KY Ky - Steven Douglas Bunch, 26, Covington, 28 Dec 1985

[Gardener1850]

Gender Male
Race / Ethnicity White / Caucasian
Height 5' 5" - 5' 7" (65 - 67 Inches)
Weight 180 - 190 lbs

Physical Description
Hair Color Brown
Head Hair Description Collar length, brown hair. P/Mother Steven had a 'hair replacement' as he was going bald. This hair replacement occurred when Steven was about 19 years old.
Body Hair Description --
Facial Hair Description No facial hair
Left Eye Color Blue
Right Eye Color Blue

Distinctive Physical Features
Scar/mark
'Dent' on right cheek

Other distinctive physical characteristic
Described as muscular build with a fair / light complexion. P/Mother Steven had a hair replacement about age 19.

Clothing and Accessories
Clothing
Long white over coat, that ties. Light blue sports coat, dark blue long sleeve shirt & dark blue trousers.

Footwear
White Shoes

Circumstances of Disappearance
Steven Bunch worked at/owned Bunches Auto Body. Steven Bunch has not contacted family members nor has he been seen since he disappeared.

Missing Person Case

 

[Coffee56]

Family has been looking

missing person Steve Douglas Bunch

 

[CastlesBurning]

Apparently Steve had testified in a criminal case just prior to his disappearance:

Steven Douglas Bunch – The Charley Project

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping case up for Steven and his relatives. Unfortunately I can't find any other articles/ updates about his case.

 

[chaddylex]

Steven's NamUs profile hasn't been updated since 2020, but he has 49 rule outs.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
UP1984 04/30/2003 Cuyahoga OH
UP87 01/07/1990 Daviess KY
UP11170 01/26/2005 Accomack VA
UP12163 06/30/1995 Accomack VA
UP14360 08/14/2015 Bland VA
UP6639 07/28/2007 Fairfax VA
UP6149 01/22/1996 Halifax VA
UP2230 08/19/1991 Richmond VA
UP2667 08/18/2008 Dinwiddie VA
UP787 02/09/2002 Richmond VA
UP6637 10/07/2006 Fairfax VA
UP6530 05/18/1990 Chesterfield VA
UP14518 04/03/2010 Shenandoah VA
UP13739 03/28/2015 Virginia Beach VA
UP8418 02/24/1992 Henrico VA
UP6643 04/11/1987 Caroline VA
UP6515 04/19/1987 Albemarle VA
UP6278 07/05/2007 Botetourt VA
UP6304 08/01/1993 Clarke VA
UP6513 01/01/1990 Brunswick VA
UP9805 11/26/2011 Lee VA
UP11594 01/29/1987 Harrison MS
UP11248 08/20/2012 Fairfax VA
UP7739 10/27/1988 Hamilton OH
UP2626 02/01/1991 Virginia Beach VA
UP5532 04/07/1992 Newport News VA
UP6303 01/26/1997 Warren VA
UP6305 07/30/2002 Prince William VA
UP6474 05/12/1990 Prince William VA
UP6248 05/27/1987 Rockbridge VA
UP10226 04/01/2012 Carroll VA
UP6473 03/08/1988 Loudoun VA
UP6638 04/06/2006 Fairfax VA
UP5239 01/01/2008 Lynchburg VA
UP6171 12/26/2005 Pittsylvania VA
UP6725 06/08/2000 Virginia Beach VA
UP7605 07/21/2010 Mecklenburg VA
UP6315 11/21/2009 Mecklenburg VA
UP6507 11/10/1988 Caroline VA
UP6574 07/25/1986 Jefferson PA
UP763 12/16/2003 Hennepin MN
UP7516 07/30/1989 Washoe NV
UP2114 02/29/1988 Washoe NV
UP2100 07/11/1987 Washoe NV
UP8642 03/30/2011 Fulton GA
UP1564 04/08/1988 Hickman TN
UP8183 08/25/1986 Jackson MI
UP2672 04/05/2008 Prince Edward VA
UP6762 10/08/1995 Richmond VA

 

[ReturnToDirt]

