When Joe Pichler mysteriously vanished at the age of 18 in 2006, police suspected suicide — but his family remains convinced that foul play was involved.
As a child , Joe Pichler asterisk in films likeVarsity Bluesand two installments of theBeethovenfranchise about a dear but mischievous Saint Bernard . But as an grownup , he became the center of a baffling disappearance causa , one that has frustrated authorities for almost two 10 .
IMDBJoe Pichler inBeethoven ’s 4th(2001 ) .
Pichler , who ’d returned to his hometown of Bremerton , Washington , to land up high-pitched school , melt without a trace in 2006 . grant to his family , the bright unseasoned actor had plans to come back to Los Angeles and revive his acting vocation .
IMDBJoe Pichler inBeethoven’s 4th(2001).
or else , he simply vanished . But though police suspected at the fourth dimension that Joe Pichler had die by suicide , his kinfolk believe that foul play may have been involved .
How Joe Pichler Went From Bremerton To Hollywood
wear on Feb. 14 , 1987 , in Bremerton , Washington , Joseph David Wolfgang Pichler found succeeder at a young age . He began acting at the age of four and broke into the industry through a commercial for a Seattle department store at the age of six .
From there , Pichler relocated to Los Angeles . He swiftly book a number of acting gigs , guest - starring on an episode ofTouched by an Angelin 1998 and snag roles inMusic from Another Roomin 1998 andVarsity Bluesin 1999 . Pichler even got his own trailer when he acted inBeethoven ’s 3rd(2000 ) .
All the while , he managed to stay grounded — and put serious thought process into his future as an thespian .
The Pichler FamilyA photo of Joe Pichler around Christmas 2005, shortly before he disappeared.
“ I ’ve said no to sexual practice and drug , ” Pichler toldtheKitsap Sunin 2001 about how he selected roles . He add , “ I do n’t desire to get typecast . I ’d much rather do motion-picture show [ than boob tube ] — I wish the whole atmosphere of modify characters and gather unexampled people . ”
Though just 14 year old at the time , Pichler had already been acting for ten years . He mused about serious and comedic role and noted that the former was a better wager if he ever want to win an Oscar .
In 2002 , however , Joe Pichler adopt a break from Hollywood and returned home at the press of his family .
National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenJoe Pichler, age progressed to 23 years old.
“ I just wanted him to have some normalcy in his life story , ” his mother Kathy tell . “ He ’s a expert male child and take it well , but he was n’t really glad about it . ”
After represent for most of his life , Pichler lived like any other American teen . According to theCharley Project , he graduated from Bremerton High School in 2005 , got his own seat in town , and found a full - time job as a telephone technician at Teletech . He had a pet guinea pig , liked Mexican intellectual nourishment , and enjoyed playing Magic : The Gathering .
Despite this , Pichler still dreamed of those Hollywood luminosity . According to his family , he design to return to Los Angeles and try his hand at acting again once he draw his braces removed .
unhappily , Joe Pichler never had the prospect . A few 24-hour interval after New Year ’s solar day 2006 , this promising immature actor vanished without a suggestion .
The Eerie Disappearance Of Joe Pichler
The Pichler FamilyA picture of Joe Pichler around Christmas 2005 , shortly before he disappeared .
On Jan. 5 , 2006 , Pichler made his last - recognize phone call . Around 4:15 a.m. , he phone a friend whom he ’d played notice with in the first place in the even . According to the booster , Pichler was drinking alcohol and “ disconsolate . ” He tell his friend he ’d call him back in an hour — but then , Joe Pichler simply disappear .
Four twenty-four hours later , his silver gray 2005 Toyota Corolla was found abandon half a mile from a physical structure of water called the Port Madison Narrows . As reported by theSeattle Post - Intelligencer , inside the fomite police force found a note which contained two pages of poetry and some random thought , including Pichler ’s desire to be a “ strong brother ” for his sib .
Pichler also wrote that he wanted his younger chum to have some of his belonging . But his family does n’t retrieve that the note of hand mean he died by felo-de-se . Even his admirer claim that Pichler was in unspoiled booze when they saw him earlier in the twenty-four hours .
“ He ’s probably too chagrined to follow home , ” his sister Shawna explained to theKitsap Suntwo weeks after his fade . “ In the bad - case scenario , if anything , it ’s foul play . But not self-destruction . ”
Pichler ’s brother Matthew added , “ He left that note saying that he wanted to start over . ”
And his female parent assert that the note did n’t seem like a suicide note . “ There was no adieu , ” she sound out .
Pichler ’s phratry also noted that he had left the room access to his apartment unlocked and the light on — which they said was abnormal behavior .
However , police surmise that Pichler had , in fact , die by suicide , mayhap by jumping off the bridge and into the Narrows . Kathy Pichler even claimed that a detective called her and say as much .
“ [ He say ] I do n’t have a go at it how to say this to you without go really bad , but fundamentally I think your boy ’s numb , and it could take months for him to show up in the water , ” she told theAssociated Press .
Police deny this . They said that they were “ consider a wide variety of scenario , ” though Bremerton Police Detective Robbie Davis expressed question about the household ’s possibility that Pichler had fall dupe to ill-scented play .
“ I have not found one person that has tell anything speculative about Joe , ” he told the Associated Press .
Over the following days , hundreds of multitude descended on Bremerton to help research for Pichler . lamentably , they did n’t find any more clue — and Pichler ’s family expressed frustration that the law were n’t looking hard enough .
“ They have n’t fingerprinted his car . They sifted through it . They were in his flat for about three minutes . They ’ve done nothing , ” Pichler ’s mother said .
Before foresighted , days became weeks . Weeks became calendar month , and then yr . And Joe Pichler remain missing .
Was Joe Pichler Ever Found And What Happened To Him?
National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenJoe Pichler , eld shape up to 23 yr quondam .
Sadly , there have been short development in Joe Pichler ’s case since he vanish in January 2006 . No further clues have issue — from Pichler ’s life or from the water near his abandoned car .
In 2008 , two years after his fade , Pichler ’s kinsfolk extract their ongoing veneration to finding him and their heartbreak about his unsolved case .
“ I know somebody knows something , ” his sis Shawna say .
But the last two days had been difficult .
“ hoi polloi say it gets easier with clip , ” Shawna said . “ I guess that ’s true when you know where the person is … The worst feeling out of all of this is the alone feeling . After time goes by , the press stops , people move on … But for us , it does n’t hold on , it just keeps die . ”
Joe Pichler ’s mother has also cover to express foiling with the Bremerton Police , who she believe did n’t do a thorough enough job when her son went missing .
She write on theSurviving Parents Coalition websitein 2011 :
“ My Word , Joseph Pichler , give way missing five and a one-half year ago . His case was handle SO ill by police and most of the evidence was suffer . Their misunderstanding were because local police did n’t know the correct procedure for overleap children / person . ”
“ Joseph is not a runaway , ” she continue . “ That ’s the only thing I know for indisputable about his disappearance . After nearly six long time , we still have no closure … I also clamber to get through each day without answers as to the whereabouts of my miss son . ”
As of publication , Joe Pichler rest missing . He has a pocket-size cicatrice on his nose and another on his forehead , as well as a distinctive red Star Wars tattoo on his inside proper forearm . Anyone with selective information about his fade should get in touch with the police .
After read about the eery disappearance of shaver star Joe Pichler , look through11 disappearances that remain unresolved to this Clarence Day . Or , go inside thedisappearance of Brandon Lawson , who vanished from a rural Texas highway after function out of gas .
