NJ NJ - John Warren, 69, Toms River, 7 Aug 1983

John E. Warren
Missing since August 7, 1983 from Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics
Age at Time of Disappearance: 69 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Greying, dark hair.
Medical Conditions: Arthritis in his hip.
Clothing: Sneakers.

Circumstances of Disappearance

On August 7, 1983 newly-retired Ocean County College professor John E. Warren left his Squire Village home in Toms River for his daily walk on a dirt path leading to the nearby college. He told his wife he'd be back in an hour. He was never seen again.

Township police, the Ocean County Sheriff's Department, Army National Guard helicopters and a State Police helicopter that used an infrared heat detector conducted an extensive search of the area.

A Sheriff's Department bloodhound, following what was believed to be Warren's scent, led searchers to a college pond off Hooper Avenue, then proceeded along the edge of the woods and roadway, until she lost the scent about a mile from the college.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Toms River Police Department
732-349-0150

Source Information:
Asbury Park Press

The Doe Network: Case File 2344DMNJ

Interesting, this recent news article states:

"I also tried to reinterview some of the family members, but they wouldn't cooperate," (Lt. Michael ) Dorick said.

I wonder what's up with this man's family?

There are two listed in SSDI index:

JOHN E WARREN 05 Jan 1922 07 Jul 2000 (V)08050 (Manahawkin, Ocean, NJ)08050 (Manahawkin, Ocean, NJ)056-16-3296New YorkSS-5 Letter
Add Post-em
Search Ancestry.com JOHN E WARREN 16 Nov 1913 06 Mar 1992 08753 (Toms River, Ocean, NJ)(none specified)063-03-8425 New York



It seems the second one is the doe listing, his death hasn't been verified.

I am not sure if they had him declared dead in 1992 or not.

Debbie Miller said:

There are two listed in SSDI index:

JOHN E WARREN 05 Jan 1922 07 Jul 2000 (V)08050 (Manahawkin, Ocean, NJ)08050 (Manahawkin, Ocean, NJ)056-16-3296New YorkSS-5 Letter
Add Post-em
Search Ancestry.com JOHN E WARREN 16 Nov 1913 06 Mar 1992 08753 (Toms River, Ocean, NJ)(none specified)063-03-8425 New York



It seems the second one is the doe listing, his death hasn't been verified.

I am not sure if they had him declared dead in 1992 or not.

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The second listing would be more accurate age-wise.

It is possible that the family had him declared dead after seven years or more passed since his 1983 disappearance. This might have been done for a number of different reasons.

In 2007, when I origionally posted this thread, he was listed as missing. A check of the Doenetwork indicates that he is still missing and his disappearance remains unsolved.

Here is a link to the Doenetwork file on him. It has a photo.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2344dmnj.html

While it certainly sounds fishy about his relatives not being willing to cooperate, I also wonder with the black bear population being unknown in New Jersey (depending on who you talk to they have a large or small amount), how wooded the area was or the path that he had taken? I know that bears tend to drag or even carry their prey off, prefering to eat in seclusion. Not sure if there are other predators out there.

I recall a case in Big Bear a few years back where a boy was taken while walking from the campsite to the car. The area was searched heavily using tracking dogs but his body wasn't found. A few years later, the skeleton was found under some debris not too far from the campsite next to a creek and they feel a mountain lion had carried the child off. All signs seemingly pointed to foul play until the skeletal remains were discovered and manner of death accounted for.

You would think the tracking dog would have followed the scent to the body if he was taken by a bear. "Cadaver dogs" are trained to do just that. The only way I could see the dog losing this man's scent is the following scenarios:::

If the man fell into the pond and drowned somehow. But than, the dog should have stopped at the edge of the pond, showing his or her handler that this was the last land spot that the man had been at, which should have told the handler he was still in the water. Thing is, that the dog, had he lost the scent right there and the man had come out across the pond, should still have been able to pick up the scent. But the dog kept going beyond the pond.

The one thing I could see as the biggest reason the dog could not continue, was that the man the dog was tracking got into a car. And because the dog stopped by the road, it makes me think he did get into a car with someone.

