The disappearance of 36yo Mike Vanzandt in Hermosa Beach California earlier this month continues to baffle investigators and his loved ones.
The veteran airman and father-of-three momentarily strayed from family and friends on the night of March 5, 2016, as the group was waiting in line at a popular waterfront restaurant to watch an Ultimate Fighting Championship match.
Very soon after that, Vanzandt's phone went dead and, weeks later, there are still no answers as to what happened to him.
Initial reports that he was filmed by surveillance cameras walking away with strangers proved false, according to police who claimed a closer inspection of the "grainy" footage showed the subject in it was a different man.
"The quality of the footage was very low ... the man in the video isn't him," Detective Josh Droz of the Hermosa Police announced during week-two of the unsuccessful Vanzandt hunt.
The 36-year-old's mysterious disappearance has even recently been featured on Dateline, but the publicity hasn't helped one iota in solving his missing persons case -- he's "simply fallen off the map" and his phone and bank accounts remain inactive.
Michael Vanzandt is a Caucasian adult male about 6-feet tall and 190 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. The former security forces airman, expert swimmer, and scuba diver is employed at the Edwards Air Force Base and a devoted family man.
Although "there is no evidence that foul play is involved" in his unexplained disappearance -- nor PTSD -- the Hermosa Beach Police Department is urging anyone with information to contact them at (310) 318-0360.
Tips may also be submitted directly to Detective Droz at (310) 318-0334, or by emailing him at jdroz[at]hermosapolice[dot]org.
For those who would like to financially aid the family of Mike Vanzandt so they can continue to travel to California and search for their missing relative, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched as well.
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ReplyDeleteThank you for adding Mike to your website !! The family really appreciates it. We still have not had a clue to what has happened that night but will keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteThere is now another Air Force Veteran missing, a 30 year old mother of a young daughter, Tricia Todd from Florida. I hope both of these people are found safe.
ReplyDelete@Anon May 3rd -- You're very welcome. I hope there will be a happy outcome for you and yours. If you get any news at all let us know here.
ReplyDelete@Unknown May 5th: Me too. Sorry to see that young women now appear to be included in the Smiley victimology, particularly this season. And a very busy season it has been overall. (Worst yet, despite some notable case breakthroughs in 2015 and 2016.)
Thanks for visiting the site today and for your update.
E.R.
In my heart he went for a swim, after thinking his friends ditched him( why the hell didn't they go to liquor store) it was like 50ft away b4 they left that line, if they were friends, you don't leave a friend behind.ive been there n I always say let's go look for soso,make sure he/she is safe. Not walk away n hope his nose will find us. He bought more liquor n took clothes off n went swimming n drowned, got carried away out to sea. His stuff? Homeless person found them took them, since he doesn't watch tv never known the disapperance.
ReplyDeleteOne possibility I havent seen mentioned is that if Mike did enter the ocean and go under, has an underwater search been carried out around the likely vicinity of entry? I sincerely hope an answer is found for the sake of the family's peace of mind.
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