COLD CASE[/u]
New Haven, November 12, 2006, AP.
Police were called today to investigate a mysterious disappearance from Stan's Stop, a neighborhood convenience store located at 1215 Adams Street. Storeowner Stan Opelmeyer became concerned when his employee, Henry Otto, disappeared while taking inventory in an enclosed storage room. The storage room has a solid concrete floor, it's brick walls and ceiling are covered in sheet rock. The only point of entry/exit is a heavy door located behind the store's front counter. When Mr. Otto failed to complete the inventory by 5 p.m., Mr. Opelmeyer entered the storeroom and found it empty. A video camera clearly shows Mr. Otto entering the room at 11 a.m., but he never reappears on the tape.
Preliminary Investigation of the circumstances at Stan's Stop (DR06-647832-114A-I-XXII), 12NOV06. Constructed from the field notes of Det's. Young and Wiley. We responded to a call-out at 1745 Hrs., and found Offs' D'Nato and Eubank at the scene with storeowner Stan Opelmeyer (4200 Elm St., Royal Elms). The storeroom where Mr. Otto allegedly disappeared from had been sealed. We first entered and checked out the room for evidence of what might have happened. It was just a storeroom filled with shelves containing a variety of merchandise carried by the store. Hanging neon fixtures lighted the room, and there was no windows. In the middle of one aisle we found a small heap of ashes (see Crimescene photos DR06-647832-114A-5, 1-12). Later analysis failed to find any unburnt residue that could identify what had been burned. We obtained the store's surveillance videotape that continuously recorded activity around the cash register, and included the storeroom's entryway (DR06-647832-114A-4). Later review of the tape showed it to be a slow business day after Mr. OTTO went into the storeroom. We isolated and refined his image (DR06-647832-114A-6). Mr. Otto is a slightly built WMA, 5'8", approximately 170 pounds. Eye and hair color could not be determined from the videotape. Mr. Otto went into the storeroom at 1047 Hrs., and is not again recorded on the tape that concluded at 1812 Hrs., when we took the tape into evidence. CSI technicians Ms. Duffy and AO Paxton arrived at 1845 Hrs. to record the scene and collect evidence. They concluded their efforts at 0415 13NOV07. Their findings are included in Appendixes DR06-647832-114A-5, 7, 10 and 15.
Follow up investigation summary into the disappearance of Henry Otto. (DR06-647832-114A-1-96) 05MAR07. Dets. Young and Wiley searched Mr. Otto's apartment at 223A Chestnut Ave. at 1313 Hrs. on 13NOV06. They found the apartment empty. There was no food on the shelves, or in the refrigerator that was unplugged. No television, radio, or telephone was found. There were no books or papers found. The single bed was neatly made up, but appeared to be unused. Five freshly laundered shirts and trousers were found hanging in the closet, but no other clothing was discovered. The rooms appeared un-naturally clean, and no fingerprints were discovered anywhere in the apartment. A canvass of the neighbors produced little beyond the fact that Mr. Otto kept to himself. He apparently arrived directly home from work on foot and wasn't seen or heard again until the following morning at 0700 when he punctually left the building. He was apparently unknown to local shop owners, grocers, restaurants and bars. The landlady, Ms. Millford (Apt. 1), produced his rental application that showed he was born 12JAN49, worked at Stan's Stop, and had just arrived from Cincinnati. That information was consistent with information obtained from Mr. Otto's Stan's Stop Employment Application dated 17JUN2000. A check with Cincinnati PD revealed that his listed previous address and work were false. No record of Henry Otto was found in any of the comprehensive data bases searched. All investigative leads have been exhausted. There is no evidence that any crime was ever committed by the individual calling himself Henry Otto who disappeared under mysterious circumstance on 12NOV06. Recommend that DR06-647832-114A- be closed pending further evidence.
