Dalton Mesarchik case to air on Steve Wilkos Show

A Streator cold case will gain national attention during an episode Friday, Oct. 4, of the Steve Wilkos Show.

Dalton Mesarchik’s mother, Michelle and older sister, Deana, traveled in February to tape an episode of the show regarding Dalton’s unsolved homicide. The two previously appeared on the Steve Wilkos Show in June 2016, in which Deana took a lie detector test to prove to the community she was not involved in her brother’s homicide – she passed.

The episode titled “My baby was murdered, leave me alone” will air this Friday, according to the website.

Mesarchik was 34 days shy of his 8th birthday when he vanished from his family’s enclosed porch around 7:15 p.m. on March 26, 2003, in Streator, waiting for a ride to Bible study.

Law enforcement ascended on the scene with bloodhounds 45 minutes after he was reported missing, according to news reports at the time. The church driver had a family emergency out of state. The family said they were not notified.

Mesarchik was found less than 24 hours after he was reported missing in the Vermilion River, south of Streator in Livingston County by a fisherman around 11:30 a.m. on March 27.

The murder weapon, a three-pound Benchtop Pro sledgehammer– only sold at Kmart, was found a few miles from the river in a steel trash receptacle, behind the Polish National Alliance Hall. News reports at the time said the hammer had Mesarchik’s blood on it and the hammer was undergoing further forensic tests.

The FBI and ISP encourage members of the public to reach out with information via tips.fbi.gov or 312-421-6700 (even anonymously).

A Justice for Dalton Mesarchik Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/daltonmesarchik also has been established.