Robert Troy Vanderheyden was eight years old when he disappeared from a pier in Port Stanley, Ontario, on August 31, 1976. According to the known account, he was walking along the waterfront with another person identified only as Gabriel when a wave struck the pier and knocked Robert into Lake Erie. He was not subsequently located and was never recovered.

At the time he vanished Robert was described as slender, light complected, with blond hair and blue eyes, about 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighing roughly 66 pounds. He was last seen wearing brown shorts. Public information does not detail the search timeline, personnel or conditions on the lake, and there is no documented sighting or discovery that explains what happened after he entered the water.

Robert’s disappearance remains listed in Canadian missing-person records and is associated with an RCMP file; tips are directed to the Ontario Provincial Police. Does anyone have memories of that day in Port Stanley or information about searches conducted on Lake Erie in late August 1976?