OH OH - Leon Moncer, 21, Bellaire, 18 February 1982

Richard

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Leon Moncer
Missing since February 18, 1982 from Indian Run, Belmont County, Ohio
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics
Age at Time of Disappearance: 21 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair.

Circumstances of Disappearance

Leon Moncer was last seen on February 18, 1982, as he left his home in Indian Run, Ohio.

His car was found in a ditch, idling with the lights on. His coat and some change still inside. Moncer, who was known for never being without his cigarettes, had left them behind. The car interior was muddy with signs of a struggle.

At the time he was in the midst of a divorce and working three jobs. He had earlier received a note in his mailbox, made with letters cut out of a magazine. It read, "You are dead." His family says he shrugged it off and threw it away.

Three people swore that they saw Leon in the months that followed. His wife said she and her daughter were followed for six months by a man in a truck. And for two years, a man would stand outside her house, in the shadows. At the time the wife thought it may be Leon, wanting to see his three year old daughter. The wife also received anonymous calls, one telling her what had happened to Leon's body. The caller said that Leon's head was in a garbage bag in the river, his arms and legs out in the strip pits.

Leon Moncer was later declared dead.

The case file on the Leon Moncer disappearance was lost years ago during a previous sheriff's administration. But after an intensive search of an storage building, the file was found and reopened in November 2007.

Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Belmont County Sheriff's Department
740-695-7933

Source Information:

WTRF
The Doe Network: Case File 1196DMOH

LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1196dmoh.html
 
such a bizarre story. did his disappearance (presumed murder) have anything to do with his divorce? was he involved in anything illegal (ie, drugs)...? why was he working three jobs?
why would anyone put a threatening note in his mailbox, if he wasn't?
why would someone stalk his wife? and he was so young.... only 21, just barely out of his teenage years.

too weird. glad they reopened it though.
 
such a bizarre story. did his disappearance (presumed murder) have anything to do with his divorce? was he involved in anything illegal (ie, drugs)...? why was he working three jobs?
why would anyone put a threatening note in his mailbox, if he wasn't?
why would someone stalk his wife? and he was so young.... only 21, just barely out of his teenage years.

too weird. glad they reopened it though.

Just wanted to bump this to see if there was anything new. This is such a bizarre case, especially the man watching for two years outside in the shadows -- that gives me goosebumps. Why did she never have the police approach the man in the shadows?

Derek
 
A recent article on Leon and a video of a news report at this link...

http://www.wtrf.com/story/16689280/daughter-is-determined-to-find-father-who-disappeared-30-years-ago

It was a tragic anniversary.

And it is still a lingering mystery.

It was 30 years ago this month that a Bellaire man went out for the evening and never returned.

He left behind a beloved three-year-old daughter who is now an adult, a wife and mother.

But she has never forgotten the father who vanished without a trace.

Julie Wurtzbacher thinks about her father, Leon Moncer, every day.

"Every day," she says, fighting back tears. "Every day. Sometimes from the minute I wake up until the minute I go to bed."

On Feb. 18, 1982, Leon Moncer disappeared.

.....
 
http://www.theintelligencer.net/pag...er-Relentless-in-30-Year-Odyssey.html?nav=515

Father; Daughter Relentless in 30-Year Odyssey

February 19, 2012

By FRED CONNORS Senior Staff Writer , The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Julie Wurtzbacher has not seen her father for 30 years, and she wants to find him - dead or alive.

The mysterious case of Leon Moncer began on Feb. 18, 1982 when he went missing from his home at 65746 Indian Run, Bellaire, shortly after finding a note in his mailbox declaring "Leave It Alone, Or You Are Dead."
 
Most of what the ex wife says seems to be a smoke screen IMO. I think she knows what happened, or knows who did it and has kept quiet. I have noticed that when Husbands in the news have wives missing, the story is always "She ran off" or "she left with another man." The story seems weak.
 
Such a bizarre case, I’m wondering if the note had something to do with his divorce or the fact he was working three jobs.
 