If he got into a car, why did he never return? Could it be possible this was planned? he had his mistress pick him up and they drove off to a new life? Or could a student or other faculty member he had problems with have forced him into a car and harmed him? Maybe he took a ride from a stranger because his arthitis was bothering him too much and they harmed him? I just don't know, but I do believe he DID get into a car with someone and he either left of his own reasoning or he was harmed after he got into the car.

And just a thought, is he was having an affair or something and the wife found out about it or she thought maybe he left with the other woman, etc, that could be why the family refused to cooperate with the police. Perhaps the family didn't want the shame and embarrassment an "He was having an affair and I find out about it and demanded he choose between us right before he disappeared" would have brought onto the family. And here is the kicker. If he was having an affair and his disappearance had nothing to do with that part of his life, (like he was picked up by an angry student who killed him), that could really put a big wrench in the works to try and find him. The family keeps something out of the equation, so that the police cannot rule out that possibility, it makes it harder on the police. Instead of being told he was having an affair, or a huge fight with a student or a big arguement with a cousin, they have no where to start looking and perhaps never made it to a student who recieved an F or a colleague who may have begged him not to retire for some reason.

Just some ideas.

I live about 25 minutes from there, and I hunt too. I can tell you that there are indeed bears in this area, but mostly they arrived here in the past 10 years. And Toms River is on the edge of their territory. I doubt his case is the result of a bear attack. And black bears would most likely not attack a person anyway unless they had cubs.

Laura_Bean said:

You would think the tracking dog would have followed the scent to the body if he was taken by a bear. "Cadaver dogs" are trained to do just that. The only way I could see the dog losing this man's scent is the following scenarios:::....

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A well trained and experienced tracking dog will stick to a specific person's track and can track over a variety of terrains. They are not, however infallible and they cannot work indefinitely.

Remember that this case occurred in August and that is generally a very hot time of year. Scents and tracks tend to dissapate in hot, dry weather. And dogs get burned out quickly in that kind of weather as well. Tracking him for a mile or so is a very long workout for any tracking dog. It is possible that his track led to a highway which was very hot and the dog simply lost the scent. It is possible, also that the man got into a vehicle at some point.

I think that if there had been any kind of animal attack on him, there would have been some evidence of that which the tracking dog or handler would have recognized while on the track.

By the way, the old story about people trying to evade a tracking dog by entering the water is a lot of nonsense. A good tracking dog will wade right into the water and track along the strongest part of the scent.

Backtracking also is a waste of time when trying to evade. The dog knows. They can smell two footprints and know instinctively which one was laid down first, even though they may have been laid down a day or two earlier.

There are a number of things that affect a dog's ability to track. Wind, dampness, temperature, terrain all play a part. And then there is the element of time. The older a track is, the more time the scent has had to dissapate. In this case, we do not know what all those variables were.

Just bumping this one up. I think Richard makes many good points. I grew up in Toms River and I have always wondered about this case.

Just as a side note, Toms River was a really booming, bustling town at the time he went missing. Lots of interesting history going on at that time.

There was also that Marshall case that happened in that town....anyone remember that one?

lilsister said:

Just bumping this one up. I think Richard makes many good points. I grew up in Toms River and I have always wondered about this case.

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Today is 30 years since John's disappearance. I had the opportunity to connect with one of the original investigators in the OC prosecutors office several months ago. The case remains open although considered very cold. John would be 99.

Just FYI, this case has always been a nagging thought in my mind. I graduated OCC in 83 and had John for several classes. I last spoke with him on 7/31/83 via phone at his home. I just recall the date because it was exactly one week before his disappearance. I was calling to tell him I got a job using my degree. And, if anyone reads Weird NJ, I'm the guy who has a letter in it about the case when they did an article on it awhile back.
RPS

Weird NJ: What happened to missing professor?
7:50 a.m. EDT June 7, 2015

snipped

This event will always haunt me and I would like to see this case solved. I had contacted Dover PD about it back in the '90s and spoke to one of the detectives involved. Although the case file was still open, there hadn't been any movement. I always hoped that he had just "had enough" and took whatever money he had stashed away and disappeared to the south Pacific. Until proven otherwise, that's what I'll believe as it's better than the alternatives. Thanks for everything Mr. Warren –– all your advice and teachings weren't lost on me.

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Bumping

Bumping...I think he was murdered