CRESCO, Pa. — It's been more than five decades since John Leonard of Cresco was murdered, and his killer has never been caught.
Investigators say Leonard was found shot multiple times in the head inside his taxi cab at the now-demolished Buck Hill Inn in Barrett Township in 1970.
"There was at least an eyewitness during that time that provided some physical details about who they believed was the person that they had seen walking up to the cab when John appeared. It would have been a white male between the ages of like 25-30. He had noted that he had kind of like slicked dark-colored hair. He was wearing like a sports coat and had a shopping bag with him," said Trooper Jonathan Bailey, with the Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Investigative Unit.
That sketch is a never-before-seen composite of the person.
A witness says the person approached Leonard's taxi.
Police hope that by releasing the sketch, someone will remember something.
"This is like a recent release of the sketch, to see if anyone else can identify maybe or provide some information since that's really our goal with this," Trooper Bailey said.
Mick's Motors, where Lenoard was a taxi driver, is still around, and so is his story, even 52 years later.
"I think there probably wasting their time, but it might be good. You know, I don't know, maybe they'll find somebody, but I can't imagine after all these years," said Price.
Millard Price of Cresco says he still remembers walking into the diner the day after Leonard died.
"Everybody knew him. He was a local, you know, drove taxis. Worked down here at Mick's Motors," Price said. "You know he was a good guy. He was an old veteran. He was POW in the war, they tell me, had a big family."
"It's a part of history in the Poconos, but still something that we're trying to solve to kind of bring some closure for the family," said Trooper Bailey.
If anyone has information on the murder of the man in this sketch, call state police at Stroudsburg.
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