What happened to Adam Herrman?

What happened to Adam?

BUTLER COUNTY, Kansas – Where is Adam Herrman? Is he still missing or could he be dead? So many questions remain in what is now a nearly month-long investigation.

The only thing Butler County investigators seem to be sure about at this point is that Adam was 11 or 12 when he disappeared from a Towanda mobile home park back in 1999.

Even after a morning news conference by Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy, so many questions remain unanswered. Besides Adam’s whereabouts, also unknown is why he was never reported missing until just a few weeks ago. It’s those unknowns that continue to torment his loved ones.

"Baby brother just come home,” said Tiffany Broadfoot, Adam Herrman’s biological sister. “I just want you to come home. Don't be afraid, just come home."

Broadfoot last saw her brother, Adam Herrman, about 15 years ago. And given that his whereabouts have been unknown since 1999, she fears she’ll never see him again. Monday, she gave investigators a DNA sample.

"Should it turn out that Adam is deceased or somebody comes up with a body that can't be identified, than we would have Adam's DNA to rule in or rule out,” said Sheriff Murphy.

But in a morning news conference, Murphy said there’s just as good a chance that Adam is living somewhere in the U.S. or the world. He is seeking as much publicity as possible. He appeared on CNN Monday afternoon. Adam’s story is now on CNN.com.

"We don't know what happened to Adam Herrman past 1999, when he was last seen,” Murphy told CNN.

Adam disappeared from the Pine Ridge Mobile Home Park where he lived with his adoptive parents. The park was searched last Wednesday by investigators after they got a tip from an undisclosed person a few weeks ago who told them Adam had been missing all these years.

Investigators said on Wednesday they found one of the answers they’d been looking for, but will not give details. As for the adoptive parents, who live in Derby, the sheriff says they could be charged for - among other things – never reporting him missing.

"I just don't understand how you could let something like that go. If it was my child, I'd be calling the police every day,” Broadfoot said.

An attorney representing Adam’s adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, says they are filled with guilt for never reporting him missing, but they just figured he had run away to be with his biological family.

But the Herrman’s could be facing some serous charges. Their attorney has so far asked them not to speak.

Investigators still ask for the public’s help.  The Butler County Sheriff's Department can be reached at 316-322-4254.