Here is a highly underrepresented case that has always haunted me: the case of William Jerome Gangwisch, an Airforce veteran who mysteriously vanished at age 45 on December 7, 1977. After the 1980’s, it is almost as if his case was left in the dust. There has been very public light of his case since the 80’s. In the 90’s, his case was published to the NY Times. After his entire immediate family passed away, there was no one left to “push” his case. What happened to William Gangwisch? His case is not in the governmental missing person database, Namus. Let’s spread the word of his case.

The night that William went missing, after attending an awards banquet, he gave his coworker a ride home at Ninth Ave and 42nd St in New York City, New York, and he was never heard from again. He was supposedly planning on going straight to his residence in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The day prior, he purchased a plane ticket that he planned on using to visit his parents, who lived in Jefferson City, Missouri. William never made it to Missouri.

At the time of his disappearance, he was a research manager and research chemist at Colgate-Palmolive in Piscataway, NJ. His coworkers had advocated for his case when he vanished. Unfortunately, many of his old coworkers may now be deceased or elderly. In fact, if William were alive today in 2021, he would be almost 89 years old.

William was born on June 27, 1932 in MO to Stella Mae Gangwisch (1910-2000) and Theodore “Ted” Martin Gangwisch (1904-1988). Stella and Theodore resided at the 700 block of Belair Drive in Jefferson City, MO, where William grew up. William attended Jefferson City High School. He then went on to study sciences and chemistry at the University of Missouri, where he graduated from in 1954. Because William was an only child and his parents passed away before the internet became the main source of information sharing, there has been no one “pushing” his case to be in the media after the death of his mother in the year 2000.

The car William owned and was driving at the time of his disappearance was a Datsun Honey Bee. His car was never recovered; this leads to suspicion that William may have met with foul play.

William’s parents are buried together in a cemetery in Missouri. Next to their gravestone is a grave a gravestone that reads, “William Gangwisch”. (Oftentimes, family will pre-order and even label a grave to ensure a proper burial, shall one family member pass away first. ) The grave states he passed away on December 1 or 7 of 1982 (his Findagrave profile indexed his death as December 1). However, William was never actually found alive or deceased. This news article from 1991 stated William was still missing at the time. His extended family has also confirmed that he is in fact still missing. The gravestone was likely made with the hope that one day he would be found and would have a place to be buried.

William was single and had no children at the time of his disappearance.

I have not come across any photos of William. If anyone from Jefferson City has any of his yearbook photos, please comment below.
Update: The school board at Jefferson City High School found his yearbook photo! Thanks to them, now for the first time after all of these years, he has a missing photo to put with his poster/articles. If anyone who used to work with him or knew him has another photo, any will help. I enhanced the photo, so his hair may appear darker than it was in reality. I cannot find any physical description of him online, but judging by his photos, it appears he may have had light brown to dark blonde hair, possibly even medium brown hair. He likely had brown eyes, but I cannot confirm that either. I do not know his height or weight. He is Caucasian.

The Middlesex County Police Department handles his case. They can be reached at (732) 745-3366.

