Family members of a man who had been missing for 25 years and has now been identified by Columbus investigators with the help of a forensic genealogy company, have filled in some of the questions about who their loved one was, and why he might have disappeared.
Leo Michael Murray, a 61-year-old Ohio resident, told his niece he was going to Florida and gave her his computer, which he said they could use to keep in touch, and left a suitcase with her before leaving in his car. The family did not hear from him again.
Family members were in shock to learn now that Murray’s body was found Jan. 30, 1999, on Jonathan Moore Pike in Columbus, near Carr Hill Road, obviously not on a route to Florida from Ohio and that 25 years later, he has been identified.
The family said Murray was a devout Catholic, and had a rosary with him at the time of his death. He had taken early retirement from Bell and Howell in Ohio, a company providing automation solutions for retail, production mail, and industrial industries. He traveled all over the world for his career — London, Denmark and Hong Kong with his family describing “Uncle Leo” as quite a salesman. He never married or had children.
Prior to his career, Murray was in the military, serving as an MP and told the family stories that he drove Elvis Presley during Presley’s time in the service.
At one time, he had written a book about growing up in Ohio that was delivered to a publisher, but it was somehow lost, according to family members. As a kid, he loved going to Indians games in Ohio.
Ironically, Murray was the family member who did the genealogy on his family, with some of the information found in the suitcase he left behind. Also in the suitcase were a diamond pinky ring, a diamond watch, dog tags from his military service, letters and other keepsakes the family still has.
The family now believes the contents of the suitcase signaled that he was saying farewell as he was careful not to leave anything in the suitcase that would lead them to him.
There are still a few mysteries about “Uncle Leo” to solve — the family still doesn’t know what happened to his vehicle, although Columbus police do have the VIN number and may be able to track something there. He was also found with a postal key that the family does not know anything about, leaving that a mystery.
The family plans to contact a funeral home to have Murray’s name placed on his tombstone here in Columbus, rather than have him moved to Ohio.
While in shock, the family conveyed their appreciation to the Columbus investigators who did not give up on a 25-year-case, so they could know what happened to their beloved uncle.
