VA VA - Thomas Duesterhaus, 37, Virginia Beach, 17 June 2011

Six years missing last month! I wonder if LE had the resources to check out video captures at that time? It really would have been helpful to know who parked the car! And did that person hop on a train?

I don't remember this case at all, but then I avoid Virginia Beach oceanfront between Memorial Day and Labor Day because it is packed with visitors. Even if they had cameras that is a lot people to go through on video. I can see where he might have been on video somewhere but in all of those folks on Atlantic Avenue he might be very difficult to pick out if he were wearing a ballcap and sunglasses. That is also a lot of businesses to canvas. As far as his car is concerned, the write up in Charley Project states that it was already determined he parked the car in the parking garage in northern VA about 3.5 to 4 hours drive away. I'm more curious as to how he got down to Virginia Beach without the car. If he was seen on the beach on 18 June and the car was parked by him on 17 June, he had to make it down to VB. No mention of him driving someone else's vehicle or riding with someone else. You can take Amtrak, but the nearest station is Newport News on the Peninsula, about 25-30 miles away as there is no Amtrak station on the southside (VB/Norfolk). You have to catch a Hampton Roads Transit bus and maybe more than one in order to arrive at the oceanfront. I believe you still had to show an ID to buy an Amtrak ticket in 2011, so you would think LE would have checked.
 
That location is a good ways away from VA Beach - probably 4.5 to 5 hours depending on traffic. However, if his car was in northern VA then that location is much closer to where his car was found. I tend to believe this body is something who probably went out on a day hike if it wasn't far off the trail. The fact that the person was wearing a jacket I doubt if they died in June. I wonder who might have been reported as missing and their car was found in one of the parking areas for the trail.
 

That location is a good ways away from VA Beach - probably 4.5 to 5 hours depending on traffic. However, if his car was in northern VA then that location is much closer to where his car was found. I tend to believe this body is something who probably went out on a day hike if it wasn't far off the trail. The fact that the person was wearing a jacket I doubt if they died in June. I wonder who might have been reported as missing and their car was found in one of the parking areas for the trail.
Also posted on the UID’s thread:
By WHSV newsroom |
Posted: Wed 4:17 PM, Apr 08, 2020 |
Updated: Mon 3:32 PM, Apr 13, 2020
“[SBM]

West Virginia state troopers, the United States Park Police, lue Ridge Search and Rescue Volunteer Team, and the Medical Examiner responded to the scene, where they recovered human remains and the clothing of an uknown person.

Police said the body had on a blue ‘Montgomery Ward’ dress shirt, red jacket with a stripe across the chest, elastic cuffs and waistband, white Puma shoes (high-tops, size 10) and a necklace with an image of ‘Saint Mary’ and the following saying: ‘O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.’

On Friday, April 10, police say they conducted a more extensive search of the area where the remain were found and recovered more clothing and items, including a white sock with three red rings and a crucifix.

Investigation is ongoing to try to identify the person. If you have any information about the investigation, you're asked to contact Trooper First Class M.C. Morgan or Sergeant Chumley at 304-725-9779 or 304-725-9770.” (BBM)
913AF043-CA14-48CA-9875-268C6C18AC26.jpeg F8234A16-2745-40D7-8BA2-86CDAB622E49.jpeg
Police investigating human remains found off of the Appalachian Trail in West Virginia

The crucifix looks similar to the one Tom Duesterhaus is wearing in this photo, IMO:
870D0690-E402-47AA-ABCE-1C93CED69A13.jpeg 1639ADD6-61CA-4CB6-9F95-932650CE3BD8.jpeg
Tom

And if you search his name on Facebook and look under the “Photos” tab, it’s quite apparent that he wears this particular necklace at all times.

I also found a picture of Tom in a blue dress shirt on the “Find Tom Duesterhaus” Facebook page:
A17D2ECF-0161-4579-A393-1EBFC9276B81.jpeg
Find Tom Duesterhaus

I do think that the jacket and the sock have an 80’s vibe to them, however.

