[8] The Runyan family had moved to Sunset from Tennessee just before Rachael's birth; her mother would later recall she and her husband had believed Sunset—then a community of 6,000 inhabitants[9]—would be a "wonderful and safe place" to raise their children.
[10] Despite the sense of security Jeff and Elaine Runyan felt within the community of Sunset, both parents repeatedly warned their children of the dangers of trusting anybody they did not know who attempted to lure them from their home or any safe environment.
[10] In the summer of 1982, Jeff and Elaine Runyan installed a gate in their backyard fence, so the family could easily access this playground.
Justin blurted out to her[13] that Rachael had been taken from the park by force moments before by a young black man who had initially offered to buy her ice cream and bubble gum at a nearby supermarket.
[9][12][14][15] According to Justin, the man had approached them as they played in the sandpit, attempting to lure the siblings into his car with an offer to purchase candy for the trio.
[1] In response, he simply picked Rachael up and placed her over his shoulder before bundling her, screaming, into his car as Justin stood frozen in fear with Nathan standing by his side.
[a] Both Justin Runyan, and a 10-year-old child who had also been approached by the man at the playground,[17] described him to investigators as being a light-complexioned African-American,[16] aged between 30 and 35 years old,[13] 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, with a medium build, an afro-style haircut and a handlebar mustache.
[18] Although eyewitness memory enabled police to obtain an accurate physical description of the child's abductor from which they were able to construct a detailed composite drawing, the only witnesses to Rachael's abduction had been the three children.
As such, beyond police and media appeals, subsequent law enforcement efforts were effectively limited to procedures like forensic searches of the crime scene and house-to-house inquiries in the hours and days after the event.
Both the family and neighborhood volunteers had limited means and methods for the search at their disposal, although a nationwide distribution of flyers displaying Rachael's picture was organized.
With the assistance of friends and neighbors, the Runyan family searched local neighborhoods[2] and distributed thousands of missing person posters and flyers alerting the public to Rachael's disappearance.
[20] One week after Rachael's abduction, her parents flew to New York to attend a press conference intended to maintain the extensive publicity surrounding their daughter's disappearance.
[16] Close to a pile of brush, the children observed what they initially believed was a doll, partly covered in shrubbery floating at the edge of the stream.
[22] On closer inspection, the children realized the doll was actually the nude body of a female toddler with her hands bound behind her back.
[27] Shortly after the formal identification of their daughter, Jeff and Elaine Runyan held Rachael's funeral service[28] at the Sunset Stake Center.
"[29] The abduction and murder of Rachael Runyan proved to be a major factor in the October 1982 passage of a federal law allowing the parents of missing children access to a clearinghouse administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which would obtain and file records of the fingerprints and blood types of more than 300,000 Utah children.
[4][32] Once law enforcement personnel verified the authenticity of a child abduction case, a "Rachael Alert" form was faxed to all television and radio networks for immediate and high-priority statewide broadcast.
Police continue working closely with the Utah Attorney General's office in their efforts to apprehend and convict the perpetrator(s).
[39] DNA testing conducted on items found near Rachael's body in 2007 yielded tentative results, although they have not helped advance the investigation.
[22] Runyan-Simmons has frequently offered emotional support, guidance and advice to parents undergoing a similar experience to her family's ordeal.