Post by hi224 on Jan 14, 2021 16:55:53 GMT
Introduction:
I can’t recall exactly how I came across the case of Peter Achermann, but it was likely in one of my sessions browsing through NAMUS. Ever since then, I’ve been somewhat fascinated by his case. There is one other person that did a write-up of sorts about the case, but it was FAR shorter than what I’ve compiled here. In writing this I hope to draw attention to his case, and drum up some discussion on it. This is not a write-up for those who want a quick, concise summary. This is also my first time ever doing a case write-up here on Reddit, so forgive me if it’s not the most polished thing ever.
About MP:
Peter Achermann, 82, lived in Leader, MN, with his wife, Delaine Achermann, to whom he had been married for 50 years. Mr. Achermann had a very large family, with 8 children, 13 foster children, and 23 grandchildren. He was originally from Neuhausen, Switzerland, moving to the US in 1948 to pursue his dream of becoming a farmer. He was described as a simple man, who wasn’t wealthy, and was always up to help others in need. He was a devout Roman Catholic, who put God and his family first in life. Though a friendly and helpful man, his family says he wasn’t afraid to speak up and defend them or himself if he felt wronged. For a man of his age, he was in very good health, with one doctor being quoted as saying he would live to 100. He did have Jaundice, a condition that causes yellowing of the skin, and walked with the aid of a cane. He was said to be clear of mind, and didn’t suffer from any form of dementia.
Basic facts and circumstances:
Peter Achermann disappeared on Friday, July 24th, 2009, the day before he was scheduled to speak at granddaughter’s wedding. That day, he left his house to run errands, including a trip to Motley, MN, to meet his son Mike at a cafe (Ostensibly to discuss the wedding the following day). He then continued on to an unspecified location to give his daughter Desiree some money for the wedding. It is reported that he then went to the Staples Hospital to get medication for his wife. His last stop was at Ernie’s Food Market off of US Highway 10 in Staples, MN, to purchase milk. He was last seen on CCTV getting into his light blue (Also reported as grey) station wagon, a 1995 Chevy Caprice, outside Ernie’s between 12:00 and 13:00 hrs. It is also reported he was seen by a witness crossing the Crow Wing River Bridge on Warner Road during this same timeframe. He was expected to return home by 14:00. When he didn’t return home by the expected time, his family called the Sheriff to report him missing, but were informed that they would have to wait 24 hrs before they could file a missing person report. His sons drove around the areas he was thought to have been in to try and locate him, but saw no trace of him or his vehicle. The next day, Saturday, July 25th, Mr. Achermann didn’t show up to his granddaughter's wedding to speak as was planned. At around 19:00 that day, his son got a call from a friend who said he had located Mr. Achermann’s vehicle, abandoned and stuck in the mud on a posted minimum-maintenance road off of County Road 32. The exact coordinates of the vehicle location, as closely as I’m able to determine, are 46.407258, -94.725179. The location is about a 6.8 mile drive from Ernie’s, or about 4.6 miles away as the crow flies. His son later said that the car looked like it had been driven there and abandoned, being barely stuck, and that if his dad was driving it, he would have floored the gas, either freeing the car or getting it severely stuck in the mud. Both the groceries and the medication he had gotten the day before were still inside, with the keys missing and the window rolled down. His son called 911, summoning the Staples police and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. The authorities initially didn’t treat the car or the area around it as a crime scene, and thought that Mr. Achermann had gotten lost and wandered into the woods. The car was touched by multiple deputies, and was unable to be dusted for prints later on. The area surrounding the road the car was found on is heavily wooded and swampy, an area that would be very difficult for a man of his age to get very far in. That evening, a helicopter equipped with a FLIR camera swept the area looking for heat signatures, but found none. On Sunday, July 26th, the search began with over 200 people showing up to conduct a line-search for Mr. Achermann, or evidence of his whereabouts. Over the next 2 weeks, a 2.5 mile radius around the car was searched by family, friends, members of the public, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota DNR, Minnesota State Patrol, and independent search dog teams. No trace of Mr. Achermann, nor any evidence of where he might be was found. It’s stated that the area around the car was searched multiple times, by multiple people. By this point, searchers and the family were demanding a full criminal investigation in to his disappearance, citing a lack of any evidence that Mr. Achermann had been in the area his car was found in. Two witnesses came forward later on who claimed to have driven down the road and passed the location where Mr. Achermann’s car was located shortly after his disappearance, however they gave conflicting statements. One says they drove the route at 16:00 Friday, and saw the car where it was eventually found. The other witness says that they drove the same route, and the car was not there. It is reported by some that there were indentations in the ground that appeared to be left by a cane, as well as footprints found near the car that led down the road, but I was unable to confirm this. After 2 weeks of looking for Mr. Achermann, the search was called off. Search dog teams continued to comb the area into mid September looking for any clues, but none were found.
