From http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jan/02/without-a-trace-two-lives-no-signs It was two years ago Friday that Joseph "Joe" David Wolfgang Pichler mysteriously disappeared from Bremerton's east side, leaving behind few clues of where he might have gone and a family that remains vigilant in their search for him. Across town from a Mexican restaurant's parking lot where Pichler's car was found, Anna Cantea remains hopeful that she too will someday reunite with her son, Francis "Frank" Martin Cantea. The Pichler and Cantea families share a common, all-too-tragic bond: Frank and Joe are Bremerton Police's only active "missing persons" cases. The primary distinction between them is time. Joe's been missing two years, while Frank's been gone for more than three decades. Both families must come to terms with absolute uncertainty and a lack of any semblance of closure as long as both men remain missing. "People say it gets easier with time," said Shawna Pichler, 28, said of her younger brother's disappearance. "I guess that's true when you know where the person is." Advances in national record-keeping and networking between law enforcement agencies combined with the advent of DNA testing has helped breath new life into old cases. They could help bring a break to the Cantea and Pichler families. For now, they wait. Two Years Since Former Child Actor's Disappearance Joe Pichler recited a poem to a friend over the phone on Jan. 5, 2006, and told the friend to write it down, according to Bremerton Police detectives. It was the last anyone has heard from him. Pichler's car was found in the days after his disappearance, in a parking lot near the intersection of Wheaton Way and Sheridan Road. Police first considered some paper found inside the car to be that of a suicide note, because he'd mentioned giving certain family members some of his belongings. But he never mentioned wanting to end his life. A 2005 graduate of Bremerton High School, Pichler, who's 21st birthday is Feb. 14, had enjoyed a prolific child acting career as a youngster. After his first stint in a commercial for the Bon Marche at age 6, he traveled to Hollywood, where he starred in numerous television shows, commercials and movies, including 1996's "The Fan" starring Robert De Niro, 1999's Varsity Blues and the third and fourth "Beethoven" comedy films in 2000 and 2001. While he yearned to return to his acting career, Pichler got a job locally and was living on Bremerton's east side at the time of his disappearance. The subsequent hunt to find him drew the attention of national media outlets like "Inside Edition" and "Entertainment Tonight." But even their nationwide audiences failed to produce results for the family. Bremerton Police Detective Robbie Davis has monitored Pichler's bank accounts, driver's license and social security records and even his MySpace page over the past two years. "We're exploring all options," Davis said. Tips still come in from time to time, Davis said, including one recently that detectives plan to investigate in the new year. And local police have had help from both the state's attorney general's office and the FBI. "I know somebody knows something," Shawna Pichler said. 30 Years Later, Still a Mystery for Mother Theories as to the whereabouts of Francis "Frank" Martin Cantea seemed to grow wilder in each of the three decades he's been gone. Was he struck by amnesia? Picked up by someone from outer space? (He had written about UFOs in a creative-writing class at Olympic College, his mother says). Recruited by the Navy for a classified assignment? Cantea visited a friend, Dan DeRocca, on July 3, 1975 to return a borrowed record. DeRocca told the Cantea family that Frank was "rather nervous," and "declined to sit down and stay awhile." The encounter was the last time anyone has seen him alive. Another friend, Toby Daniels, called the Canteas July 6 to ask if they knew where Frank was. A look around his Elizabeth Avenue apartment turned up nothing; everything was in order except that his personal items — wallet, car and house keys, comb, loose change and cash — were strewn about on his dresser. His 1965 Mustang sat outside. Anna Cantea said she last saw her son June 22, 1975, when the family went to Seattle for an "all-day outing." He'd been "his usual easygoing self," and "didn't seem troubled at all or upset in anyway," she added. He had no run-ins with police. He'd just shed dozens of pounds off his 5 foot 9 inch frame, and was healthy. He "smiled easily," and though he didn't have a girlfriend, he had plenty of friends — and no enemies they could think of. "He'd never been in any trouble," Cantea said. Cantea has passed on all of the newspaper clippings, letters, certificates and other documents pertaining to Frank's disappearance to one of her grandsons, a sheriff's deputy in Michigan. She's also given her DNA to the Bremerton Police Department in case he's found after she dies. Whether One Year or 32, Closure Tough to Find The Pichler family has had a lot of help in their search for Joe from Janet Bates, of Longview, who volunteers as the family spokeswoman. Bates has worked on missing persons cases