BUTLER COUNTY, Kansas – The parents of a missing Butler County boy not seen in more than a decade and presumed dead were back in court Friday to face the charges against them.
Adam Herrman hasn’t been seen since 1999 and Friday, his adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, were in a Butler County courtroom charged with welfare fraud.
The couple is charged with taking more than $50,000 in government aid for Adam’s care for six years after he’d gone missing.
Authorities say they are working diligently to bring charges of first-degree murder against the Herrmans as well.
“There’s no statute of limitations,’ said Kevin O’Connor, assistant Butler County attorney. “There’s no need to rush and we’re just making sure that we leave no stone unturned and hopefully we can bring this to a conclusion at some point soon.”
The Herrmans insist they had nothing to do with Adam’s disappearance, but never reported him missing. It wasn’t until 2008 when one of Adam’s adoptive sisters went to authorities concerned over his whereabouts that it was discovered he’d vanished.
Prosecutors hope to file murder charges by sometime in October.
