FORWARD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — An infamous local cold case is heating up.
After years of waiting, we may soon know who killed two boys who were walking home from a friend’s house.
It’s been 24 years since two teenagers were found dead on a rural road in Butler County, and no one has been charged in the crime.
Channel 11’s Chief Investigator Rick Earle has covered this case for years and learned there could be a new lead.
Family members told him that a man recently came forward with new information about a vehicle that may have been involved in the crime.
They say the cash reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction is now higher than it’s ever been.
The reward is now up to nearly $35,000 thousand dollars, almost $25,000 was raised by the community, and ten more from the state police.
Ailive Rausch is hoping that after 24 years, this will convince someone to come forward with information about her son’s killer.
Rausch: “I’m very hopeful, very hopeful.”
Earle: “That’s a lot of money.”
Rausch: “It is a lot of money. He’s been walking for 24 years free. You know my son’s dead. You know Shawn’s dead. It won’t bring him back, but we need answers. We need to know exactly what happened.”
Scott Fosnaught and Shawn Baur, both 15, were found by a passing motorist on Cashdollar Road in Butler County in the early morning hours of July 17, 2002.
They had just left a friend’s house on foot, headed home.
Fosnaught was already deceased. Baur died later at the hospital.
While police believe they were hit by a car, no skid marks or car parts were found. But Baur’s blood was discovered about 200 feet away.
Rausch suspects Baur was attacked and hit in the head, and her son, attempting to get away, was run down.
Rausch: “I think they gassed the vehicle.”
Earle: “They hit him on purpose?”
Rausch: “Swerved and then drug them up to there.”
She believes Baur’s body was moved and placed on the road near her son.
Candice Fosnaught was only ten years old when her brother was killed.
Fosnaught: “It just broke my heart. It was something like out of a horror movie, you know. And it’s just like the most pain I’ve ever felt in my life, and I don’t wish that on anyone.”
After 24 years, she’s beyond frustrated.
Fosnaught: “I don’t understand why it’s taken so long to figure out who’s done this.”
About five months ago, there was a possible break in the case. That was when Rausch spoke with a man who had information about vehicle.
Earle: “Did he talk to the police?”
Raush: “Yes.”
Earle: “Did he tell them?”
Raush: “Yes, he did.”
While the Butler DA declined to comment because it’s still under investigation, Raush and her daughter say they’ve narrowed the list of suspects.
Earle: “You guys think you know who did it?”
Fosnaught: “Yeah.”
Earle: “You are pretty confident you have an idea who did this?”
Rausch: “Yes, yes. There were so many suspects, but when you think about it over the years, you narrow it down and cross that one off until you come to the main one.”
Earle: “Have you talked to the police about that?”
Rausch: “Oh yeah, and I think they know too.”
Channel 11 has reached out to state police but hasn’t heard back yet.
Rausch says a new investigator has been assigned to the case, and she’s hoping a fresh set of eyes will ultimately give them some answers.
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