Also:
By Erica R. Hendry, Patch Staff
Jun 24, 2011 3:04 am ET | Updated Jun 24, 2011 4:03 pm ET
“Around 6:15 a.m. Saturday [the day after he left home], a North Carolina woman vacationing on Virginia Beach saw a man take off his shirt, shorts and socks and go swimming in the ocean, [Tom’s father Rich] Duesterhaus said. When she returned to her porch, the man was gone, but his bag remained on the beach. When it was still there midday, the woman went with her husband to investigate. They found some of Tom's property and reported it to Virginia Beach Police. When she returned home to North Carolina, she used the information she reported to police to search the Internet, and found Rich Duesterhaus.

It wasn't unusual for Tom to be on the beach, his father said. As a graduate of the College of William and Mary, Tom found solace in the Virginia Beach area and often went there to clear his head. Tom was also scheduled to be at a four-day retreat starting Monday, so going down early, in a way, made sense.

But the bag the woman found didn't have Tom's credit card, keys or cell phone in it. Because Police have not found his car, Rich Duesterhaus believes his son may be sleeping in it on the road. Rich said his son's credit card hasn't been used to buy food or gas since he went missing; his cell phone hasn't made or received any texts or calls, nor has he returned any from family.

On Sunday, Youth Apostles [a Catholic organization, of which Tom was a member] combed Virginia Beach, showing hundreds of people a poster with Tom's picture on it. Rich Duesterhaus says they found two people who had seen Tom on Sunday — both times near homeless shelters.

’He oftentimes worked with service projects and taking kids to homeless shelters,’ Rich Duesterhaus said. ’He might seek refuge that way himself.’” (BBM)
Sources Say Duesterhaus' Teaching Contract Not Renewed, Could Have Led To Disappearance

And:
By Erica R. Hendry, Patch Staff
Jul 31, 2011 7:23 pm ET | Updated Jul 31, 2011 9:10 pm ET
“An automobile associated with former Bishop O'Connell High School teacher Tom Duesterhaus, who has been missing for six weeks, was found Thursday in a commercial parking garage near the Rosslyn Metro station, Duesterhaus' family reported.

The car had been parked in the garage since June 17, the day he disappeared, according to his father, Rich.

[SBM]

Lucy Balsten, who is Duesterhaus' sister, said attendants at the parking garage finally noticed the car and called police. A security camera tape later showed Duesterhaus parking the car and walking away, she said.

[SBM]

Balsten said the discovery of Duesterhaus' car means he likely hitchhiked or used cash to take a bus to Virginia Beach.“
Missing Teacher's Car Found in Rosslyn

(According to a website set up for Tom, his “car keys, and credit card were located July 28, 2011 in a Rosslyn, Virginia parking lot.”)
Tom

So it does appear that Tom most likely did go to Virginia Beach since some of his property was found there, and probably did not return to Rosslyn after that, but ... if he did, public transportation is available from Rosslyn Metro to Harpers Ferry, WV (trying to find out if it was back in 2011):
D30D0BD0-2346-41F3-80E8-B8EC3665EACE.jpeg
خرائط ‪Google
 
So I found another picture of Tom wearing what appears to be the same necklace, and I do not believe it’s a crucifix, but rather, a cross. The article the picture accompanies is dated April 27, 2011, not even two months before he went missing:

ED9D7D90-12D3-499F-BA67-431ADA944973.jpeg 0FD3EDB9-C754-4EF7-BB12-9D26CDDDA59D.jpeg
Formed in community- The Arlington Catholic Herald

Tom sounds like an interesting, all in all great human being, IMO. And I do not believe that the remains found off of the Appalachian Trail in West Virginia last week belong to him.
 
So I found another picture of Tom wearing what appears to be the same necklace, and I do not believe it’s a crucifix, but rather, a cross. The article the picture accompanies is dated April 27, 2011, not even two months before he went missing:

View attachment 243141 View attachment 243142
Formed in community- The Arlington Catholic Herald

Tom sounds like an interesting, all in all great human being, IMO. And I do not believe that the remains found off of the Appalachian Trail in West Virginia last week belong to him.
I can't get past the fact that we haven't heard how he got from northern VA to VB. Amtrak runs to our area but only to the Newport News on the Peninsula. I suppose he could have taken an HRT bus to VB from Newport News. The Greyhound bus station is in downtown Norfolk but it right on several HRT bus routes. He could have hitchhiked, but no one has come forward stating they gave him a ride. Or at least LE has not provided that info. If he drowned but they did not find his cell phone and credit card in his bag those could have been stolen while he was away from his bag with no one to watch it. Maybe the same for his car keys. But I can't believe LE doesn't know how he got from Rosslyn to VB. Or maybe LE does know but hasn't said. Or maybe they did not look that hard.
 
