Richard Amon Morse III was 26 years old when he disappeared from Bangor, Maine, in December 1998. Public records from NamUs list his date of last contact as December 12, 1998, while Bangor Police and The Charley Project list him as reported missing, or missing, on December 15, 1998; because the public accounts use both dates, the exact timing is not completely clear from available sources.
What is consistent is that Richard was last known to have been at the former Main Street Inn on Main Street in Bangor and at the Spectrum Night Club in downtown Bangor before he vanished. At the time, he was described as a White male, about 6 feet tall and roughly 150 to 160 pounds, with blond or strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes. He had pierced ears and a pierced tongue, a scar on his forehead, and was also known by the aliases Richard Morese and Richard Mase.
In the months before he went missing, Richard’s family believed he was trying to rebuild his life. A Bangor Daily News story republished by WGME reported that he had been released from prison earlier in 1998 after serving time for robbery, and that he was working two jobs while moving between his hometown of Belfast and Bangor. His brother Christopher said Richard had stayed with family at their farm in Belmont that summer, had a job in Belfast, was also working in Bangor, and was staying at a Bangor hotel while maintaining an apartment in Belfast. Family members said Richard was waiting tables at the former 90 Main Restaurant in Belfast and was also working with deaf people in Bangor. His sister Diahanne remembered that Richard had learned sign language as a child because he had a deaf friend, and she described him with affection as fun and quick-witted.
Richard’s disappearance was alarming to those who knew him because, according to his family, he had been keeping in contact with his probation officer and maintaining employment. The Charley Project reports that he was supposed to appear in court the morning after his disappearance but did not show up. His sister later recalled that the family tried repeatedly to call him, and police told her one of the last places he had been seen was a Bangor bar. Because one of the conditions of his probation prohibited alcohol use, that detail added another troubling layer to the uncertainty surrounding his final known movements. His family acknowledged that there were many rumors about what might have happened, but no clear public evidence has established an answer.
After Richard was reported missing, his family searched for signs of him in the years that followed. Christopher Morse said their mother, Tina Morse, reported him missing to Bangor police, and he said the FBI looked into the matter and took items including Richard’s computer and pager from his Belfast apartment. According to the same report, the FBI later stated it was not currently involved in the case. Richard’s siblings also tried to locate him by contacting relatives and friends around the country and searching online, but those efforts led nowhere. At one point, police in Seattle contacted the family about a body that matched Richard’s description, but dental records later ruled out that it was him.
For Richard’s family, the absence of answers has remained painful. His sister Diahanne said the news that he was missing devastated the family and that reminders of him came every day. She also said there were times she saw someone on the street and wondered whether it might be him, only to be disappointed again. Christopher described the uncertainty in similarly painful terms, wondering as years passed whether his brother could still be alive. Bangor police have continued to list Richard among the city’s missing persons, and investigators have asked anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact the Bangor Police Department. In overview, Richard Morse III was a young man from Maine who appeared, to his loved ones, to be working toward a more stable life when he disappeared after being seen in downtown Bangor; he was last associated with the former Main Street Inn and the Spectrum Night Club, his family has spent years searching for answers, and the publicly available record does not provide a confirmed explanation for what happened to him.Last Seen: Dec 15, 1998