in every U.S. state and has a passion for helping families locate loved ones ever since her own grandfather was murdered during her youth. She's particularly passionate about the Pichler case. "I live and breathe Joe's case and I won't let it collect dust," she said. "I will not rest until this kid is brought home one way or another." She helps keep a spotlight on Joe's disappearance, including a possible upcoming spot on America's Most Wanted in January. In all of the cases she's seen, there's one common factor. "There's really no closure," she said. "You always wonder." Joe's mother, Kathy Pichler, and sister Shawna Pichler, are also finding ways to stay vigilant. The pair recently went to New York as volunteers for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Their goal is to teach local communities — from law enforcement officers to everyday citizens — what to do and what resources are available when someone's loved one goes missing. "Our goal is going to be everywhere in Washington state," Shawna Pichler said. Since his disappearance, Joe is also been made an uncle three times over — once by sister Shawna and twice by sister Samantha. Each day she works at Bremerton's VFW Hall, Anna Cantea pauses for the 6 p.m. 30 seconds of silence that honors prisoners of war and those who went missing in action. It is then she thinks of her son, Frank, most. "I just hope if he's still living, that he needed to go off," someplace, Cantea said. On Feb. 10, 2005 — close to the 30-year anniversary of his disappearance — Cantea received her son's "presumptive" death certificate. It gives Cantea some closure. She's "90 percent" sure he's not alive. But that remaining 10 percent still haunts her. Every so often a news story about the recovery of a body will pique Cantea's interest. Detective Davis has been in touch with Cantea in recent years. Aside from taking her DNA sample, he informed her that there are a number of cases where human remains haven't been identified in Washington. Because he remains an active missing person, there's always the chance Frank will be found. Cantea, 81, clings to that hope. The Pichlers, who now enter their second year of searching, are equally hopeful. But they must endure the unknown, like Cantea has for more than 3 decades, for now. "The worst feeling out of all of this is the alone feeling," Shawna Pichler said. "After time goes by, the press stops, people move on for their lives. But for us, it doesn't stop, it just keeps going." Jan. 5 Vigil: The Pichler family will be holding a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. the parking lot where Joe Pichler's car was found, at the 2800 block of Wheaton Way, behind Taqueria Los Cazadores.
Crane asked that anyone with information that could help find Pichler call Bremerton police.

Bremerton police report they?ve received more leads since the news of former child film actor Joe Pichler?s disappearance has gone national. The 18-year-old Bremerton resident has been given nationwide attention on entertainment news programs because of his past roles in several movies. Bremerton Detective Sgt. Kevin Crane said officers are continuing to follow up on information received about Pichler from local sources and from callers in other states.
Crane asked that anyone with information that could help find Pichler call Bremerton police.

The deeper Bremerton police detectives dig into the case of missing Bremerton teen and former child actor Joe Pichler, the less convinced they are that it's a case of likely suicide. Detectives confirmed today that they're "considering a wide variety of scenarios" in the mysterious case.
"We're not making any assumptions," said Detective Sgt. Kevin Crane. "We're keeping an open mind." Crane, however, said detectives do not suspect foul play in the case.
Pichler, 18, was last heard from Jan. 5. His family reported him missing Jan. 9. His car had been abandoned in a parking lot at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Wheaton Way. The lights and television were on in Pichler's apartment, near where his car was discovered, detectives said. He held two local jobs, and hasn't been to either since he went missing. Massive searches last Wednesday and Saturday by residents and law enforcement have turned up empty. A note in his car had indicated thoughts of suicide -- that he wanted certain family members to inherit some of his belongings -- but it stopped short of stating he wanted to end his life. Detectives said they'd interviewed several sources, who said Pichler expressed interest in returning to California.
Pichler, a 2005 Bremerton High School graduate, came to Bremerton from California when he was 15, after a nine-year acting career. His mother, Kathy, had encouraged him to have a "normal" teenage life for at least a couple years.
He starred in movies such as 1996's "The Fan," with Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes, 1999's "Varsity Blues," and the third and fourth installments of the "Beethoven" family comedy films in 2000 and 2001. Recently, family members said he's been experimenting with drugs and alcohol recreationally, and had wanted to return to California to act.