On the 4th anniversary of his disappearance July 24th, 2013, Mr. Achermann was declared legally deceased by the court. Just after the 9th anniversary of his disappearance, Saturday Aug. 11th, 2018, Mr. Achermann’s family held a memorial service in honor of his life, at the St. Michael Catholic Church in Motley, followed by a reception on the family farm. There have been no further updates in the case.
Theories:
There are two main theories about what happened in this case.
Theory A hypothesizes that Mr. Achermann had a medical emergency and became disoriented, driving down the wrong road before getting his car stuck, and wandering off into the woods. This medical event could range from a heart attack, stroke or a head injury. Evidence for this theory includes his age, the alleged cane marks in the dirt near his car, and the fact that he went missing in a rural, low crime area where something like a carjacking or abduction would be unlikely. Mr. Achermann also didn’t have any obvious or definite enemies, though we’ll get to more on that later on.
Theory B purposes that Mr. Achermann met with foul play sometime after leaving Ernie’s for home, and possibly immediately after he crossed the Crow Wing River bridge, near the intersection of County Road 32. Some suspect that, due to his kind and helpful nature, and the fact he was known to give others rides in his car, he picked up a hitchhiker, or some other person in need, that ended up kidnapping or carjacking him, before leaving his vehicle on the minimum-maintenance road. Evidence for this theory includes the fact that no definitive sign of him ever being near the location of his car was ever found, though the cane marks in the dirt, if they did exist, could contradict this. The bloodhounds never found a scent outside his car, and no scraps of clothing, nor any of his other belongings were found in the 8 square miles that were searched. His son also does not believe that his dad was the person who drove the car to that location, as he thinks it would be much further mired in the mud if he had done so. Mr. Achermann would also have had no reason to go down that road, had he been in his right state of mind. It would also have been very difficult for a man of Mr. Achermann’s age, who walks with a cane, to get any further than the search radius.
Possible suspects:
In an interview with The Vanished Podcast, his daughter Renee detailed an incident in which Mr. Achermann stood up to a group of scrappers who were stealing metal and parts off of old farm equipment on a piece of property owned by an elderly woman that he had given car rides to. When he discovered that the scrappers were stealing from the elderly woman, he had reported it to the Cass County Sheriff. Renee reported that the scrappers lived close to the location where the car was eventually found abandoned. In the same interview, Renee also describes a conversation over Facebook a young man had with a woman who lives near where the car was found. The boy asked what had happened to Mr. Achermann, and the woman reportedly “[doged] the question a couple times”. After pushing the woman further, she reportedly stated that “she wasn’t the one who shot him” before ending the conversation. This woman also reportedly made comments about her boyfriend from Bremerton, WA, who had hung himself while she was in jail on charges unrelated to Mr. Achermann’s disappearance. In reference to her boyfriend’s death, she reportedly stated that “some things are better taken to the grave.” Renee reports that she was able to track the unidentified woman’s boyfriend to Sturgis, SD during July of 2009, closer to the disappearance of Mr. Achermann. It is unknown whether the boyfriend was actually in Minnesota at the time of the disappearance.
