The mystery of what happened to teenager Kurt Sova continues 43 years later

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – It was 43 years ago this Monday that a Cleveland teen was found dead after going to a party.

What happened to Kurt Sova?

You could be the key to finally solving this case.

19 Investigators have continued to follow this mystery since police reopened the investigation into his death five years ago.

On October 28, 1981, 17-year-old Kurt Sova was found dead in a ravine, five days after he went missing after going to a house party.

That home was just a quarter mile from where his body was found along a busy industrial road in Newburgh Heights.

We spoke to Kurt’s older brother Kevin on the anniversary of his death a few years ago.

‘He went missing and then found dead. Life was never the same again,” he said.

Kevin said they searched that area the day before his brother was found dead.

Experts determined that Kurt’s blood alcohol level was probably not high enough to kill him.

So how did he end up there?

All clues have faded over the decades.

New eyes on the case

In February 2020, investigators tried to solve the case in a new way.

19 Investigates traveled to Chicago where hundreds of citizen detectives came together to solve Kurt’s case via crowdsourcing.

Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy opened the case at a CrowdSolve conference in the Windy City.

But all the clues they were given led to a dead end.

Kurt’s case is not yet closed, but police say it is “inactive.”

Chief Majoy believes it was most likely an accidental death.

Kevin thinks something happened at that party and the teens there panicked.

“I think I’m at peace with it because I don’t want to blame anyone. Whatever happens, it won’t bring Kurt back,” he told us.

Looking for new leads

More than forty years later, Kevin deserves answers.

Do you know what happened to Kurt Sova?

Even remembering something small from that time could help investigators close this case.

If you know anything about what happened to Kurt, call Newburgh Heights Police at 216-641-5545.

We took an in-depth look at this case in our true crime podcast Dark Side of the Land.

You can listen to it The mystery of Kurt Sova: 40 years unsolved via this link or wherever you get your podcasts.