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20 years missing
INTRODUCTION
August 1, 2022 marked 20 years since 18-year-old Danny Newville left a party house near downtown New London and was never seen again.
In the weeks leading up to the 20 year anniversary of Danny’s disappearance, I posted the following six updates on the Find Danny Newville Facebook page. I encouraged people to share these posts and turn in anything they knew in a coordinated attempt to solve this 20 year mystery. Much of this information had not been shared before.
Danny’s family is still pleading for answers. Please continue to share.
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PART 1
June 24, 2022 – Eighteen-year-old Danny Newville disappeared from New London Minnesota after leaving a party during the early morning hours of August 1, 2002.
Less than 18 hours earlier, Danny had just been released from the Kandiyohi County Jail after serving 37 days for a probation violation. The violation was likely for something minor (like missing an appointment with his parole officer), but the reason Danny had been on probation in the first place was because, a year earlier, he and a friend had stolen a van and gone joyriding. He'd been 17 at the time.
Danny turned 18 on May 7, 2002, just a few months before he went missing. Up to that point, he'd been under the guardianship of his aunt and uncle who lived in nearby Spicer. After turning 18, Danny decided to move out and go live with his grandfather who lived on Henderson Lake, just a few blocks away.
On Wednesday, July 31, 2002, Danny was released from the Kandiyohi County jail. He called his dad, Russ, and asked if he would leave his fishing pole out for him so he could swing by and pick it up later that day. Russ said sure and left it leaning against the garage door before leaving for work.
A friend picked Danny up from jail. At some point, he stopped by his grandfather's house to change clothes, then headed to the so-called “party." It was at a known "party house" where kids would often gather to hang-out, drink, and do drugs. These weren't the "popular kids" or the "rich kids." These kids came from tough backgrounds. They looked out for each other and they all had each other's backs.
But, something happened to Danny Newville that night. No one had his back.
According to partygoers, it was late when Danny left to walk to a friend’s house in the Peaceful Hills neighborhood. It was about a mile away and he should have been able to make it in 15-20 minutes or so.
He never made it
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If you have information about Danny Newville’s disappearance, please contact Detective Robbie Braness at the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Robbie Braness
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
Phone: 320-214-6700, x3312
Email: robbie.braness@kcmn.us
Facebook Messenger:
https://www.facebook.com/Kandiyohi-County-Sheriffs-Office-471311649587923
You may also mail anonymous tips to:
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
2201 NE 23rd St, Suite 101
Willmar, MN 56201
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PART 2
July 2, 2022 – When Danny still hadn’t shown up to pick up his fishing pole after a few days, his dad, Russ, started asking questions. He called a few of Danny’s friends, but they all had the same basic answer. They hadn’t seen Danny since the party on July 31st.
Next, Russ called his father, Red, to ask if he’d seen Danny. He hadn’t. After turning 18, Danny had gone to live with his grandpa Red at his house on Henderson Lake in Spicer. But, as a legal adult, Danny was doing his own thing and it wasn’t unusual for him to be gone for long stretches of time. He didn’t have a car and had to rely on other people for rides, so he often just stayed over at his friend’s house in New London.
Russ first contacted the Willmar Police Department within 10 days of Danny going missing. But, it was a county matter, not a city matter, so an official report wasn’t signed at that time.
Officials at the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office first learned of Danny’s disappearance when he failed to contact his probation officer in mid-August. By then, he’d been missing for two weeks, but because he was 18, law enforcement could only issue an “Attempt to Locate” bulletin versus an official “Missing Person” bulletin.
An ATL is simply a request that law enforcement try to locate the missing person, confirm their identity, location, and well-being, and respond back to the agency that originated the request. It is often used when the missing person is not believed to be in any danger.
But, that all changed abruptly on September 24, 2002. Fifty-four days after Danny had last been seen, Kandiyohi County Dispatch received an anonymous phone call from someone who said Danny Newville’s body had been dumped near his grandfather’s property in Spicer.