Other connections:
I have known about the disappearance of Mr. Achermann for several years now. In that time, I have read several in the Missing 411 series of books by author Daivd Paulides. Now I’m aware that among some, Missing 411 and Paulides himself are somewhat controversial, due to the author’s past work on alleged bigfoot activity and other such conspiracies. However, no matter what you think of Paulides or his past work, the Missing 411 cases are very interesting. For those who don’t know, Missing 411 profiles hundreds of bizarre and unexplained deaths of disappearances of people from very remote and rural areas, namely National Parks. All of the cases in the books share a strange set of similar circumstances, including: Victims vanish in a rural setting, tracking dogs can’t/won’t track a scent, elderly or young victims, victim has limited mobility, victim vanishes from an area rife with swamps/bodies of water, victim disappears during the afternoon hours, berrys often involved in disappearances, of those later found dead, victims are missing clothing. You will notice that Mr. Achermann’s vanishing fits some of those criteria. He disappeared in a rural setting, he was elderly, he disappeared from an area with bogs and bodies of water, he disappeared in the afternoon, had limited mobility, and dogs couldn’t pick up a scent. Now I’m not directly saying that Mr. Achermann should be included in the Missing 411 series of disappearances, since I think there is some evidence of foul play being involved, but I find it very interesting that his vanishing at least partly falls in the pattern that these books establish.
His case also mirrors that of another Minnesota missing person, Milda Dahl McQuillan, who vanished along a rural road near the town of Ponsford, MN, 65 miles north west of Staples, back in June of 1975. She was last seen on Bad Medicine Lake RD, driving her pea-green 1968 Dodge to go visit friends. At some point, her car stalled, and a postman she knew helped her get it started again. She continued driving, before stopping again to ask a truck driver for directions. This was the last known sighting of her. Days later, after she didn’t arrive at her friend’s house, he car was found about 100ft off of Bad Medicine Lake Road, on a minimum maintenance logging road, stuck in the mud. The police and Minnesota National Guard searched the area around her vehicle, and eventually found her scarf and leather belt hanging in a bush. She has never been found. Now I’m not suggesting that these two cases are related in any way, but it’s certainly interesting to see two people in a relatively small area disappear under almost identical circumstances.
Conclusions:
The case of Peter Achermann is a strange one to say the least. After putting many hours into researching this case, I tend to lean towards the idea that foul play was involved somehow in his vanishing. Barring the idea that Mr. Achermann had some sort of medical event that caused him to make a wrong turn and wander into the woods, I don’t see how he could have vanished without the aid of an outside party. Even so, it seems unlikely that a man of his age who used a cane could wander far enough away from his vehicle to not be found by the extensive search parties that were looking for him. Given the fact that the police never secured the scene as a potential crime scene after he went missing, it would be almost impossible to prove foul play at this point, unless someone came forward as a witness, or to confess. The strange statements allegedly made by the unidentified woman via Facebook after the fact is certainly interesting, but I don’t put alot stock in them, given the fact that small towns, and Facebook itself, lend themselves to being rumor-mills when something like this happens, and many people make statements that seem suspicious, even if they’re not involved. It seems more likely that Mr. Achermann met his fate after picking up a person on the side of the road at some point after crossing the Crow Wing River bridge. It’s hard to say what the motive to harm him could have been, but it’s possible he could have been robbed. Other than that, it’s hard to speculate on motive, as there’s so little information available in his case that could point to a conclusion.
TLDR, the disappearance of Mr. Achermann is a perplexing one that will likely go unsolved. I just hope his family has come to some sense of peace in the years since he vanished.
Sources:
www.wadenapj.com/news/458447-missing-staples-mans-vehicle-found-man-still-missing
www.grandforksherald.com/news/2104681-search-continues-today-missing-rural-staples-minn-man
dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/bca-divisions/administrative/Documents/AchermannPeter.pdf
www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/5129?nav
charleyproject.org/case/peter-achermann
www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/mn-peter-achermann-82-staples-24-july-2009.87064/
wjon.com/still-no-sign-of-staples-man-missing-after-4-years/
www.thevanishedpodcast.com/episodes/2019/1/20/episode-157-peter-achermann
www.brainerddispatch.com/news/4482251-family-plans-funeral-missing-leader-man-peter-achermann-disappeared-9-years-ago
I can’t recall exactly how I came across the case of Peter Achermann, but it was likely in one of my sessions browsing through NAMUS. Ever since then, I’ve been somewhat fascinated by his case. There is one other person that did a write-up of sorts about the case, but it was FAR shorter than what I’ve compiled here. In writing this I hope to draw attention to his case, and drum up some discussion on it. This is not a write-up for those who want a quick, concise summary. This is also my first time ever doing a case write-up here on Reddit, so forgive me if it’s not the most polished thing ever.
