Michael Howard Spangler was a 24-year-old White man living in North Baltimore, Ohio, when he was found fatally shot in his apartment, number 6 at 109 ½ South Main Street, on February 7, 1978. Earlier that morning the building’s owner reported his own unit had been broken into and several guns stolen; the intruder had punched a rectangular hole through that owner’s door and left battery acid stains on the floor. A white bag containing an automobile battery was recovered just outside Spangler’s apartment, the battery size matching the hole used in the other break-in.

Police focused on a 17-year-old juvenile who had been staying with Spangler and who was missing after the killing. A witness later identified that juvenile as a hitchhiker seen leaving North Baltimore for Florida at 5:10 a.m. A warrant was issued and the teen was arrested out of state and extradited to Ohio, but the Wood County Grand Jury declined to indict on murder charges and the juvenile was released.

As of October 29, 2024, the homicide remains unsolved and the case is listed open; tips can be submitted to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Did anyone in North Baltimore in February 1978 recognize the white bag or the hitchhiker seen leaving town?