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/moncer_leon.html

bit more information...not sure what to think...

Belmont County, Ohio is in Eastern Ohio and across the Ohio River from Wheeling, West Virginia. Interstate 70 goes through that area.

There were a lot of coal mines, steel mills, and factories in that region along the Ohio River. Many areas in Eastern Ohio during the early 1980's had high unemployment. I'm thinking that he most likely had three part time jobs at the time of his disappearance.

I find the last paragraph in his case information in Charley to be very interesting.
 
Leon Arthur Moncer
leon_arthur_moncer_1.jpg
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Moncer, circa 1982

  • Missing Since 02/18/1982
  • Missing From Bellaire, Ohio
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 11/16/1960 (59)
  • Age 21 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'6, 145 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A tan velour shirt, blue jeans and a blue jacket with brown stripes.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Moncer smoked cigarettes in 1982.
Details of Disappearance

Moncer was last seen on February 18, 1982, leaving his residence in the 65000 block of Indian Run in Bellaire, Ohio. He has never been heard from again. He left behind his cigarettes, which is uncharacteristic of him.

Two days after his disappearance, his wife found his gray Dodge Aspen idling in a ditch at the entrance of Anco Mining Road. The car was mud-splattered, the keys were in the ignition, the driver's side door was open and the dome light was on, although very dim. Moncer's coat, cigarettes, lighter and some change were inside the car. The interior of the vehicle was muddy and there were indications that a struggle had taken place.

Shortly before he vanished, Moncer had gotten a note in his mailbox made of letters cut out of a magazine. It said, "Leave It Alone, Or You Are Dead." He was unconcerned and threw it away. The person who sent the note has never been identified and it is unknown whether the note has anything to do with his later disappearance.

At the time he went missing, Moncer was working three jobs. He and his wife, Irene Zimmerman, were in the process of a divorce. He drank heavily, was having an extra-marital affair and had a bad temper, and occasionally beat Zimmerman as well as his girlfriend. Zimmerman stated he was overprotective, didn't want her or their three-year-old daughter to leave the house without him, and didn't want their pictures taken.

There were reported sightings of Moncer in the area after his disappearance. Zimmerman said she and their daughter were followed by a man in a truck for months, and for two years, a man would hide in the shadows outside the house. She believes the individual may have been Moncer himself, wanting to see his child.

Zimmerman also stated she received several anonymous calls. One caller told her Moncer was dead and his body had been dismembered. This information has not been verified.

Moncer was declared legally dead in 1988, and his mother collected his life insurance policy. His police casefile was lost, but it was later located and the investigation was reopened in November 2007. His case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency
  • Belmont County Sheriff's Department 740-695-7933
Source Information
 
Apologies I'm still very new to this site, so I'm sorry if this is breaking any rules or protocol, but I just found this news article (on the above Facebook group) and it has a lot of information that I've not seen elsewhere.
  • Leon got into fights a lot. Two fights are mentioned in this article, including one where he was hit by a metal bar across the chest.
  • Leon's friends saw him drinking after he left the house. The car was also found with several empty/half empty containers of alcohol. I wonder if any DNA or prints were ever taken from the car. Later articles say there was signs of a scuffle but from that first description it just looks like drunk driver lost control of vehicle, possibly injured himself and left the car without his coat. That's not exactly uncommon and could it be that the note/fights/everything else are just red herrings and this was a tragic accident?
  • Leon's mother were having a phone conversation when the operator said they needed to hang up as there was an emergency call from Leon. Leon's mother hung up but didn't that call from Leon. Was it him or was it someone pretending to be him? If so why did they want the conversation to stop.
  • EDIT: originally I read it as Leon's wife and mother were on the phone. Leon's mother was on a call with a third party when this happened. It was Irene who told the paper this had happened.
 

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All these articles are listed at the FB group Help Find Leon Moncer:




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I hope this source/website is on the approved list. There is a lot of information about Leon. Please delete if not allowed.

Aug 10, 2022
 

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