Law enforcement immediately started investigating the lead and got a signed missing person’s report from Danny’s parents. They began interviewing partygoers, giving polygraphs and searching the area with cadaver dogs and air searches, but found nothing.
So, what was happening during those first 54 days after Danny went missing? Why didn’t anyone say anything? What happened to Danny Newville?
…………………………
If you have information about Danny Newville’s disappearance, please contact Detective Robbie Braness at the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Robbie Braness
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
Phone: 320-214-6700, x3312
Email: robbie.braness@kcmn.us
Facebook Messenger:
https://www.facebook.com/Kandiyohi-County-Sheriffs-Office-471311649587923
You may also mail anonymous tips to:
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
2201 NE 23rd St, Suite 101
Willmar, MN 56201
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PART 3
Just 38 days before he went missing, Danny Newville was booked into the Kandiyohi County Jail to serve out a stayed sentence for a minor crime he’d committed as a juvenile. At 17 years old, he had his driver’s license but no money for a car. So one day, he and a friend stole a van from their friend’s grandma and took it out joyriding. The judge ordered that his sentence be stayed, as long as Danny remained law-abiding and stuck to the rules of his probation.
He didn’t. That was unfortunate for Danny because, earlier that summer, another friend had asked Danny to move to Florida with him. He was about three years older than Danny and as young teens, they’d spent their days biking around town, fishing, swimming in Green Lake, and doing odd jobs here and there.
Now, about a month into adulthood, Danny was excited about the prospect of moving to Florida and getting the heck out of Dodge. By then, he and his friend had both been in-and-out of juvenile treatment facilities for alcohol and drug addiction, and both were ready for a change of scenery. But, there was a problem. Danny had missed a probation appointment (or some other minor infraction) and now had to serve out his time in jail. His friend packed his Ford Tempo and left for Florida without him.
On June 24, 2002, Russ Newville attended Danny’s court hearing and spoke to him briefly before Danny was escorted to the county jail to begin serving his 60 day sentence. It would be the last time Russ ever saw his son.
Another inmate, who was in jail at the same time as Danny, had a startling story to share. One day, he overheard Danny talking to some other people about ripping-off a known dealer. This fellow inmate was concerned for Danny, so he took him aside and said, “Hey, I wouldn’t be saying stuff like that if I were you. That guy is crazy.”
Was Danny Newville killed because he owed someone money? Did this known dealer front drugs for Danny, expecting to be paid back, but never was? Is that why Danny returned to the party house so soon after he got out of jail? To make amends? To negotiate a payback plan?
In his booking photo, Danny appears neat and clean-shaven, his hair cut short and styled. His bright blue eyes and long lashes make it easy to see why he had so many girls calling him on the phone at night. And, though it appears he was trying to look tough in his official booking photo, a hint of teenage acne reveals what is so sadly and painfully obvious. He was just a kid, a scared kid, who was facing his first night in the adult jail.
This booking photo is the last known photo that was ever taken of Danny Newville.
Or was it?
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If you have information about Danny Newville’s disappearance, please contact Detective Robbie Braness at the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Robbie Braness
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
Phone: 320-214-6700, x3312
Email: robbie.braness@kcmn.us
Facebook Messenger:
https://www.facebook.com/Kandiyohi-County-Sheriffs-Office-471311649587923
You may also mail anonymous tips to:
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
2201 NE 23rd St, Suite 101
Willmar, MN 56201
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PART 4
On the day Danny was released from the Kandiyohi County Jail, he called a friend to pick him up. Her car wasn’t working at the time, so Danny tried another friend. Unfortunately, that friend didn’t have a valid driver’s license, but his sister did. She agreed to come pick Danny up.
She took Danny back to the party house where he hung out for several hours. Then, sometime between 2-3 PM, Danny phoned another friend who remembers Danny sounding “very high-energy” at the time. He speculated Danny was probably getting high at the party house.
Danny left the party house around 3:30 PM and took the “snake trail” (a shortcut through the woods) over to his friend’s house who lived in the Peaceful Hills trailer park. Danny often stayed over at this friend’s house since he didn’t have a car to get back to his grandpa’s place in Spicer.