SEO Keywords:
William Jerome Gangwisch, William Jerome Gangwich, William Gangwisch, William Gangwich, William J Gangwisch, William J Gangwich, Honeybee, Datsun Honeybee, Datsun Honey Bee, Honey Bee car, missing vehicle, missing man from Jefferson City, MO, research manager who went missing, DOB: June 27, 1932, Date of birth: June 27, 1932, Born on June 27, 1932, Stella Mae Gangwisch, 710 Belair Dr, Jefferson City, MO 65101, 710 Belair Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65101, 314-636-9201, 573-636-9201, 573-636-9201, 211 Clay St, Research Manager at Colgate-Palmolive in Piscataway, NJ, Piscataway, NJ missing man, Missing from North Jersey, Missing from Northern New Jersey, Missing from New Jersey, Missing from Piscataway, Missing in Piscataway, Missing around Piscataway, Missing from NJ, Missing in NYC, Missing from NYC, Missing in New York, Missing from NY, Missing from New York City, Missing in NYC, went missing in NYC, Jefferson City HS, Jefferson City High School, Missing man who was from Jefferson City, mysterious disappearance, research chemist, missing research chemist, research manager at Palmolive, chemist at Palmolive, missing from New Brunswick, NJ, Missing man who lived in New Brunswick, NJ, New Brunswick, NJ missing person, Missing in New Brunswick, NJ, Missing, drove a Datsun, drove a Honeybee, drove a Honey Bee, missing in NY, Missing in NJ, North Jersey missing, Missing from North Jersey, Missing from NJ, Missing in NJ, NJ missing person, NJ Missing man, was last seen December 7, 1977 , was last heard from December 7, 1977 , was last seen December 7, 1977 , last date of contact: December 7, 1977 , haven’t seen him since December 7, 1977 , last seen him on December 7, 1977 , last seen him around December 7, 1977 , went missing on December 7, 1977 , last seen December 7, 1977 , have not heard from him since December 7, 1977 , disappeared around December 7, 1977 , disappeared on December 7, 1977 , vanished around December 7, 1977 , vanished on December 7, 1977 , vanished sometime around December 7, 1977 , date last seen: December 7, 1977 , date last seen is December 7, 1977 , date last seen was December 7, 1977 , trying to find my friend who disappeared on December 7, 1977 , last saw him on December 7, 1977 , went missing on December 7, 1977 , date of last contact was December 7, 1977 , became missing on December 7, 1977 , have not heard from him since December 7, 1977 , have not seen him since December 7, 1977 , have not heard anything from him December 7, 1977 , trying to find my brother who vanished on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my son who vanished on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my friend who went missing on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my uncle who went missing on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my brother who went missing December 7, 1977 , trying to find my brother who went missing on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my uncle who vanished December 7, 1977 , vanished December 7, 1977 , missing December 7, 1977 , has been lost since December 7, 1977 , no one has heard from him since December 7, 1977 , haven’t heard from him since December 7, 1977 , have not heard from him since December 7, 1977 , have not heard anything from him since December 7, 1977 , no one has heard from him since December 7, 1977 , his whereabouts have been unknown since December 7, 1977 , has been a missing person since December 7, 1977 , no one has heard from him since December 7, 1977 , no one has seen him since December 7, 1977 , presumed deceased since 1977, presumed deceased since december 1977, missing since dec 7, 197, missing since dec 1977, missing around dec 1977, missing around 1977, date last seen 1977, year last seen 1977, left home on December 7, 1977 , date last seen: December 7, 1977 , date of last contact was December 7, 1977 , vanished on December 7, 1977 , disappeared on December 7, 1977 , he disappeared on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my brother who disappeared on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my uncle who disappeared on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my son who disappeared on December 7, 1977 , searching for my son who disappeared on December 7, 1977 , searching for my cousin who disappeared on December 7, 1977 , searching for my brother who disappeared on December 7, 1977 , searching for my brother who vanished on December 7, 1977 , searching for my brother who went missing on December 7, 1977 , searching for my brother who went missing December 7, 1977 , disappeared