Steven's NamUs profile hasn't been updated since 2020, but he has 49 rule outs.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
UP1984 04/30/2003 Cuyahoga OH
UP87 01/07/1990 Daviess KY
UP11170 01/26/2005 Accomack VA
UP12163 06/30/1995 Accomack VA
UP14360 08/14/2015 Bland VA
UP6639 07/28/2007 Fairfax VA
UP6149 01/22/1996 Halifax VA
UP2230 08/19/1991 Richmond VA
UP2667 08/18/2008 Dinwiddie VA
UP787 02/09/2002 Richmond VA
UP6637 10/07/2006 Fairfax VA
UP6530 05/18/1990 Chesterfield VA
UP14518 04/03/2010 Shenandoah VA
UP13739 03/28/2015 Virginia Beach VA
UP8418 02/24/1992 Henrico VA
UP6643 04/11/1987 Caroline VA
UP6515 04/19/1987 Albemarle VA
UP6278 07/05/2007 Botetourt VA
UP6304 08/01/1993 Clarke VA
UP6513 01/01/1990 Brunswick VA
UP9805 11/26/2011 Lee VA
UP11594 01/29/1987 Harrison MS
UP11248 08/20/2012 Fairfax VA
UP7739 10/27/1988 Hamilton OH
UP2626 02/01/1991 Virginia Beach VA
UP5532 04/07/1992 Newport News VA
UP6303 01/26/1997 Warren VA
UP6305 07/30/2002 Prince William VA
UP6474 05/12/1990 Prince William VA
UP6248 05/27/1987 Rockbridge VA
UP10226 04/01/2012 Carroll VA
UP6473 03/08/1988 Loudoun VA
UP6638 04/06/2006 Fairfax VA
UP5239 01/01/2008 Lynchburg VA
UP6171 12/26/2005 Pittsylvania VA
UP6725 06/08/2000 Virginia Beach VA
UP7605 07/21/2010 Mecklenburg VA
UP6315 11/21/2009 Mecklenburg VA
UP6507 11/10/1988 Caroline VA
UP6574 07/25/1986 Jefferson PA
UP763 12/16/2003 Hennepin MN
UP7516 07/30/1989 Washoe NV
UP2114 02/29/1988 Washoe NV
UP2100 07/11/1987 Washoe NV
UP8642 03/30/2011 Fulton GA
UP1564 04/08/1988 Hickman TN
UP8183 08/25/1986 Jackson MI
UP2672 04/05/2008 Prince Edward VA
UP6762 10/08/1995 Richmond VA

Where did you find this info? trying to look into a few other cases and being able to see what cases are ruled out would be super helpful!

 

[JSolt1210]

I don't know what to make of the details as recounted at The Charley Project:

After a night of drinks at a club, Bunch got a ride back from a friend. "She said he seemed anxious and kept glancing behind him, nervous because a police car was following them. He didn't calm down until the police car turned off in another direction."

To me, this suggests either 1) Bunch was involved in something illegal that he didn't want the cops to know about, and perhaps another party in this illegal activity (the person he went out to meet?) is responsible, or 2) a police officer may be responsible.

Something I think supports #2 is the (admittedly unconfirmed) claim that he "went missing shortly after testifying in a criminal case and there were rumors that he went into a witness protection program."

If this is true, then wouldn't he be relieved to have the police be following him, because they could protect him?

If this is not true, then #1 would make more sense. Five minutes after getting home, he told his mom that "he was going out for awhile and someone would be picking him up." This, then, could've been an associate in the illegal activity. Could they also have been responsible for draining his car battery that night, and then somehow moving the car after his disappearance?

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Steven Douglas Bunch – The Charley Project

 

[Blruiz-Louisiana]

Can someone please take a look at these pictures and tell me if you see the similarities I do?

 

[Blruiz-Louisiana]

This

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping

 

[Pennysmom2]

Steven Douglas Bunch – The Charley Project

• 

Bunch, circa 1985

• Missing Since 12/29/1985
• Missing From Covington, Kentucky
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Age 26 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5 - 5'7, 180 - 190 pounds
• 
  
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A long white overcoat that tied shut, a light blue sports coat, a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, dark-colored trousers and white shoes.
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Bunch had a hair replacement at age nineteen, in order to conceal hair loss. He has a dent-like scar or dimple in his right cheek.

Details of Disappearance​

Bunch left his hometown of Covington, Kentucky on December 28, 1985 and went to January's, a nightclub in nearby Cincinnati, Ohio. He stayed at the club until 2:00 a.m. and drank a few beers. When he tried to leave, he discovered his car battery was dead. It was a rental car; a friend had taken his own vehicle without permission and wrecked it.

Bunch got a ride home with a female friend. She said he seemed anxious and kept glancing behind him, nervous because a police car was following them. He didn't calm down until the police car turned off in another direction.

