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Case Description

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Charles E. Koch, a 19-year-old from Ravenna, Ohio, disappeared on July 14, 1983, while completing his daily paper route in a local trailer park. That afternoon, two children reported seeing Charles talking to an unidentified man in a blue compact car. This interaction was the last known sighting of Charles, and he has not been seen or heard from since.

At the time of his disappearance, Charles was wearing a blue t-shirt with a bowling decal, blue jeans, and brown suede oxford shoes. He ...Read More
Last Seen: Jul 14, 1983

Victim Details

Jun 08, 2014

Jan 04, 2024

Charles

Koch

60

19

68 inches

140 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the summer of 1983, a young man named Charles E. Koch vanished from Ravenna, Ohio, leaving behind a community in search of answers. On the afternoon of July 14, 1983, the 19-year-old was completing his paper route in a local trailer park. He was last seen at approximately 3:30 p.m. wearing blue jeans, a blue t-shirt with a bowling decal, brown suede oxford shoes, and a gold watch. Charles was described as a Caucasian male with blond hair and blue eyes, standing at 5'8" and weighing around 140 pounds. He also had a scar on one of his arms, though which arm is not specified. The last known sighting of Charles was by two children who reported seeing him talking to an unidentified white male in a blue, compact car. After this brief interaction, Charles was never seen or heard from again. His disappearance is classified as endangered missing. The circumstances surrounding his vanishing are limited, with very few details available to the public or investigators. This lack of information has made the search for answers increasingly difficult over the years. The Portage County Sheriff's Office has been the investigating agency since Charles was reported missing, with the case number 83-5410 assigned to his disappearance. Despite the passage of time, his case remains unsolved. The initial assumption by law enforcement in that era was often that teenagers and young adults who went missing had left voluntarily, which may have impacted the early stages of the investigation. The identity of the man in the blue car remains a mystery, as does the nature of his conversation with Charles. The case is an overview of a young man who disappeared while performing a routine task, a paper route, with the last known sighting of him being in the company of an unknown individual in a vehicle.

Jul 14, 1983

Ravenna

Ohio

Portage County

23301

Portage County Sheriff's Office

Ravenna

Ohio

,

83-5410

Portage County Sheriff's Office

Blond/Strawberry

Blue

Blue

05/06/2026


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