In the coastal town of Gold Beach, Oregon, 75-year-old August Richard Schwabenland, a man with known health conditions requiring medication, vanished on November 13, 2004. He was a white male, standing between 5'10' and 6'1' and weighing around 210 pounds. He had graying hair, blue eyes, and a scar on his chest from a previous heart surgery.
On the day he went missing, he was wearing a dark-colored long-sleeved jacket or sweatshirt with a zipper up the front and a zippered left breast pocket, along with gray sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt. He also wore eyeglasses with steel frames. His caregiver last saw him at his residence at about 1:30 pm that day. Later, at approximately 4:00 p.m., he was seen driving his maroon 1996 Buick LeSabre with Oregon license plate number YWZ-945. He had been shopping and was believed to be returning to his home, which was only three miles from where he was last sighted. There were also reports of him leaving a local restaurant and bar on North Bank Rogue River Road at about 7:00 pm, driving downriver toward Gold Beach.
Concern grew when August, who also went by his middle name, Richard, or the nickname Dick, failed to return home. His caregiver officially reported him missing on the evening of November 16, 2004. The investigation that followed revealed that on the day of his disappearance, August had withdrawn $200 from his bank account. It was also known that he frequented casinos and the Nesika Beach rest area. Despite these leads, there was no sign of August or his maroon Buick LeSabre. The North Bank River Road, which he was believed to be traveling on, runs alongside the Rogue River, leading to speculation that his vehicle may have entered the water. Initial searches by divers were hampered by murky water conditions, and they were unable to locate any sign of a vehicle.
For over two decades, the disappearance of August Schwabenland has remained an unsolved case. The lack of any significant evidence has left his family and the community with unanswered questions. Over the years, volunteer groups have taken an interest in the case, conducting sonar scans of the Rogue River in areas he was known to frequent, but these searches have not yielded any results. The primary theory remains that he may have had a medical event while driving, causing him to leave the roadway and enter the river, yet without the discovery of his vehicle, this cannot be confirmed. The case is a somber reminder of how a person can vanish without a trace, leaving a void in the lives of those who knew them. The investigation by the Curry County Sheriff's Department remains open.Last Seen: Nov 13, 2004
