OH OH - Melvin Shoemaker, 71, Parkman, 11 Apr 1994

[Gardener1850]

HIRAM, Ohio– Authorities have been executing a search warrant in Portage County on a cold case since Wednesday morning.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office, Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are at a house, located on Winchell Road in Hiram.

The 35-acre property belongs to Glenn Shoemaker, according to the Portage County Auditor’s website. Investigators say he is not considered a suspect at this time.

His father, Melvin Shoemaker, went missing on April 11, 1994 from Parkman, leaving his home and vehicles behind, the FBI said. He was 71 years old at the time of his disappearance.

Authorities search Portage County property in connection with man’s 1994 disappearance

Shoemaker was a retired welder worth several million dollars, according to a News 5 story written six years after his disappearance. His son was his sole heir. Despite Shoemaker's wealth, he led an "almost hermit-like existence" at his home in Parkman. He didn't have much contact with the outside world, according to the 2000 News 5 report - no telephone, television and he didn't use much electricity.

"He was always helping my kids do something in the garage," said Bill Snyder, Shoemaker's neighbor, and the man that first noticed him missing. "He was a real neighbor."

"There has been no trace of him whatsoever," Detective Chet McNabb of the Geauga County Sheriff's Department said in 2000. "That's the hard part. There's nothing to indicate what happened -- no struggle. He's just vanished from his home."

Search being executed in Hiram connected to missing persons cold case from 90s

 

[JerseyGirl]

State, local authorites search Portage County home of man missing for over two decades

Officials have not named any suspects in the disappearance of the eldest Shoemaker. At the time of his disappearance deputies had found no evidence of foul play but have not ruled it out.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Activity continues outside Portage County home regarding search for missing man

 

[Laughing]

Cold case detectives search Ohio farm in couple's separate disappearances in 1994 and 2003

 

[Betty P]

They're now saying his wife has been missing since 2003. How do people go missing so long with no one noticing?

Wife of missing millionaire in Portage County has been missing since 2003

Detectives are calling it a cold case, but it doesn't seem like they've been pursuing the case too much. I wonder what happened to them?

The home in the video looks so run down, it should be condemned, but the son is living there.

 

[Gardener1850]

Here's a thread for Florence: OH - OH - Florence Shoemaker, 76, Ravenna, 3 Feb 2003

 

[tmar]

Here's a thread for Florence: OH - OH - Florence Shoemaker, 76, Ravenna, 3 Feb 2003

Thank goodness, cases about these missing persons are still being investigated.
After so many years, if there are suspects involved in criminal activity, they would now be very nervous.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Melvin...it's now been 27 years.

MELVIN L. SHOEMAKER - PARKMAN, OHIO | Federal Bureau of Investigation

 

[Pennysmom2]

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/melvin-l-shoemaker---parkman-ohio

Melvin L. Shoemaker – The Charley Project

• 

Melvin, circa 1994

• Missing Since 04/11/1994
• Missing From Parkman, Ohio
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Age 70 years old
• Height and Weight 5'9 - 5'9, 200 - 250 pounds
• 
  
• Clothing/Jewelry Description Possibly a five-dollar gold coin tied with twine as jewelry.
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Graying brown hair, brown eyes. Melvin had a short beard at the time of his disappearance.

Details of Disappearance​

Melvin was last seen in Parkman, Ohio on April 11, 1994. He left his vehicles behind, but his wallet and keys disappeared with him. He has never been heard from again. He left behind approximately $700,000 in assets. Foul play is suspected in his case.

Prior to his disappearance, Melvin had a difficult relationship with his son, Glenn Roger Shoemaker. He had nearly been fired from his manufacturing job in 1978, after he missed work because his son and wife locked him in the house.

He was tied up and chained in the basement multiple times that month. At one point he escaped, but Glenn caught up with him in the driveway, sprayed him in the face with mace, and threatened to kill him and hide his body where no one would ever find it.

Before his disappearance, Melvin led an "almost hermit-like existence" at his home on Route 422 and had no telephone or television, but he was known as a good neighbor who helped out in the neighborhood. A neighbor told the police after he hadn't seen Melvin for six days, but Glenn didn't report him missing for a much longer time period.

Several months after Melvin disappeared, police searched Glenn's home looking for evidence in his father's disappearance. They found eleven guns and a large amount of ammunition, but nothing indicating Melvin's whereabouts.

Melvin's wife, Florence, was last seen in the Ravenna, Ohio area on February 3, 2003. She was 76 years old at the time of her disappearance, which occurred almost a decade after Melvin's.

It's unclear whether the Shoemakers' cases are related, but in September 2018, police searched Glenn's farm on Winchell Road in Hiram Township, Ohio, looking for evidence in both cases. He has not been charged or named as a suspect in either of his parents' cases. Their disappearances remain unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

• Geauga County Sheriff's Office 440-635-1234

Source Information​

• NamUs
• The Akron Beacon Journal
• The Columbus Dispatch
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• News 5 Cleveland

Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated September 15, 2018; details of disappearance updated.

 

[Pennysmom2]

Sept 12, 2018

Authorities searching for clues in disappearance of Portage County couple

Dave O'Brien Record-Courier GateHouse Media Ohio HIRAM TWP.: Investigators are sorting through multiple items collected last week from a Winchell Road farm, searching for clues or evidence in t…

www.beaconjournal.com

Sept 6, 2018

Son's home searched in father's disappearance

A cold case in Portage County is heating up again.

www.news5cleveland.com

Authorities search son’s Portage County property for parents who have been missing for decades

Ohio farm searched in separate, cold-case disappearances of man's parents

HIRAM — Deputies from two counties were at a northeast Ohio farm on Wednesday searching for evidence in the cold-case disappearances of a husband and wife who separately went missing a decade apart. …

www.dispatch.com

Cold case detectives search Ohio farm in couple's separate disappearances in 1994 and 2003

Ohio cold case detectives investigating the bizarre separate disappearances of a wealthy man in 1994 and his wife in 2003 searched a rundown farm last week owned by the couple’s 63-year-old son.

www.foxnews.com