CLEARWATER, Fla. — Monday, Sept. 11, marks 23 years since 8-year-old Clearwater resident Zachary Bernhardt disappeared from his home.
The Amber Alert issued for Bernhardt's disappearance has remained active ever since, making it the longest-running one in Florida. The search for Bernhardt has persisted for years with family members publicly showing pictures of him and pleading for his safe return and Clearwater police have examined evidence and followed up on leads.
"He still could be out there and show up tomorrow. But if he shows up tomorrow, that could also be good or bad. We have to be prepared for both," his aunt Billie-Jo Jimenez said in an earlier interview.
Using age progression technology on one of his photos, Clearwater police created an image of what Bernhardt would look like now, as a 31-year-old man.
"We don’t consider any of our cases as cold, we consider them as unsolved. Many times, cases such as this get a fresh set of eyes with a new detective to look at them," Clearwater police have said. "We urge anyone with information that could help detectives solve this case to contact the Clearwater Police Department. We will never stop looking for clues as to what happened to Zachary."
Zachary vanished in the year 2000. He was last seen sleeping in his mother's bed in their apartment on Drew Street. His mother, a single woman, was off that night from her job where she typically worked the night shift.
According to Zachary's grandmother, Carole Bernhardt, his mother was trying to stay awake so she could take him to school in the morning. She did house chores around the apartment and then went for a walk. But when she came back at 4 a.m., her son was gone.
"She called screeching and screaming she was hysterical and Billie Jo got on the phone kept saying try to be calm he’s probably hiding from you,” Carole said.
Since that night, and the initial search for Zachary that involved hundreds of volunteers, helicopters, and cadaver dogs, Zachary's family has never wavered in their efforts to find him or given up hope that he might someday be found.
"We love him. We miss him. We want him home. It doesn’t get easier. It’s not something that is easy. Everybody says, oh in time. It doesn’t work that way with us. You know? Our loved one’s still out there," Billie Jo said.
Clearwater police urge anyone who might have either seen Zachary or have any information on what happened to him to contact the Clearwater Police Department at 727-562-4242.