Joseph Clewley Missing Person Case

Nov 24, 2010

Jul 05, 2018

Joseph

Clewley

91

73

70 inches

150 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the summer of 2008, 73-year-old Joseph Robert Clewley, known affectionately as Joe, vanished from the serene but wild landscape of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A resident of Lansing, he was spending time alone at his remote summer cabin nestled by the Tahquamenon River in Tahquamenon Falls State Park, a place where he had been an avid hiker for over two decades. On July 12, 2008, he was last seen leaving for a hike with his dog, a Chow/Springer Spaniel mix named Chip. Concerns for his safety grew after he missed his scheduled check-in calls with his wife on July 13th. This prompted his family to alert the authorities, who found his cabin locked and no signs of foul play. Joseph was a white male, standing 5'10" and weighing 150 pounds, with graying brown hair and brown eyes. He had distinctive scars on both arms and possibly his stomach from calcium-removal operations, as well as a scar near his thumb on one hand from an ax wound. The investigation into Joseph's disappearance began when his 1992 Oldsmobile Silhouette van was discovered at the trailhead for the North Country Trail on the western side of the park. The van was unlocked with the keys inside and the gas tank was nearly empty, which was uncharacteristic of him. An extensive search was launched, involving the Chippewa County Sheriff's Office, Michigan State Police K-9 units, and other agencies, but no trace of Joseph was found. The terrain of the park is vast and challenging, complicating search efforts. A perplexing development in the case occurred twenty days after he went missing when his dog, Chip, reappeared at the family cabin. The dog was thin but otherwise in good health, clean, and without the bug bites or ticks one would expect after weeks in the wilderness, leading to speculation that someone may have cared for him. Despite the hope that Chip's return might bring, it unfortunately provided no solid leads as to Joseph's whereabouts. Search teams even attempted to backtrack the dog's trail, hoping it would lead them to Joseph, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Joseph was a Navy veteran who served in Guam in the 1950s and later founded an engineering services company. He was also a father of five. He had some significant health issues, including heart and circulatory problems, and had exhibited some short-term memory loss, though his family did not believe he would have become disoriented. The overview of the case is that Joseph Clewley, a man deeply familiar with the area, disappeared while on a routine hike with his dog. While his dog returned weeks later in surprisingly good condition, no definitive clues have ever been found to explain what happened to him, and his case remains an unsolved missing person investigation.

Jul 12, 2008

Paradise

Michigan

Chippewa County

9374

Chippewa County Sheriff Department

Sault Ste Marie

Michigan

,

Chippewa County Sheriff Department

Gray or Partially Gray

Brown

Brown

07/07/2026