About MP:
Peter Achermann, 82, lived in Leader, MN, with his wife, Delaine Achermann, to whom he had been married for 50 years. Mr. Achermann had a very large family, with 8 children, 13 foster children, and 23 grandchildren. He was originally from Neuhausen, Switzerland, moving to the US in 1948 to pursue his dream of becoming a farmer. He was described as a simple man, who wasn’t wealthy, and was always up to help others in need. He was a devout Roman Catholic, who put God and his family first in life. Though a friendly and helpful man, his family says he wasn’t afraid to speak up and defend them or himself if he felt wronged. For a man of his age, he was in very good health, with one doctor being quoted as saying he would live to 100. He did have Jaundice, a condition that causes yellowing of the skin, and walked with the aid of a cane. He was said to be clear of mind, and didn’t suffer from any form of dementia.
Basic facts and circumstances:
Peter Achermann disappeared on Friday, July 24th, 2009, the day before he was scheduled to speak at granddaughter’s wedding. That day, he left his house to run errands, including a trip to Motley, MN, to meet his son Mike at a cafe (Ostensibly to discuss the wedding the following day). He then continued on to an unspecified location to give his daughter Desiree some money for the wedding. It is reported that he then went to the Staples Hospital to get medication for his wife. His last stop was at Ernie’s Food Market off of US Highway 10 in Staples, MN, to purchase milk. He was last seen on CCTV getting into his light blue (Also reported as grey) station wagon, a 1995 Chevy Caprice, outside Ernie’s between 12:00 and 13:00 hrs. It is also reported he was seen by a witness crossing the Crow Wing River Bridge on Warner Road during this same timeframe. He was expected to return home by 14:00. When he didn’t return home by the expected time, his family called the Sheriff to report him missing, but were informed that they would have to wait 24 hrs before they could file a missing person report. His sons drove around the areas he was thought to have been in to try and locate him, but saw no trace of him or his vehicle. The next day, Saturday, July 25th, Mr. Achermann didn’t show up to his granddaughter's wedding to speak as was planned. At around 19:00 that day, his son got a call from a friend who said he had located Mr. Achermann’s vehicle, abandoned and stuck in the mud on a posted minimum-maintenance road off of County Road 32. The exact coordinates of the vehicle location, as closely as I’m able to determine, are 46.407258, -94.725179. The location is about a 6.8 mile drive from Ernie’s, or about 4.6 miles away as the crow flies. His son later said that the car looked like it had been driven there and abandoned, being barely stuck, and that if his dad was driving it, he would have floored the gas, either freeing the car or getting it severely stuck in the mud. Both the groceries and the medication he had gotten the day before were still inside, with the keys missing and the window rolled down. His son called 911, summoning the Staples police and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. The authorities initially didn’t treat the car or the area around it as a crime scene, and thought that Mr. Achermann had gotten lost and wandered into the woods. The car was touched by multiple deputies, and was unable to be dusted for prints later on. The area surrounding the road the car was found on is heavily wooded and swampy, an area that would be very difficult for a man of his age to get very far in. That evening, a helicopter equipped with a FLIR camera swept the area looking for heat signatures, but found none. On Sunday, July 26th, the search began with over 200 people showing up to conduct a line-search for Mr. Achermann, or evidence of his whereabouts. Over the next 2 weeks, a 2.5 mile radius around the car was searched by family, friends, members of the public, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota DNR, Minnesota State Patrol, and independent search dog teams. No trace of Mr. Achermann, nor any evidence of where he might be was found. It’s stated that the area around the car was searched multiple times, by multiple people. By this point, searchers and the family were demanding a full criminal investigation in to his disappearance, citing a lack of any evidence that Mr. Achermann had been in the area his car was found in. Two witnesses came forward later on who claimed to have driven down the road and passed the location where Mr. Achermann’s car was located shortly after his disappearance, however they gave conflicting statements. One says they drove the route at 16:00 Friday, and saw the car where it was eventually found. The other witness says that they drove the same route, and the car was not there. It is reported by some that there were indentations in the ground that appeared to be left by a cane, as well as footprints found near the car that led down the road, but I was unable to confirm this. After 2 weeks of looking for Mr. Achermann, the search was called off. Search dog teams continued to comb the area into mid September looking for any clues, but none were found.
