Charles Spike Ulrich, 62, vanished from his Riverside-area home in Uhrichsville, Ohio, during a thunderous January day in 1975. His wife awoke about 7:00 a.m. to find him gone and the front door ajar. He did not follow his usual morning routine of making coffee and waking her for a religious television program. Personal items normally kept on the kitchen counter—keys, wallet, money, and a pocketknife—were left behind, and his pajamas were tossed across the bed rather than folded.

Two nights before his disappearance his wife was awakened by a sound at the front door; Charles checked the house with a shotgun but found nothing. The night before he left he took a phone call and later told his wife that if it were a year later he would retire, without explaining why. Neighbors reported car lights in the driveway around 6:30 a.m. the morning he disappeared and another saw a man standing by the road as if waiting for a ride. Extensive searches by police and community volunteers turned up no trace. He was declared legally dead in 1980, but the circumstances of his disappearance remain unsolved.

If anyone knew Charles, his routines, or saw anything in the Riverside area that January morning, please share what might help fill the gaps in this case.