Bunch's friend dropped him off at his parents' home on Warren Street in Covington where he lived. His parents were still awake when he got inside. He went to his room, stayed only about five minutes, then told his mother he was going out for awhile and someone would be picking him up.

Bunch's father thought he was behaving oddly, so he followed his son outside and saw him go into the backyard. He has never been heard from again. When his family searched a wooded area near their home, they found the scarf he had worn that night. His rental car, which had been left inoperable in the nightclub parking lot, later turned up several blocks away from the club.

Bunch owned and operated Bunch's Auto Body in the MainStrasse area at the time of his disappearance. He went missing shortly after testifying in a criminal case and there were rumors that he went into a witness protection program, but this was never confirmed. His father died in 1990 and his mother has since remarried. His case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

• Covington Police Department 859-292-2244

Source Information​

• NamUs
• Mystery Magazine Web
• The Kentucky Post

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated September 2, 2011; casefile added.

 

[JSolt1210]

Okay, so re-reading the Details of Disappearance, I'm questioning now whether foul play was involved at all in Steven's case.

What if Steven took a drug at the club, or it was slipped to him without his knowledge? That would account for the anxiety and the odd behavior that people around him observed.

Five minutes after arriving home, he told his parents he was going back out because someone was picking him up. Except his father observed him going into the backyard, which I assume is away from the road, unless he could cut through the backyard on to another road. Did the father hear or see a car drive up near the house? Because if he didn't, then either the meetup spot was farther from the house, or maybe the meetup was substance-induced.

On that note, if he was meeting up with someone, wouldn't it have been simpler to just do so near or at the nightclub since he was already out? Why go home for five minutes only to come back out? Remember—no cellphones in 1985, so this couldn't have been a last minute decision made through a private text. So was he just killing time at the nightclub before his meetup?

And then the scarf he had worn that night was found not on a road but in a wooded area near the home. To me, that sounds like he could've wandered off into the woods and just hasn't been found.

According to this magazine from September 1983, the nightclub was on 411 W. Second St., "adjacent to Riverfront Stadium and the Coliseum." Steven lived on Warren Street in Covington, KY, a little over 3 miles away. The satellite view shows how dense the trees are in that area, away from main roads. But I also see the nearby Licking River in the other direction. Could he fallen in and been carried out onto the Ohio River?

As for his car, at first I thought maybe he somehow walked back to it and moved it. But December 28, 1985 was a Saturday. Could city services have moved it that following Monday for street cleaning perhaps?

 

[Pennysmom1]

Steven Douglas Bunch - Kentucky Missing Person Directory

Details and Pictures of Steven Douglas Bunch, Missing since December 1985

www.missingin.org

 

[emmyluelizabeth]

Okay, so re-reading the Details of Disappearance, I'm questioning now whether foul play was involved at all in Steven's case.

What if Steven took a drug at the club, or it was slipped to him without his knowledge? That would account for the anxiety and the odd behavior that people around him observed.

Five minutes after arriving home, he told his parents he was going back out because someone was picking him up. Except his father observed him going into the backyard, which I assume is away from the road, unless he could cut through the backyard on to another road. Did the father hear or see a car drive up near the house? Because if he didn't, then either the meetup spot was farther from the house, or maybe the meetup was substance-induced.

On that note, if he was meeting up with someone, wouldn't it have been simpler to just do so near or at the nightclub since he was already out? Why go home for five minutes only to come back out? Remember—no cellphones in 1985, so this couldn't have been a last minute decision made through a private text. So was he just killing time at the nightclub before his meetup?

And then the scarf he had worn that night was found not on a road but in a wooded area near the home. To me, that sounds like he could've wandered off into the woods and just hasn't been found.

According to this magazine from September 1983, the nightclub was on 411 W. Second St., "adjacent to Riverfront Stadium and the Coliseum." Steven lived on Warren Street in Covington, KY, a little over 3 miles away. The satellite view shows how dense the trees are in that area, away from main roads. But I also see the nearby Licking River in the other direction. Could he fallen in and been carried out onto the Ohio River?

As for his car, at first I thought maybe he somehow walked back to it and moved it. But December 28, 1985 was a Saturday. Could city services have moved it that following Monday for street cleaning perhaps?

you seem to have alot of knowledge on this case and seem to show a lot of interest

 

[kbunch]

Apparently Steve had testified in a criminal case just prior to his disappearance:

Steven Douglas Bunch – The Charley Project

What was the case and what did he testify to?