Mother still looking for answers 21 years after son, friend killed on rural Butler County road

BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — It’s been 21 years since Scott Fosnaught and his friend Shawn Baur, both 15, were found on a rural Butler County Road in the early morning hours of July 17.

A passing motorist spotted the teens and called 911.

Police said Fosnaught was dead at the scene.

Baur was flown by helicopter to a hospital where he later died.

No one has ever been charged with the crime.

State police believe the two had left a friend’s house after 1 a.m. and were heading to the Baur’s home when they were hit by a car on Cashdollar Road. It’s a rural area with only a few houses and a cornfield on one side of the road.

Fosnaught’s mother told Channel 11′s Rick Earle, who has followed the case for years, that she believes the teens were targeted.

Earle: You don’t think it was an accident? Do you?

Rausch: I don’t. I think the boys were targeted for some reason.

Rausch said her son’s injuries were consistent with a car accident, but Baur’s injuries were not.

She believes the boys may have been beaten, dumped on the road, and run over by a vehicle to make it look like an accident.

“It’s just hard, 21 years. It’s bad enough the kids were killed but to have no one held accountable for it. That’s ridiculous,” said Rausch.

Channel 11 spoke with Rausch and a friend of the Baur family at the scene of the crime Monday morning.

“They were good, fun-loving kids. so it just took two bright, shining lights from this earth. And it’s hard to believe 21 years later we still don’t have justice for them because it’s such a small community. Somebody knows of what happened and they need to come forward,” said Deb Herb, a close friend of the Baur family.

Every year around July 17, Fosnaught’s mom passes out flyers offering a reward for information.

Her goal is to keep the case in the headlines until it’s solved.

And she reaches out to investigators.

She spoke with a trooper a couple of months ago and got an update.

“There was a new lead that came in but he couldn’t really tell me anything. So hopefully he’s working on the new lead,” said Rausch.

After Channel 11 profiled the case a couple of years ago, police also obtained some new information.

But so far, there have been no arrests in the case.

And now, 21 years later, friends and relatives are once again urging anyone with any information to come forward.

Rausch: They were saying people were afraid to come forward because of retaliation. It’s been 21 years. I mean get a backbone. Stand up, and do the right thing.

Earle: You think somebody knows what happened?

Rausch: I think a lot of people know what happened. There’s no way it can stay hush, hush for 21 years. Somebody’s got to spill their guts somewhere.

The family isn’t giving up.

They’re hoping a $25,000 cash reward will ultimately convince someone to come forward with information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

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