Joe Pichler starred in a number of movies, but after being called back home by his family to finish his education, he went missing and has never been found
In the sleepy suburbs of Bremerton, Washington, US, a Hollywood story became a real-life mystery that still haunts Tinseltown today.
On January 5, 2006, 18-year-old Joe Pichler went missing without a trace, leaving behind only questions and a cryptic message that has fuelled speculation for nearly two decades. He has never been found and his family remain both baffled and heartbroken.
As a child actor, Joe got his big in break in 1996, starring alongside Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes in hit thriller, The Fan. He went on to appear in films such as Varsity Blues alongside James Van Der Beek, and two of the Beethoven franchise sequels,
But by 2003, at his parents’ urging, he’d stepped back from Hollywood and returned home to graduate high school in Bremerton.
A couple of months before he vanished, seemingly into thin air, he had started a full-time job as a telephone technician at Tele-Tech. Money wasn’t an issue. When he turned 18, he had gained access to a trust fund, which enabled him to move into his own apartment. He remained a regular visitor to his family home, though.
Joe was said to have been dabbling with drugs and drinking recreationally, but was planning to move back to California to resume his acting career once his braces were removed.
He spent the evening of January 4, 2006, playing cards with pals, who like his family, said Joe seemed upbeat in the days leading up to his disappearance.
In the early hours of the following day, though, something changed. At 4.15am he placed what would become his last known phone call to a friend, sounding “inconsolable”. It marked the beginning of an unsettling sequence of events.
He had promised to call his friend back in an hour, but that didn’t happen.
Four days later, his silver 2005 Toyota Corolla was found parked near the intersection of Wheaton Way and Sheridan Road, not far from the Port Madison Narrows waterway. Inside the vehicle, police discovered his phone and some poetry, a two-page note that has since become the focal point of public fascination.
In it, Joe wrote of his desire to be a “stronger brother” and expressed wishes for some of his belongings to be given to his younger sibling. Investigators noted the odd tone and content of the writings.
Police believed Joe had taken his own life by jumping off a bridge into the Port Madison Narrows, but search dogs were unable to pick up a scent or any trace of him, for that matter.
However, his family did not characterise his writing as a suicide note, with his brother Matthew stating: “He left that note saying that he wanted to start over.”
Lead detective Robbie Davis commented that there was indication it “might” have been suicide, but emphasised that nothing was certain and that there was no known reason to suspect foul play. “There’s a good indication that it might have been a suicide, but we don’t know that,” he said.
The teen’s belongings, including his wallet and car keys, were missing, and his apartment was found unlocked with lights left on, which family members described as uncharacteristic. Despite extensive searches by police, volunteers and tracking dogs, no trace of Joe has ever been found.
His sister Shawna told The Kitsap Sun at the time:”‘He’s probably too embarrassed to come home. In the worst-case scenario, if anything, it’s foul play. But not suicide.” His brother Matthew was just as certain, adding: “He left that note saying that he wanted to start over.”
Joe’s mum, Kathy Pichler, has spoken about her son’s reaction to being called back home. “I just wanted him to have some normalcy in his life. He’s a good boy and took it well, but he wasn’t really happy about it,” she said.
“We always kept him really grounded. He’s always been a regular kid with a job a teenager wouldn’t normally have.”
Writing on the Surviving Parents Coalition – which supports families whose children have gone missing or been murdered – she criticised the police, claiming Joe’s case was handled “so poorly” and that “most of the evidence was lost”.
Source: Mirror
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