Police want suspect in Depies case brought to Wis.

TOWN OF MENASHA (AP) -- Police in the Town of Menasha are trying to bring a convicted kidnapper to Wisconsin to see if he can provide more information about a woman's 1992 disappearance.

The Post-Crescent reported (http://post.cr/AAizqa ) Sunday that police are trying to get federal and state approval to bring Larry DeWayne Hall to the Town of Menasha. Police Lt. Mike Krueger told the newspaper that Hall, who is in federal prison in North Carolina, is at the top of the suspect list in the Laurie Depies case.

In 2010, Hall gave investigators information suggesting he abducted and killed Depies, 20, of Appleton. He told police where they'd find her body, but police found nothing in their search.

Krueger said he hopes Hall will be brought to Wisconsin in the next few months and that the former janitor and Civil War re-enactment buff will give investigators details that would lead to Depies' remains. "He told us he would like to resolve this, especially for the Depies family,'' Krueger said. "I hope he is true to that and would come here.''

Investigators are looking for evidence that matches up with statements made by Hall, a former Wabash, Ind., man serving a life sentence for the 1993 death of Jessica Roach, 15, of Illinois. Hall claims he had picked up 39 women between 1980 and 1994, and an undetermined number of them, including Depies, died. Still, he was only convicted in Roach's case.

Depies vanished Aug. 19, 1992, from a Town of Menasha parking lot. She was headed to her boyfriend's after work, and while he heard her drive up, she never made it to his apartment.

Authorities have found no evidence linking Hall to the Depies case, but he provided details about the case that hadn't been publicized. Krueger said Hall could still provide important information to police. "A lot of things have changed,'' he said, "and we'd like to see if he recalls the area. The main highways are still there, even though vegetation and tree lines have changed, and we'd like to see if he can recall anything.''

Depies' mother, Mary Wegner, said she is skeptical about Hall's motives, but hopeful he could provide answers. "There's a possibility that, if and when he gets up here, he might remember things,'' Wegner said last week. "It's been almost 20 years. It would be interesting to see whether he remembers anything or gives detectives any hints or cues (about Depies' whereabouts) and points them in the right direction. With modern technology, you kind of hope there is a possibility that something would show up. "I'm open to just about anything.''

Krueger said transporting Hall to Wisconsin involves layers of paperwork at the county, state and federal levels, along with finding a nearby federal institution that can handle "a federal prisoner of (Hall's) classification.'' "It's still kind of a game with him,'' Krueger said. "He hasn't actually led us to any bodies.''