone that would recognize it and say, you know, i remember that curtain being in so-and- so's house, or that curtain being in so and so's barn. we are hopeful that someone will see that curtain and say to themselves, you know, i suspected this guy may be of this. and by the way, i remember seeing that curtain on his property. it's like a needle in a haystack, but we are hopeful. >> we are not made to bury our children. and it leaves parents shattered, sometimes lamentably so. shortly after amy disappeared, her parents marriage fell apart. mark said the relationship was already on the rocks before the abduction. 12 years after her disappearance, margaret died. she was only 54. >> whoever killed amy killed margaret. >> definitely. grid sold her house and moved out to las vegas where her mother lived. >> she was broken by then. >> mark mihaljevic keeps in touch with the investigators . >> will the police solve it? yes. >> you are convinced they will? >> yes. >> mark spaetzel, who spoke with us before he retired as police chief, kept amy close right up until he left. >> you still have the poster of amy in your office? >> i do. i don't need it as a reminder, but i keep it up there so she knows we are still doing it. >> he retired from the bureau and moved away, but still works the case when he can. >> here's what i know. the case doesn't have the potential to be solved if nobody is doing anything. and so we are always doing something. i hope it's the last interview i have to do on this. before it is solved. >> amy's bike still sits in a small room at the bay village police department. her case notes remain front and center. she has been gone for more than 30 years, but amy mihaljevic is still here , and she is waiting for justice. maybe you can help her find it. >> if you have any information you think might help with amy's case, please call the bay village police at 440-871-1234. investigators are offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. watchin