sometime around December 7, 1977 , vanished sometime around December 7, 1977 , disappeared some time around December 7, 1977 , vanished some time around December 7, 1977 , missing since December 7, 1977 , missing since sometime around December 7, 1977 , haven’t been able to find him since December 7, 1977 , last heard from him on December 7, 1977 , we haven’t heard from him since December 7, 1977 , no one has heard from him since December 7, 1977 , no one has heard anything from him since December 7, 1977 , trying to find my cousin who vanished on December 7, 1977 , trying to find my cousin who vanished December 7, 1977 , trying to find my uncle who vanished December 7, 1977 , disappeared December 7, 1977 , vanished December 7, 1977 , became a missing person December 7, 1977 , went missing December 7, 1977 , went missing on December 7, 1977 , was last seen 12/7/1977 , was last heard from 12/7/1977 , was last seen 12/7/1977 , last date of contact: 12/7/1977 , haven’t seen him since 12/7/1977 , last seen him on 12/7/1977 , last seen him around 12/7/1977 , went missing on 12/7/1977 , last seen 12/7/1977 , have not heard from him since 12/7/1977 , disappeared around 12/7/1977 , disappeared on 12/7/1977 , vanished around 12/7/1977 , vanished on 12/7/1977 , vanished sometime around 12/7/1977 , date last seen: 12/7/1977 , date last seen is 12/7/1977 , date last seen was 12/7/1977 , trying to find my friend who disappeared on 12/7/1977 , last saw him on 12/7/1977 , went missing on 12/7/1977 , date of last contact was 12/7/1977 , became missing on 12/7/1977 , have not heard from him since 12/7/1977 , have not seen him since 12/7/1977 , have not heard anything from him 12/7/1977 , trying to find my brother who vanished on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my son who vanished on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my friend who went missing on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my uncle who went missing on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my brother who went missing 12/7/1977 , trying to find my brother who went missing on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my uncle who vanished 12/7/1977 , vanished 12/7/1977 , missing 12/7/1977 , has been lost since 12/7/1977 , no one has heard from him since 12/7/1977 , haven’t heard from him since 12/7/1977 , have not heard from him since 12/7/1977 , have not heard anything from him since 12/7/1977 , no one has heard from him since 12/7/1977 , his whereabouts have been unknown since 12/7/1977 , has been a missing person since 12/7/1977 , no one has heard from him since 12/7/1977 , no one has seen him since 12/7/1977 , left home on 12/7/1977 , date last seen: 12/7/1977 , date of last contact was 12/7/1977 , vanished on 12/7/1977 , disappeared on 12/7/1977 , he disappeared on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my brother who disappeared on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my uncle who disappeared on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my son who disappeared on 12/7/1977 , searching for my son who disappeared on 12/7/1977 , searching for my cousin who disappeared on 12/7/1977 , searching for my brother who disappeared on 12/7/1977 , searching for my brother who vanished on 12/7/1977 , searching for my brother who went missing on 12/7/1977 , searching for my brother who went missing 12/7/1977 , disappeared sometime around 12/7/1977 , vanished sometime around 12/7/1977 , disappeared some time around 12/7/1977 , vanished some time around 12/7/1977 , missing since 12/7/1977 , missing since sometime around 12/7/1977 , haven’t been able to find him since 12/7/1977 , last heard from him on 12/7/1977 , we haven’t heard from him since 12/7/1977 , no one has heard from him since 12/7/1977 , no one has heard anything from him since 12/7/1977 , trying to find my cousin who vanished on 12/7/1977 , trying to find my cousin who vanished 12/7/1977 , trying to find my uncle who vanished 12/7/1977 , disappeared 12/7/1977 , vanished 12/7/1977 , became a missing person 12/7/1977 , went missing 12/7/1977 , went missing on 12/7/1977 , was last seen 12/7/77 , was last heard from 12/7/77 , was last seen 12/7/77 , last date of contact: 12/7/77 , haven’t seen him since 12/7/77 , last seen him on 12/7/77 , last seen him around 12/7/77 , went missing on 12/7/77 , last seen 12/7/77 , have not heard from him since 12/7/77 , disappeared around 12/7/77 , disappeared on 12/7/77 , vanished around 12/7/77 , vanished on 12/7/77 , vanished sometime around 12/7/77 , date last seen: 12/7/77 , date last seen is 12/7/77 , date last seen was 12/7/77 , trying