$25K reward offered in case of Mass. boy who disappeared in 1978

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information in connection with a boy’s disappearance 47 years ago.

The reward will be issued to anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the disappearance of then-4-year-old Andrew “Andy” Amato.

Andy went missing on Sept. 30, 1978. He was last seen in the wooded area near the Ash Street Trailer Park in Webster, police say.

Andy, his then-7-year-old sister, and his 6-year-old cousin were walking on a trail along I-395, then known as Route 52.

The three children came across a brook when Andy stumbled and dropped his Weeble toy. When he refused to leave without it, his sister and cousin went back to their home near Richard Avenue to get help, police say.

When his family returned to the brook, Andy was nowhere to be found.

Andy is a white male with blue eyes, blonde hair, a one-inch scar by his hairline on his right side, and a mole behind his right ear. When he disappeared, he was wearing a white Mickey Mouse t-shirt, a maroon snorkel jacket, jeans, and brown shoes with a jogger strip, police say.

Following his disappearance, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies searched for Andy in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island with specialty divisions, including canine, dive, helicopter, and National Guard teams, according to police.

“The town [of Webster] essentially shut down for two weeks so everybody could concert their efforts to try to find Andy,” Webster Police Chief Michael Shaw said in a video interview.

In the nearly five decades since his disappearance, investigators conducted nearly 100 interviews and followed dozens of leads across the nation, says police.

“I think we honestly don’t know if Andy is alive or he’s dead,” Chief Shaw added in the interview. “… It’s a possibility that he could still be alive and he may just not know that he’s Andy.”

Recently, the FBI Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team searched Burrillville, Rhode Island in connection with this case.

“I am grateful for the partnership with the FBI, and hopeful that this reward will assist us in finding Andy. While this case is 47 years old, we are still committed to bringing closure to the Amato family,” Chief Shaw said in a statement.

“Imagine it was your child or your brother that went missing. Imagine what grief that would bring to you, and how you would be able to cope without knowing for 47 years. It affects how you live, how you raise your children,” said Andy’s sister, Michelle Amato, who was one of the last people to see him before he went missing.

“Any clue, anything that would lead to the recovery of my brother, would mean the world to me and would give my father some answers before he passes. My mother’s not alive any longer for those answers, but I still need them, and I think my father deserves them,” she continued.

“Andrew Amato’s family has endured enough heartache, and they deserve to know what happened to him, which is why the FBI is offering a substantial reward to incentivize anyone with information to come forward … No amount of information is too small or irrelevant, and it’s never too late to step up and do the right thing,” said Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “Yes, it’s been 47 years, but we’re not about to give up on bringing Andy home, and anyone involved in his disappearance to justice.”

Anyone with information regarding Andrew Amato’s 1978 disappearance is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Webster Police Department at 508-943-1212, ext. 1250.