James M. Lohrey, a 59-year-old photographer from Willoughby, Ohio, was a man whose passion for his craft often took him to far-flung corners of the world. It was not out of character for him to travel internationally, sometimes for extended periods, and he would often drop out of sight without warning. This established pattern of behavior is why his family did not immediately worry when they lost contact with him.
He was a person who kept to himself, and his loved ones were accustomed to his unpredictable and impulsive travel schedule. After a year passed with no word, however, concern began to mount, and his family officially reported him missing on June 23, 2008. The last confirmed sighting of him was in Willoughby on July 15, 2007, when his landlord saw him moving out of his residence. Lohrey reportedly told his landlord that he was moving to Maine.
The narrative of his move to Maine gained substance when his silver 1996 Pontiac Firebird was discovered in a parking lot in East Boothbay, Maine. In August 2007, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office found Lohrey's abandoned car in the Grimes Cove parking lot off Route 96 in the Ocean Point area. According to local residents, the vehicle had been sitting there for most of the summer. Inside the car, authorities found several of his personal belongings, including a laptop, a debit card, and clothing. The car was checked by the sheriff's office multiple times in August and September of 2007 before it was eventually towed from the lot in October at the request of the property owner. All attempts to get in touch with Lohrey at that time were unsuccessful.
The discovery of the car with personal items inside, so far from his Ohio home, deepened the mystery surrounding his disappearance. The investigation, which began in Ohio, was subsequently transferred to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office in Maine due to the location of his vehicle. The circumstances of his case remain unclear. James Lohrey was a white male with brown, very curly hair and blue eyes, standing at 5 feet 9 inches and weighing around 180 pounds at the time he went missing. The investigation into his whereabouts remains open, a quiet case file in two states, leaving only questions in the wake of a man who was used to disappearing, but never for this long. Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact the Willoughby Police Department or the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.Last Seen: Jul 15, 2007