to find my friend who disappeared on 12/7/77 , last saw him on 12/7/77 , went missing on 12/7/77 , date of last contact was 12/7/77 , became missing on 12/7/77 , have not heard from him since 12/7/77 , have not seen him since 12/7/77 , have not heard anything from him 12/7/77 , trying to find my brother who vanished on 12/7/77 , trying to find my son who vanished on 12/7/77 , trying to find my friend who went missing on 12/7/77 , trying to find my uncle who went missing on 12/7/77 , trying to find my brother who went missing 12/7/77 , trying to find my brother who went missing on 12/7/77 , trying to find my uncle who vanished 12/7/77 , vanished 12/7/77 , missing 12/7/77 , has been lost since 12/7/77 , no one has heard from him since 12/7/77 , haven’t heard from him since 12/7/77 , have not heard from him since 12/7/77 , have not heard anything from him since 12/7/77 , no one has heard from him since 12/7/77 , his whereabouts have been unknown since 12/7/77 , has been a missing person since 12/7/77 , no one has heard from him since 12/7/77 , no one has seen him since 12/7/77 , left home on 12/7/77 , date last seen: 12/7/77 , date of last contact was 12/7/77 , vanished on 12/7/77 , disappeared on 12/7/77 , he disappeared on 12/7/77 , trying to find my brother who disappeared on 12/7/77 , trying to find my uncle who disappeared on 12/7/77 , trying to find my son who disappeared on 12/7/77 , searching for my son who disappeared on 12/7/77 , searching for my cousin who disappeared on 12/7/77 , searching for my brother who disappeared on 12/7/77 , searching for my brother who vanished on 12/7/77 , searching for my brother who went missing on 12/7/77 , searching for my brother who went missing 12/7/77 , disappeared sometime around 12/7/77 , vanished sometime around 12/7/77 , disappeared some time around 12/7/77 , vanished some time around 12/7/77 , missing since 12/7/77 , missing since sometime around 12/7/77 , haven’t been able to find him since 12/7/77 , last heard from him on 12/7/77 , we haven’t heard from him since 12/7/77 , no one has heard from him since 12/7/77 , no one has heard anything from him since 12/7/77 , trying to find my cousin who vanished on 12/7/77 , trying to find my cousin who vanished 12/7/77 , trying to find my uncle who vanished 12/7/77 , disappeared 12/7/77 , vanished 12/7/77 , became a missing person 12/7/77 , went missing 12/7/77 , went missing on 12/7/77 , was last seen 12-7-77 , was last heard from 12-7-77 , was last seen 12-7-77 , last date of contact: 12-7-77 , haven’t seen him since 12-7-77 , last seen him on 12-7-77 , last seen him around 12-7-77 , went missing on 12-7-77 , last seen 12-7-77 , have not heard from him since 12-7-77 , disappeared around 12-7-77 , disappeared on 12-7-77 , vanished around 12-7-77 , vanished on 12-7-77 , vanished sometime around 12-7-77 , date last seen: 12-7-77 , date last seen is 12-7-77 , date last seen was 12-7-77 , trying to find my friend who disappeared on 12-7-77 , last saw him on 12-7-77 , went missing on 12-7-77 , date of last contact was 12-7-77 , became missing on 12-7-77 , have not heard from him since 12-7-77 , have not seen him since 12-7-77 , have not heard anything from him 12-7-77 , trying to find my brother who vanished on 12-7-77 , trying to find my son who vanished on 12-7-77 , trying to find my friend who went missing on 12-7-77 , trying to find my uncle who went missing on 12-7-77 , trying to find my brother who went missing 12-7-77 , trying to find my brother who went missing on 12-7-77 , trying to find my uncle who vanished 12-7-77 , vanished 12-7-77 , missing 12-7-77 , has been lost since 12-7-77 , no one has heard from him since 12-7-77 , haven’t heard from him since 12-7-77 , have not heard from him since 12-7-77 , have not heard anything from him since 12-7-77 , no one has heard from him since 12-7-77 , his whereabouts have been unknown since 12-7-77 , has been a missing person since 12-7-77 , no one has heard from him since 12-7-77 , no one has seen him since 12-7-77 , left home on 12-7-77 , date last seen: 12-7-77 , date of last contact was 12-7-77 , vanished on 12-7-77 , disappeared on 12-7-77 , he disappeared on 12-7-77 , trying to find my brother who disappeared on 12-7-77 , trying to find my uncle who disappeared on 12-7-77 , trying to find my son who disappeared on 12-7-77 , searching for my son who disappeared on 12-7-77 , searching for my cousin who disappeared on 12-7-77 , searching for my brother who disappeared on 12-7-77 , searching for my brother who vanished on 12-7-77 , searching for my brother who went missing on 12-7-77 , searching for my brother who went missing 