Kansas Man’s Body Sat At Airport For 8 Months While Family Searched For Him

During the eight months family members searched for Kansas native Randy Potter, the man’s body was in his truck at Kansas City International Airport, authorities said last week.

Potter’s badly decomposed body was found last Tuesday in what authorities believe was a suicide. His family thinks his body has been at the airport since Jan. 17, when Potter was last seen.

Last Friday, family members went public with their outrage that Potter’s body could be in a highly public place for eight months with no one noticing.

“How is it possible, in America?” said Potter’s wife, Carolina. “A truck sitting there for eight months? He could have been found a lot sooner if everybody had done their job.”

“What kills me the most was I was there … He could’ve been found the first week,” she said, noting that she works as a flight attendant. The family lives in Lenexa, Kansas.

“It’s amazing that he wasn’t found in June or July. Our goal is to find out what happened and why. What was done, what wasn’t done. And to try to make sure that this doesn’t happen again to somebody,” said Kansas City lawyer John Picerno, who was hired by the family to investigate Potter’s disappearance.

Family members said Potter’s dignity in death was wiped away by officials’ inaction in finding him.

“The integrity of my father, his body … it just soiled because he sat in this vehicle for eight months. Through summer, cooking in the Midwestern heat, for eight months,” Potter’s daughter Nichole said. “It’s disgusting. It’s a disgusting thought.”

Melissa Alderman, Potter’s niece, said that early in the search family members went to the airport and were assured by parking and security officials that if the truck was there, they would find it.

“Losing a loved one is hard. Losing a loved one to suicide is 10 times harder. Knowing that they sat there and baked for eight months — I can’t breathe,” Alderman said.

“How many thousands of people drove by the vehicle? How many people walked by?” she asked. “It’s disgusting. And it’s infuriating. It’s a total disregard for human life.”

Chris Hernandez, director of communications for the City of Kansas City, issued a statement beyond which the city has not commented.

“The City of Kansas City and its Aviation Department express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Randy Potter. We wish them peace during this difficult time. We are working with all parties to determine the facts involved, including SP Plus, which manages the 25,000 parking spaces at Kansas City International Airport,” the statement said. (For more from the author of “Kansas Man’s Body Sat at Airport for 8 Months While Family Searched for Him” please click HERE)

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