Once Danny arrived at his friend’s place, they hung out and chatted in the front yard for a while. Then (according to the friend), two girls arrived in a car and took Danny with them. It’s assumed they drove him back to his grandpa’s place where he changed clothes (most likely) called his dad, Russ, about the fishing pole.
At some point, Danny made his way back to the party house, but it’s still unclear how he got there. Perhaps the same two girls drove him. Many hours passed without another witness account. Then, sometime around 5 AM, Danny called his friend in the Peaceful Hills neighborhood to ask for a ride, but the friend wasn't able to go pick him up. To this day, Danny’s friend berates himself for not going to get him.
What happened next gets murky. Several people said they saw Danny walk out the back door of the party house and cut across a couple of back yards, heading in the direction of Peaceful Hills. After that, no one ever saw or heard from Danny again.
Those closest to the situation speculate that someone – or maybe more than one – jumped Danny on his way to the trailer park. But, for 54 days, no one said a word. Why?
This might be why. It’s been rumored that a photo began circulating among this small group of party-house-regulars that showed Danny deceased. Those who were shown the photo may also have been threatened.
It stands to reason that people were scared, shocked, or even traumatized after seeing that photo. But, the simple fact is, if such a photo existed, it is key evidence.
These "party house regulars" from 2002 are now in their late 30s and early 40s. Many are married with kids of their own. Many wish they could help, but don’t know how.
Here’s how. If you were one of the people who was shown that photo, investigators are very interested in speaking with you, and they will guarantee your anonymity.
Also, if you were one of the two girls who picked Danny up from his friend’s house at Peacefull Hills that day, investigators would also like to talk to you.
Please. Make the call. Send the email. Write the letter.
Danny’s family deserves to know.
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If you have information about Danny Newville’s disappearance, please contact Detective Robbie Braness at the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Robbie Braness
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
Phone: 320-214-6700, x3312
Email: robbie.braness@kcmn.us
Facebook Messenger:
https://www.facebook.com/Kandiyohi-County-Sheriffs-Office-471311649587923
You may also mail anonymous tips to:
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
2201 NE 23rd St, Suite 101
Willmar, MN 56201
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PART 5
They say most murders are solved when somebody eventually “cracks.” They either can’t take the stress, they develop a moral conscience, or they get caught doing something else and cut a plea deal to make things easier on themselves.
But, for 20 years, no one has cracked in the tiny town of New London, Minnesota.
Or have they?
One tip that continues to surface year after year is that Danny Newville’s body was placed either inside or underneath the septic tank of a new home that was being built in the area. Tipsters have offered several possibilities over the years, and investigators have followed-up to determine if these homes were built within the correct timeframe of Danny’s disappearance. They’ve also interviewed homeowners to determine whether there was evidence to corroborate that a septic tank had been buried under unusual circumstances, like in the middle of the night, or on a day when other contractors weren’t working. However, there was never enough evidence to warrant tearing up someone’s yard (or lives) over a simple hunch.
Yet, why does this tip continue to surface? Is it possible it could be true? And, if so, is it possible that human remains could even survive in a septic tank after 20 years?
Apparently, it’s possible. In 2004, a young woman in her early 20s went missing from Hidalgo County in South Texas. Thirteen years later, her remains were found nearby when a man discovered that human bones were clogging his septic tank.
Across the pond, in Kempsey, Britain, workers were draining a septic tank for routine maintenance when they made a grim discovery. They discovered bones inside a bag that belonged to a woman who had been missing for 37 years. Her 89-year-old husband was convicted of her murder just earlier this week, on July 20, 2022.
So, if it’s true that Danny’s body was buried inside a septic tank, who did it? Why do so many people claim to have knowledge of it? Sure, rumors persist, but does anyone actually know if it’s true?
Please share what you know.
