Stephen Maurice Ziegler was 34 when he vanished from Erie, Pennsylvania after an evening at Barilla’s Tavern on Weschler Avenue. He was last seen on May 4, 2005, leaving the tavern after someone else had bought him a meal; he wore jeans, a dark blue shirt, a dark blue windbreaker with white trim on the sleeves, and a dark blue baseball cap. Ziegler was a Black man between 6 feet 2 inches and 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighing about 240 to 245 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, and tattoos on his left arm, upper right arm, and abdomen.

Investigators faced immediate obstacles: Ziegler left almost no official trail. Erie Police found no phone bills, credit cards, rental agreements, or bank activity in his name, which made reconstructing his movements before and after that night extremely difficult. A man reported to have been with him at the tavern later denied being there when questioned, and no confirmed sightings or significant evidence have surfaced since he walked out.

The case has grown cold but remains open with the Erie Police cold case unit. The central facts are simple and frustrating: an ordinary night ended with a man walking away from a tavern and never being heard from again. If anyone knew Stephen, saw him after May 4, 2005, or has information about his whereabouts, please come forward.