NAMUS stated on his page that he (Tom) was despondent about his job situation; where did they get that information from? I am inclined to think that Tom entered the ocean at Virginia Beach, and just never surfaced
 
Tom's necklace is a cross within a cross, but I can see how someone would mistake it as a crucifix..it looks pretty dang similar to the one found with the UID..

From Google:

What is the difference between a cross and a crucifix?
The difference between Cross and Crucifix is that Cross is a cross-shaped item without a symbol or figure of Jesus on the same, while Crucifix is a Cross with Jesus depicted or engraved on the same.
 

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  • Missing Since 06/18/2011
  • Missing From Virginia Beach, Virginia
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 07/01/1973 (50)
  • Age 37 years old
  • Height and Weight 6'3, 190 pounds

  • Medical Conditions Duesterhaus was apparently depressed over work problems at the time of his disappearance.

  • Associated Vehicle(s) Blue 1999 Buick LeSabre with the Virginia license plate number XMT-8126 (accounted for)

  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, green eyes. Duesterhaus had a beard at the time of his disappearance. He wears eyeglasses, but he probably doesn't have his glasses with him. His nickname is Tom.

Details of Disappearance​

Duesterhaus was a teacher of English and creative writing at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School, a private Catholic high school in Arlington, Virginia, at the time of his disappearance. He'd taught there since 1999.

Shortly before he vanished, he learned his teaching contract would not be renewed for the next year. The reason for Duesterhaus's termination has not been publicly released.

He left work that afternoon and went to his home in the 1600 block of Carlin Lane in McLean, Virginia. He lived in a religious communal setting with other Catholic men called the Youth Apostles. He left his residence, distraught, later that day and never returned.

Duesterhaus then traveled to Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was a lay minister with the Youth Apostles as well as a teacher, and was scheduled to begin a four-day religious retreat with twenty others in Virginia Beach on June 20. An eyewitness reported seeing him swimming in the ocean on June 18, and this was the last time anyone saw him.

Twelve hours later, his travel bag was found abandoned on the beach. Some of his belongings were inside the bag, but Duesterhaus's keys, his credit cards and his car, a blue 1999 Buick LeSabre with the Virginia license plate number XMT-8126, were all missing.

The rest of the group canceled the retreat after Duesterhaus didn't show up for it.

In late July, nearly six weeks after Duesterhaus's disappearance, his car was found in a commercial parking garage near the Rosslyn Metro station. Investigators determined it had been there since June 17 and Duesterhaus had parked it there himself. The car was not actually his own; it belonged to the Youth Apostles.

Duesterhaus is the sixth of eight children in his family and has never been married. He has been a deeply religious Catholic throughout his life and attended Mass daily.

He graduated Bishop O'Connell High School in 1991, then got a degree in English education from the College of William and Mary in 1995. In 2008, he got a master's degree in English from George Mason University, and in 2010, he self-published a novel titled The Loyal Treatment.

Duesterhaus had taken lifetime vows of chastity, obedience and poverty, and he gave away most of the money he earned from teaching. His father thinks he may have become so upset about being terminated from his job that he decided to walk away from his life.

Authorities belive Duesterhaus may still be in the Virginia Beach area. He frequented parks and shelters at the time of his disappearance, ministering to homeless youth. Since he went missing, his cellular phone and credit cards haven't been used and and there have been no reliable sightings.

Because he was last seen swimming, it's possible that he drowned, but investigators stated in that case his body should have washed ashore quickly.

Although Duesterhaus apparently left of his own accord, his family, friends and former students, as well as the police, are concerned for his welfare and would like to verify his well-being. His case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

  • Fairfax County Police Department 703-246-7800

Source Information​

Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 26, 2016; middle name and picture added.
 
More photos of Thomas from CP

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Duesterhaus, circa 2011
 

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