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If you have information about Danny Newville’s disappearance, please contact Detective Robbie Braness at the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Robbie Braness
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
Phone: 320-214-6700, x3312
Email: robbie.braness@kcmn.us
Facebook Messenger:
https://www.facebook.com/Kandiyohi-County-Sheriffs-Office-471311649587923
You may also mail anonymous tips to:
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
2201 NE 23rd St, Suite 101
Willmar, MN 56201
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PART 6
July 25, 2022 – The past five posts have been difficult to read, and, sometimes, even too disturbing for Facebook to publish. But, these posts have been intentional in nature… to get the facts out there, to lay any rumors to rest, and to finally get to the truth about what really happened to Danny Newville 20 years ago, on August 1st, 2002.
For Danny’s dad, the posts have been especially hard to read. While he desperately wants to know the truth, he doesn’t want people to think less of Danny. Yes… he struggled with addiction. Yes… he went joyriding in a stolen van as a juvenile. Yes… he ended up going to jail for not meeting the requirements of his probation.
But, Danny was no thug. He wasn’t a career criminal who was destined for a life of drugs and disappointment. He was trying to do better, to get well, and move on.
“I know you have to bring up all the drug stuff because you’re trying to piece it together,” one of Danny’s friends shared back in 2018. “But mostly, he got in trouble because he was trying to show off to a few friends. I guarantee you, Danny would have grown up to be a pretty good guy.”
Another friend of Danny’s agrees 100%. Linda was in her late 40s back in 2002, perhaps an unlikely friend, but she was someone that Danny felt comfortable talking to and confiding in whenever he was at Prairie Lakes Juvenile Detention Center (or "juvey" as most people called it).
Sometimes when Danny couldn’t sleep at Prairie Lakes, he would ask for permission to speak to Linda. For 15-30 minute stretches, they would talk deeply about things that really mattered to him – family, friends, relationships. He talked about how hard it was to be one of the “poor kids” at school, and how hard it was to fit in with the jocks and the popular kids when they’d already labeled him a “druggie.” When he started hanging out with the party-house-regulars more often, things got even worse.
During the summer of 2002, Danny was picked up for breaking his violation after a minor infraction and brought back to Prairie Lakes. He'd just turned 18 a month earlier and was now a legal adult, but because he was so young, they first booked him into juvey.
When Linda saw Danny’s name on the intake board, she remembers shaking her head in disappointment. She had so badly wanted him to make it and to never see his name on that board again.
She stopped by the cell where Danny had been placed for his customary 24-hour-hold and was surprised at his appearance. He looked pale, drawn, tired, and she wondered if the acne on his face was being exacerbated by his continuing drug use.
“What the hell, Danny?” she asked him. “You look like shit.”
“I know,” he said, looking at her with deep, soulful eyes that seemed to say, “Here’s one more person I’ve disappointed.”
And then, Danny put his face in his hands and started to sob.
Linda told him she’d stop by and check on him later, but she never got the chance. When she returned for her next shift, he’d already been transferred to the adult jail. It was the last time she ever saw him.
A year earlier, Linda shared that Danny had been in treatment at a facility in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. While there, he wrote two letters to her that spoke volumes about the kind of person he was and where he was going with his life.
Just recently, Linda shared those letters with Danny’s dad, Russ. And with his permission, we are sharing them with you. (See below.)
Danny Newville was trying to get better. He was ready to move on and move forward with his life, but he never got a chance.
This Saturday, July 30th at 10 AM, there will be a Memorial Walk for Danny Newville in New London. It will start in the parking lot of Peace Lutheran Church, and end at Old Gray Park, where a tree was planted in his honor nine years ago at the first Memorial Walk.
Please join us in supporting Danny’s family and their ongoing search for answers. Here's the event link with more details.
If you have information about Danny Newville’s disappearance, please contact Detective Robbie Braness at the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Robbie Braness
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
Phone: 320-214-6700, x3312
Email: robbie.braness@kcmn.us
Facebook Messenger:
https://www.facebook.com/Kandiyohi-County-Sheriffs-Office-471311649587923
You may also mail anonymous tips to:
Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office
2201 NE 23rd St, Suite 101
Willmar, MN 56201