NY NY - Dean Heagerty, 19, Oswego, 19 Nov 1976

[JudysSisterMaureen]

Dean's brother Paul will join this thread shortly to correct dates, birthdate, vitals. Dean went missing in 1976, yesterday was his birthday. He, like my sister Judy, was 19 when he vanished.

Paul, you take it from here! mDNA has been submitted, and the case has recently been picked up by the Oswego City Police Department cold case unit.

Please, help Paul in this journey. Dean was a good kid - there wasn't any indication of foul play at the time of his disappearance. No one has seen him in 36 years.

 

[rainwater]

Bumping.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Oswego police seek clues in cold case 39 years after man vanished

http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/11/oswego_police_seek_clues_in_cold_case_39_years_after_man_vanished.html

Nearly four decades after he disappeared, authorities are again asking for help in solving the mystery of what happened to Dean Heagerty.

The 19-year-old was last seen on Nov. 19, 1976. He left his parents' East Sixth Street house in Oswego about 6 p.m. "to go for a short walk" and never returned.

He later attended State University of New York at Oswego, but left after developing a "depressed and confused state of mind," his mother said. He was under a doctor's care for treatment of a nervous condition. At the time of his disappearance, he was reported to be suffering from some degree of memory loss.

Heagerty had left home before, but his parents had always heard from him. He once found himself in Philadelphia looking for his brother. On another occasion he ended up in Ohio where an aunt and uncle lived.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Charley Project

Above: Heagerty, circa 1976

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: November 19, 1976 from Oswego, New York
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Age: 19 years old
• Height: 6'1
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Blond hair. Heagerty's hair was shoulder-length at the time of his disappearance.
• Clothing/Jewelry Description: A dark green corduroy coat, green fatigue pants, a blue or brown knit hat and blue sneakers.
• Medical Conditions: Heagerty may have been depressed at the time of his disappearance and may have been suffering from memory loss.

Details of Disappearance
Heagerty was last seen in Oswego, New York at 6:00 p.m. on November 19, 1976. He left his parents' residence on east Sixth Street to go for a walk and never returned. He has never been heard from again.

Heagerty was class president at Bishop Cunningham High School and later enrolled at the State University of New York at Oswego, but later dropped out. He was in a "depressed and confused state of mind" at the time of his disappearance and was under a doctor's care. He had left home before and gone to other states, but later contacted his family. Heagerty may have been suffering from memory loss at the time he went missing. He might have attempted to go to his older brother's home in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania after he vanished; there were sightings of him in Pennsylvania, but none were confirmed. His case remains unsolved.

 

[Savemecastiel]

Bump...

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Dean...it's now been 44 years.

 

[Atombudd]

updated link Dean G. Heagerty – The Charley Project

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Anniversary of disappearance

 

[HopeRains]

Several articles. There are others, where his name is mentioned along with other missing youth. The articles I am posting are more specific in content to Dean.

Pottstown Mercury, 11 Jan 77, pg 23

The Mercury, 1 Dec 76, pg 1

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping

 

[Diane Redfern]

Possible match: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Baggins555]

I ran across this unidentified John Doe and couldn't help but notice some similarities. Only trait that doesn't match up is height estimate. If the brother Paul is still actively searching it might be worth a look as this John Doe has DNA available. If anyone thinks this could be a potential match I have a theory as to why he might have ended up there.

Unidentified Person: 1981 Chaffee County John Doe | Salida , CO | Uncovered

Can you help identify this John Doe?

uncovered.com

 

[Diane Redfern]

Other possibility, however, the height is off: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Could anyone provide his exclusions? I'm not even sure if there are any exclusion at all.

 

[Caring1]

Other possibility, however, the height is off: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Could anyone provide his exclusions? I'm not even sure if there are any exclusion at all.

23 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[snooptroop88]

Gacy was known to have traveled in the past to NY. I think it's unlikely, but I do see a resemblance between Dean and unidentified victim/Body 10, a Gacy victim. Dean:

Body #10/Gacy:

Body #10 is 5'7" to 5'11", 18-21yo estimated. Dean's 19 yo, 6'1". I don't view this as an incredibly strong likeness. But I do see it, and wish we had a profile shot for Dean. But I see similar mouth, long, narrow face in Dean's second image, very squared jaw in Dean's second image particularly. Hair in Dean's images a couple inches longer (inch or two?)but same choppy look in certain ways. Because of the geography, I'd usually say there's no way. But since Dean did have a history of traveling very long distances (hitchhiking?) in what sounds like a potentially impaired state, I wouldn't entirely rule it out because we don't know exactly which states he may have hitchhiked through (provided he was hitchhiking).

Body 10's reconstruction seems to have a somewhat longer chin, but I think, too, the Body 10 image shows a slightly more prominent right (viewer's left) nostril than the other, which I think I also see with Dean. Both have chunky dark eyebrows. I see Dean was pretty thin for his height. We don't know with Body 10, his image looks like he may have been on the lighter/leaner side.

Maybe. I think it's possible.

 

[HopeRains]

Noting Oswego, NY (last confirmed location) is on Lake Ontario as shown below.

 

[Diane Redfern]

Maybe?

Dean G. Heagerty – The Charley Project

 

[DD Byrd]

This is one of the few cases I've seen where he "may have amnesia and have traveled, unable to get back home" is actually possible.

On the other hand, a "short walk" would take him to either one of two bridges or a rail trail over the Oswego River. Which would then flow north into the abyss of Lake Ontario, fairly quickly. At 6pm in November, it would be dark, and he could've gone overboard unnoticed...especially if he didn't get to the bridge until later that night.

Meanwhile, curious the papers can't get the cities correct. I assume they are talking about Ithaca and/or Utica...and in Pottstown, PA might not know better. But this kind of stuff always has me question other journalistic details.