Math professor's whereabouts still unknown

“We haven’t given up, but we really don’t know where else to search,” said Sgt. Chuck James of the Chadron Police Department. “We have no direction on where else to look.”

Haataja (pronounced Hah-dee-ya), 46, came from Lincoln, where he had been completing work his doctorate at the University of Nebraska, last August to teach at Chadron State. He is 6-foot-4, about 230 pounds and wears round glasses with thick lenses. His only vehicle, which did not run anyway, is still in Chadron and none of the firms which rent vehicles, did business with him recently.

“We’ve searched all the vacant buildings in town and people have walked and ridden horseback in the hills to the south for quite a ways,” said James. “We’re trying to do what we can, but we’re about at our wits end.”

James added he’s been told that Haataja, a bachelor, was not a particularly trusting person and likely would not ride in a vehicle with a stranger. As far as can be determined, he did not take any items from his apartment at Second and Bordeaux that would allow him to exist away from it for a lengthy period of time.

The locks were changed on the apartment to make sure he could not be entering it at inconspicuous times. James also said there has been no activity on the account that Haataja had with a Chadron bank or his credit cards since he disappeared.

After breaking his hips in an ice skating accident in March 2005, it seems unlikely that Haataja could walk great distances in a rugged terrain, those close to the situation note, although he did walk the approximately 10 blocks to and from work an a daily basis.

James added that law enforcement officers are asking farmers and ranchers in the area to be observant as they check their livestock and property.

“If somebody wants to search places that haven’t been searched, we say go for it and let us know what they find,” James added.

The veteran officer added that law enforcement personnel have received numerous calls from the news media both far and near pertaining to the disappearance. He said the media in the Black Hills has been particularly interested since Haataja lived in Spearfish from the time he was 10 years old until graduating with honors from Black Hills State in 1985 and still has family living in the area.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gary White, dean of the School of Business, Economics, Applied and Mathematical Sciences at Chadron State, said Monday that members of the college’s Math Department, led by Dr. Rob Stack and Dr. Monty Fickle, took over the courses Haataja was teaching, making it possible for the students to receive their grades and earn their credits as the first semester drew to a close.

“None of the students in his classes will have lost credits or time because of what happened,” said White.

White added that Haataja’s grade book was up to date in three of the four courses he was teaching and indicated he had given numerous assignments and tests. The professor apparently had fallen behind in contact with students and checking the work in the online course he was teaching. But White said Stack has been in touch with all nine students who were enrolled and has made arrangements so each of them can complete the course and earn their credits.

White, who also is in his first year at CSC and supervised Haataja this fall, said he has never known of a situation similar. “It’s absolutely strange,” he said.

White reported that a contract has been offered to a former CSC math teacher to take over the courses Haataja was scheduled to teach the second semester.