On the 4th anniversary of his disappearance July 24th, 2013, Mr. Achermann was declared legally deceased by the court. Just after the 9th anniversary of his disappearance, Saturday Aug. 11th, 2018, Mr. Achermann’s family held a memorial service in honor of his life, at the St. Michael Catholic Church in Motley, followed by a reception on the family farm. There have been no further updates in the case.
Theories:
There are two main theories about what happened in this case.
Theory A hypothesizes that Mr. Achermann had a medical emergency and became disoriented, driving down the wrong road before getting his car stuck, and wandering off into the woods. This medical event could range from a heart attack, stroke or a head injury. Evidence for this theory includes his age, the alleged cane marks in the dirt near his car, and the fact that he went missing in a rural, low crime area where something like a carjacking or abduction would be unlikely. Mr. Achermann also didn’t have any obvious or definite enemies, though we’ll get to more on that later on.
Theory B purposes that Mr. Achermann met with foul play sometime after leaving Ernie’s for home, and possibly immediately after he crossed the Crow Wing River bridge, near the intersection of County Road 32. Some suspect that, due to his kind and helpful nature, and the fact he was known to give others rides in his car, he picked up a hitchhiker, or some other person in need, that ended up kidnapping or carjacking him, before leaving his vehicle on the minimum-maintenance road. Evidence for this theory includes the fact that no definitive sign of him ever being near the location of his car was ever found, though the cane marks in the dirt, if they did exist, could contradict this. The bloodhounds never found a scent outside his car, and no scraps of clothing, nor any of his other belongings were found in the 8 square miles that were searched. His son also does not believe that his dad was the person who drove the car to that location, as he thinks it would be much further mired in the mud if he had done so. Mr. Achermann would also have had no reason to go down that road, had he been in his right state of mind. It would also have been very difficult for a man of Mr. Achermann’s age, who walks with a cane, to get any further than the search radius.
Possible suspects:
In an interview with The Vanished Podcast, his daughter Renee detailed an incident in which Mr. Achermann stood up to a group of scrappers who were stealing metal and parts off of old farm equipment on a piece of property owned by an elderly woman that he had given car rides to. When he discovered that the scrappers were stealing from the elderly woman, he had reported it to the Cass County Sheriff. Renee reported that the scrappers lived close to the location where the car was eventually found abandoned. In the same interview, Renee also describes a conversation over Facebook a young man had with a woman who lives near where the car was found. The boy asked what had happened to Mr. Achermann, and the woman reportedly “[doged] the question a couple times”. After pushing the woman further, she reportedly stated that “she wasn’t the one who shot him” before ending the conversation. This woman also reportedly made comments about her boyfriend from Bremerton, WA, who had hung himself while she was in jail on charges unrelated to Mr. Achermann’s disappearance. In reference to her boyfriend’s death, she reportedly stated that “some things are better taken to the grave.” Renee reports that she was able to track the unidentified woman’s boyfriend to Sturgis, SD during July of 2009, closer to the disappearance of Mr. Achermann. It is unknown whether the boyfriend was actually in Minnesota at the time of the disappearance.
