8 Years After Husband Disappeared, Manchester Police Still Search

It has been eight years since William Schmidbauer disappeared from his Manchester Township home.

Eight years since his wife went to sleep after he kissed her good night, and woke to find him gone without a trace, according to old news articles about his disappearance. The morning newspaper on the kitchen table, along with his money and his keys.

Manchester Township police haven’t forgotten, however. The case remains open. Investigators review it periodically.

And sometimes -- as they did earlier this summer -- they search again, checking the woods near the home William and his wife, Jean, shared in Cedar Glen West after moving there in 2006, Manchester Capt. Todd Malland said.

The search -- with cadaver dogs, Manchester Township detectives and members of New Jersey Search and Rescue -- encompassed land located within the boundaries of Route 571, Route 547 and Mallard Street. It turned up nothing, Malland said.

The August search of the woods -- conducted at the family’s request -- was the second in recent months, Malland said. Police also searched in May after a man who seemed to fit Schmidbauer’s description was seen near the wooded area of Cross Street in Lakewood, Malland said.

New Jersey Search and Rescue and Manchester Township Detectives Adam Guker, David Fusaro and Adam Emmons searched the area but were unsuccessful in locating Schmidbauer, he said.

Schmidbauer was a U.S. Army veteran who retired after a 20-year career in the military. He and his wife had moved to Cedar Glen West after his retirement. He was a Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient who was physically injured in combat and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to one website dedicated to cold cases. His family said he was not suicidal but they believe he may have become disoriented and wandered away from home. He and his wife, Jean, had been married for 41 years at the time of his disappearance. She died in 2014, according to her obituary.

Malland said that when Schmidbauer disappeared, he left behind his medications, his COPD inhaler, his car and keys, clothes, and money. He left no note before leaving home that day, Sept. 23, 2007, and investigators have found nothing suspicious about his disappearance.

A motorist claimed to have seen Schmidbauer two days later walking along Route 70 about three miles from his house, between Green Acres Road and Christ Lutheran Church, but that tip turned up nothing.

Schmidbauer, who was 64 at the time of his disappearance, is 6-foot-2, and he weighed about 170 pounds at the time. He had brown hair that was graying and hazel eyes. He was believed to be wearing a brown T-shirt, blue shorts, black sandals and a Timex Indiglo watch with a silver armband.

He also has a 4-inch scar on his right thigh, according to reports. He was said to have chain smoked and wore upper dentures.

Efforts to locate Schmidbauer over the years have included aerial, canine, scuba and foot searches. In August, as has happened so often, the search turned up nothing.

The investigation into Schmidbauer’s disappearance remains ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Guker at 732-657-2009, ext. 4210.

Anonymous tips can be left by clicking the “Tip Line” link at www.manchesterpolicenj.com.

(Photos courtesy of Manchester Township Police Department. NJ Search and Rescue joins Manchester detectives on an Aug. 2 search for William Schmidbauer near Cedar Glen West.)