BUTLER — The person responsible for the deaths of teens Scott Fosnaught and Shawn Baur on a darkened Butler County road a decade ago has never been found.
Fosnaught's mother, Ailive Rausch, said she believes the person is someone police already have questioned.
Barry and Patty Baur believe the person is someone they know.
All three parents believe that 10 years later, as time slips away, justice falls farther from their grasp.
"It's not even so much who did it, but what happened," Barry Baur said recently, tears filling his eyes. "It would give us some peace."
A passerby found the 15-year-old boys about 2 a.m. July 17, 2002, lying on Cashdollar Road, close to their homes in Forward. Fosnaught died at the scene of injuries, including a torn aorta and split kidney. Baur died a short time later after he was flown to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Police are perplexed by the lack of physical evidence. No skid marks. No broken glass. Barry Baur said he is haunted that blood was found about 200 feet from where the boys lay.
Police have said they believe Fosnaught died from injuries consistent with being hit by an automobile, and likely was dragged. His mother said on Friday she saw no brush burns on her son, and his injuries didn't seem to come from dragging.
Baur, police said, had two head wounds, but it was unclear how he got them. They speculated he might have been hit by a side mirror from a vehicle.
"There's a lot of theories," Barry Baur, 53, said. "Some of the things, the pieces and parts, they just don't add up."
Patty Baur simply said, "I don't think it was an accident."
The boys had been at a drinking party a short distance from where they were found. One man was charged with providing alcohol to teens at the party, but not in connection with the boys' deaths.
Investigators said that whoever was responsible could be local or knew the area well, because of its remote location.
Every so often, police receive a tip, said Trooper Richard Fennell, some by anonymous letter, some by a phone call. Though the tips are investigated, police have come up empty.
Fennell, with the Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit, declined to talk specifics about the crime scene. Assigned to the Butler state police barracks, he took over the case last year.
"Was it as simple as being hit by a vehicle on a dark night, or is there more to it?" Fennell said.
He still holds hope for an answer.
"Obviously, someone knows what happened. There's no doubt in my mind," he said.
More than $20,000 in reward money hasn't produced any results. The Baurs put up billboards pleading for help, but with no success.
"Our best shot is a deathbed confession," Barry Baur said.
Both boys loved fishing and other outdoor activities. The Baurs said their son was known as "the mayor" of East Brady, where the family had a camping ground.
The Baurs said Shawn someday would have taken over his father's construction business. Rausch, 47, who now resides in Moon, said her son "never thought that far ... about what he wanted to be when he grew up. He was too busy having fun."
Baur would have turned 16 on July 22, 2002, and Fosnaught would have celebrated his 16th birthday three days later.
The Baurs said this may be the last year they'll make a public plea for information, the emotional toll of dredging up the memories still too raw.
"People think that 'Oh, it's 10 years, you should be used to it by now,' " Rausch said. "But for the parents, it's like it happened yesterday."
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