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in: Maryland, 1993, Disappearances,
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George Burdynski

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Real Name: George Stanley Burdynski Jr.
Nicknames: Junior
Location: Brentwood, Maryland
Date: May 24, 1993

Bio[]

Occupation: Student
Date of Birth: July 29, 1982
Height: 4'0"
Weight: 60 lbs.
Characteristics: White male with brownish blond hair and brown eyes. He has a scar on the right side of his face above his mouth. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt and green shorts. His bicycle was a red and white 1950s series Schwinn with a large seat and large, wide handlebars. It was missing its rear fender and had a spare rim tied around the handlebars.

Case[]

Details: Ten-year-old George Burdynski left his home in the 4300 block of 40th Place in Brentwood, Maryland, at around 3:30pm on May 24, 1993. He and his friends rode off on their bicycles. He was also planning on meeting his adult friend, Robert Violet, at Robert’s home in the 4500 block of 37th Street. According to Robert, George never arrived, but witnesses claimed to have seen George outside of Robert's mother’s home at 4pm.
At around 8:30pm, George was seen riding his bike around the neighborhood, about a mile from his home. After that, he disappeared without a trace. When he did not come home that evening, his family called the police and searched for him. The following morning, George’s father and Robert discovered the rim from his bike near a tennis court three blocks from his home. No other trace of him was found there, and the rest of his bike has never been found.
Authorities quickly identified three potential suspects in George’s disappearance: fifty-four-year-old James Kowalski Jr., thirty-six-year-old Steven Leak, and twenty-nine-year-old Joseph Lynch. Kowalski was known in George’s neighborhood for befriending young boys, giving them expensive presents, inviting them into his home, and taking them on trips. Several neighbors and witnesses reported that they had only seen him with young boys.
George’s parents told police that Kowalski had taken George to a yard sale one day in the summer of 1992. Kowalski brought George home three hours late. After that, his parents forbid him from spending time with Kowalski. However, it was discovered that he had logged onto Kowalski’s computer at least once to play a video game. Kowalski claimed that he was not aware of George’s disappearance; however, investigators discovered that he had videotaped news footage about George at his home.
On May 27, 1993, just three days after George’s disappearance, Kowalski was arrested and charged with sexually molesting two Brentwood boys. Several other boys also came forward and told the police that Kowalski molested them. Some of them were friends of George’s. Some of these incidents happened just a week before George’s disappearance. Kowalski was later charged with molesting boys in Winchester, Virginia; he had moved there six weeks earlier. Leak, who rented Kowalski’s Maryland home, was also arrested and charged with molesting one of the boys.
On June 16, 1993, a friend of Kowalski’s was arrested and charged with lying to investigators about the last time she saw George. Her son was one of Kowalski’s victims. According to George’s parents, she had introduced Kowalski to several Brentwood residents and their children. The charges against her were later dropped.
Investigators discovered that Kowalski, Leak, and Lynch were connected to a long-lasting child exploitation, molestation, and pornography ring that operated in George’s neighborhood and throughout the Mid-Atlantic. They also discovered that the suspects had used the Internet to transmit child pornography, contact potential victims, and “further their child sexual abuse ventures.”
On one of Kowalski’s computer disks, he described a trip he made to Costa Rica and named children he sexually assaulted while there. He also had a map highlighting the route to Costa Rica and Costa Rican currency. Other information about the ring was also found on other computer disks.
As a result of their discoveries, the FBI began an investigation focused on Internet child exploitation. A two-year undercover operation, codenamed “Innocent Images,” started in 1994 in response to George’s disappearance. It targeted the above-mentioned child pornography ring and similar rings, resulting in a dozen arrests nationwide.
In July 1993, Kowalski pleaded guilty to molesting two of George’s friends. He was also convicted on charges relating to child sexual abuse and child pornography. He is serving a 200-year sentence. George’s mother testified at Lynch’s trial, saying that George visited his home in the 3200 block of Varnum Street with his friends sometime before his disappearance. In 1993, Leak was convicted of child molestation and child pornography charges. He has since been released. In October 1994, Lynch was convicted of two second-degree sexual offenses against a thirteen-year-old friend of George’s.
The suspects have never been charged in George’s disappearance, which remains unsolved.
Suspects: James Kowalski, Steven Leak, and Joseph Lynch are considered possible suspects in this case. However, they have never been charged. They were involved in the Mid-Atlantic child exploitation ring. They are believed to have sexually abused two of George's friends shortly before he vanished, and they were all eventually convicted on unrelated child abuse charges. Kowalski was known to have spent at least one afternoon with George, and George had used his computer to play a video game.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired as a Special Bulletin on the February 23, 1996 episode, which also featured accused child pornography suspect John Arbogast.
  • It was excluded from the FilmRise release of the Robert Stack episodes.
  • It was also profiled on America's Most Wanted: Final Justice.
  • Hundreds of arrests have since been attributed to the “Innocent Images” operation.

Results: Unsolved - In March 2002, as a result of a tip, investigators announced that they had developed a new theory in George’s case. They believe he was killed shortly after his abduction. They are also focusing on another individual as a suspect. This individual has not yet been named; however, he reportedly has no connection to the previous suspects.
In 2004, there were reported sightings of George in Massachusetts. Witnesses recognized him because of a scar on his face. He was apparently homeless and was traveling with a group selling coupon books door-to-door. Detectives traveled to Massachusetts but could not locate the man or determine if he was George. His case remains unsolved.
Sadly, on August 13, 2021, George’s father passed away at age sixty without seeing his case solved.
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