Other connections:
I have known about the disappearance of Mr. Achermann for several years now. In that time, I have read several in the Missing 411 series of books by author Daivd Paulides. Now I’m aware that among some, Missing 411 and Paulides himself are somewhat controversial, due to the author’s past work on alleged bigfoot activity and other such conspiracies. However, no matter what you think of Paulides or his past work, the Missing 411 cases are very interesting. For those who don’t know, Missing 411 profiles hundreds of bizarre and unexplained deaths of disappearances of people from very remote and rural areas, namely National Parks. All of the cases in the books share a strange set of similar circumstances, including: Victims vanish in a rural setting, tracking dogs can’t/won’t track a scent, elderly or young victims, victim has limited mobility, victim vanishes from an area rife with swamps/bodies of water, victim disappears during the afternoon hours, berrys often involved in disappearances, of those later found dead, victims are missing clothing. You will notice that Mr. Achermann’s vanishing fits some of those criteria. He disappeared in a rural setting, he was elderly, he disappeared from an area with bogs and bodies of water, he disappeared in the afternoon, had limited mobility, and dogs couldn’t pick up a scent. Now I’m not directly saying that Mr. Achermann should be included in the Missing 411 series of disappearances, since I think there is some evidence of foul play being involved, but I find it very interesting that his vanishing at least partly falls in the pattern that these books establish.
His case also mirrors that of another Minnesota missing person, Milda Dahl McQuillan, who vanished along a rural road near the town of Ponsford, MN, 65 miles north west of Staples, back in June of 1975. She was last seen on Bad Medicine Lake RD, driving her pea-green 1968 Dodge to go visit friends. At some point, her car stalled, and a postman she knew helped her get it started again. She continued driving, before stopping again to ask a truck driver for directions. This was the last known sighting of her. Days later, after she didn’t arrive at her friend’s house, he car was found about 100ft off of Bad Medicine Lake Road, on a minimum maintenance logging road, stuck in the mud. The police and Minnesota National Guard searched the area around her vehicle, and eventually found her scarf and leather belt hanging in a bush. She has never been found. Now I’m not suggesting that these two cases are related in any way, but it’s certainly interesting to see two people in a relatively small area disappear under almost identical circumstances.
Conclusions:
The case of Peter Achermann is a strange one to say the least. After putting many hours into researching this case, I tend to lean towards the idea that foul play was involved somehow in his vanishing. Barring the idea that Mr. Achermann had some sort of medical event that caused him to make a wrong turn and wander into the woods, I don’t see how he could have vanished without the aid of an outside party. Even so, it seems unlikely that a man of his age who used a cane could wander far enough away from his vehicle to not be found by the extensive search parties that were looking for him. Given the fact that the police never secured the scene as a potential crime scene after he went missing, it would be almost impossible to prove foul play at this point, unless someone came forward as a witness, or to confess. The strange statements allegedly made by the unidentified woman via Facebook after the fact is certainly interesting, but I don’t put alot stock in them, given the fact that small towns, and Facebook itself, lend themselves to being rumor-mills when something like this happens, and many people make statements that seem suspicious, even if they’re not involved. It seems more likely that Mr. Achermann met his fate after picking up a person on the side of the road at some point after crossing the Crow Wing River bridge. It’s hard to say what the motive to harm him could have been, but it’s possible he could have been robbed. Other than that, it’s hard to speculate on motive, as there’s so little information available in his case that could point to a conclusion.
TLDR, the disappearance of Mr. Achermann is a perplexing one that will likely go unsolved. I just hope his family has come to some sense of peace in the years since he vanished.
Sources:
www.wadenapj.com/news/458447-missing-staples-mans-vehicle-found-man-still-missing
www.grandforksherald.com/news/2104681-search-continues-today-missing-rural-staples-minn-man
dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/bca-divisions/administrative/Documents/AchermannPeter.pdf
www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/5129?nav
charleyproject.org/case/peter-achermann
www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/mn-peter-achermann-82-staples-24-july-2009.87064/
wjon.com/still-no-sign-of-staples-man-missing-after-4-years/
www.thevanishedpodcast.com/episodes/2019/1/20/episode-157-peter-achermann
www.brainerddispatch.com/news/4482251-family-plans-funeral-missing-leader-man-peter-achermann-disappeared-9-years-ago