12-7-77 , disappeared sometime around 12-7-77 , vanished sometime around 12-7-77 , disappeared some time around 12-7-77 , vanished some time around 12-7-77 , missing since 12-7-77 , missing since sometime around 12-7-77 , haven’t been able to find him since 12-7-77 , last heard from him on 12-7-77 , we haven’t heard from him since 12-7-77 , no one has heard from him since 12-7-77 , no one has heard anything from him since 12-7-77 , trying to find my cousin who vanished on 12-7-77 , trying to find my cousin who vanished 12-7-77 , trying to find my uncle who vanished 12-7-77 , disappeared 12-7-77 , vanished 12-7-77 , became a missing person 12-7-77 , went missing 12-7-77 , went missing on 12-7-77 , was last seen 12-7-1977 , was last heard from 12-7-1977 , was last seen 12-7-1977 , last date of contact: 12-7-1977 , haven’t seen him since 12-7-1977 , last seen him on 12-7-1977 , last seen him around 12-7-1977 , went missing on 12-7-1977 , last seen 12-7-1977 , have not heard from him since 12-7-1977 , disappeared around 12-7-1977 , disappeared on 12-7-1977 , vanished around 12-7-1977 , vanished on 12-7-1977 , vanished sometime around 12-7-1977 , date last seen: 12-7-1977 , date last seen is 12-7-1977 , date last seen was 12-7-1977 , trying to find my friend who disappeared on 12-7-1977 , last saw him on 12-7-1977 , went missing on 12-7-1977 , date of last contact was 12-7-1977 , became missing on 12-7-1977 , have not heard from him since 12-7-1977 , have not seen him since 12-7-1977 , have not heard anything from him 12-7-1977 , trying to find my brother who vanished on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my son who vanished on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my friend who went missing on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my uncle who went missing on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my brother who went missing 12-7-1977 , trying to find my brother who went missing on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my uncle who vanished 12-7-1977 , vanished 12-7-1977 , missing 12-7-1977 , has been lost since 12-7-1977 , no one has heard from him since 12-7-1977 , haven’t heard from him since 12-7-1977 , have not heard from him since 12-7-1977 , have not heard anything from him since 12-7-1977 , no one has heard from him since 12-7-1977 , his whereabouts have been unknown since 12-7-1977 , has been a missing person since 12-7-1977 , no one has heard from him since 12-7-1977 , no one has seen him since 12-7-1977 , left home on 12-7-1977 , date last seen: 12-7-1977 , date of last contact was 12-7-1977 , vanished on 12-7-1977 , disappeared on 12-7-1977 , he disappeared on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my brother who disappeared on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my uncle who disappeared on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my son who disappeared on 12-7-1977 , searching for my son who disappeared on 12-7-1977 , searching for my cousin who disappeared on 12-7-1977 , searching for my brother who disappeared on 12-7-1977 , searching for my brother who vanished on 12-7-1977 , searching for my brother who went missing on 12-7-1977 , searching for my brother who went missing 12-7-1977 , disappeared sometime around 12-7-1977 , vanished sometime around 12-7-1977 , disappeared some time around 12-7-1977 , vanished some time around 12-7-1977 , missing since 12-7-1977 , missing since sometime around 12-7-1977 , haven’t been able to find him since 12-7-1977 , last heard from him on 12-7-1977 , we haven’t heard from him since 12-7-1977 , no one has heard from him since 12-7-1977 , no one has heard anything from him since 12-7-1977 , trying to find my cousin who vanished on 12-7-1977 , trying to find my cousin who vanished 12-7-1977 , trying to find my uncle who vanished 12-7-1977 , disappeared 12-7-1977 , vanished 12-7-1977 , became a missing person 12-7-1977 , went missing 12-7-1977 , went missing on 12-7-1977 , FindWilliamJeromeGangwisch, FindWilliamGangwisch, date of last contact: December 7, 1977, missing since December 7, 1977, last seen Dec 1977, missing person, missing person 1977 NJ, missing person 1977 NYC, missing person 1977 NY, 1970s cold cases, cold case, most likely deceased, not in Namus, presumed to be a John Doe, John Doe 1977, chemist, scintist, research chemist, sciences, loves science, chemistry, colgate, palmolive, colgate-palmolive, white, caucasian, brown hair, brown eyes, blue eyes, hazel eyes, green eyes, light hair, blonde hair, blond hair, dirty blonde hair, dirty blond hair, bill Gangwisch mo, bill Gangwisch Jefferson City High School