Assumed victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy found alive after 41 years

Forty-one years after Robert Hutton was believed to have a deadly encounter with notorious Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy, investigators found him alive and well in rural Montana.

The push to learn Robert’s true fate was spearheaded by his sister, who long believed her brother was one of Gacy’s 30+ victims because of the circumstances surrounding his disappearance: He was a young man who frequently hitchhiked and did contracting work. The Hutton family also believed Robert was traveling through the Chicago area in 1972, which is when Gacy’s killing spree began.

In all actuality, Robert simply “got caught up in the 70s lifestyle,” explained Jason Moran, a detective with the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, during a Thursday press conference.

“After years went by he became a little embarrassed that he hadn’t been in contact with his family,” said Detective Moran. “I think that made it easier for him to dismiss them.”

During that era, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said it was similarly common for friends and family to refrain from reporting runaway loved ones.

“Back in those days, missing people– I don’t want to say it was dismissed. If it was a high-profile one, obviously there was a lot of attention there, but, by and large, people thought, okay, he walked away. He took off. He’ll come back.”

The announcement of Robert’s discovery came almost exactly 35 years after Gacy was arrested and charged with the murders of 33 young men. Gacy was executed in 1994.

Investigators reopened the Gacy murder files in 2011 with the goals of identifying eight of the victims. Since then, one victim has been identified, seven missing persons cases have been closed and two cold cases were deemed unrelated to Gacy. Seven bodies still haven’t been identified — but Sheriff Dart hopes the news of Robert’s discovery will make that change.

“If people who have questions or concerns about missing persons, if every one of them would just get their DNA swabbed, put it in the national database,” Sheriff Dart said. “You’d be amazed how many missing persons cases would be solved.”