Pichler is 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs about 160 pounds, has brown hair and hazel eyes and has a tattoo of a "Star Wars" emblem on his right arm. If residents believe they've seen him, they can call Bremerton [police].

Bremerton -- Though Joe Pichler?s family hasn?t seen or heard from him in almost two weeks, they have new hope today that thanks to attention from national media outlets, he?ll have a far better chance to be found. The story of the disappearance of Pichler, 18, is being reported on local television stations' news broadcasts, as well as nationwide cable and Internet news carriers, which are discussing the Hollywood film career of the young actor. Pichler, a 2005 Bremerton High School graduate, starred in movies such as 1996?s "The Fan," with Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes, 1999?s "Varsity Blues," and the third and fourth installments of the "Beethoven" family comedy films, in 2000 and 2001.
A crew from the TV show "Entertainment Tonight" will be in Bremerton this morning to interview the family and the show "America?s Most Wanted" may run a spot as well, the family said. They hope that the spotlight on the search will help locate Pichler, who also made appearances on shows such as "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Touched By An Angel" and "Mad TV," as well as hundreds of commercials. "I?m just praying he?s out there somewhere," said Samantha Pichler, 20, the young actor?s sister. "I just want him home safe."
Joe Pichler?s car was found in a parking lot near the intersection of Sheridan Road and Wheaton Way. Inside was a note in which he had apparently expressed thoughts of suicide, such as leaving possessions behind for his brother, Matthew. But his family is skeptical as to whether he may have taken his own life. Massive area searches for him or his body by friends and law enforcement in the Port Madison [Washington] Narrows have come up empty, and there was nothing in the note that was cut and dry, his mother, Kathy Pichler, added. "Kids write notes all the time," she said. "It didn?t say, ?goodbye, I?m checking out.? And it was buried underneath stuff in the car." The family is critical of the Bremerton police detective?s investigation, and they say more could be done to follow up leads stemming from his disappearance.
Kathy Pichler has a message for her son, should he be able to follow any of the media?s reports: "If Joe somehow is reading this, Whatever he?s been through, we can make it better," she said.

SEATTLE -- Former child actor Joe Pichler, who appeared in two of the "Beethoven" comedies, has been missing for a week after leaving what police have characterized as a suicide note. But family members, including Pichler's mother and oldest sister, say they don't believe the two pages of poetry and other musings the 18-year-old left in his car was a suicide note. In a telephone interview Monday from her home in Bremerton, Pichler's mother, Kathy Pichler, told The Associated Press that police leveled with her early on in the investigation. She said a detective told her, "I don't know how to say this to you without sounding really bad, but basically I think your son's dead and it could take months for him to show up in the water.
Bremerton Detective Robbie Davis, the lead investigator, did not immediately return calls for comment Monday. Pichler's car was found Jan. 9 at an intersection above Port Madison [Washington] Narrows. Inside it was a note in which he said he was sorry he hadn't been a better role model for his younger brother and asked that his belongings go to 17-year-old A.J. Pichler's mother and 26-year-old sister, Shawna Woody, said police released the car to the family without fully processing it for evidence that might yield some clues to his disappearance. "They haven't fingerprinted his car. They sifted through it. They were in his apartment for about three minutes. They've done nothing," Kathy Pichler said. She said the last outgoing call on her son's cell phone was placed at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 5 to a friend who told her they had been drinking alcohol earlier that day and had written some poetry together. "There was no goodbye," she said of the cryptic note.
A native of Bremerton, across Puget Sound west of Seattle, Pichler was in a commercial for a Seattle department store at age 6. He moved to Los Angeles and appeared in "The Fan" in 1996, "Varsity Blues" in 1999 and the third and fourth installments of the "Beethoven" series, featuring the humorous adventures of a St. Bernard, in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, he had a leading role in the film "Children on Their Birthdays," a coming of age tale based on a short story by Truman Capote. His TV appearances included a part in "Touched by an Angel."
Joe Pichler returned to Bremerton to live full-time in 2002 at the urging of his mother and graduated last year from Bremerton High but never lost his passion for acting, his family said. "I just wanted him to have some normalcy in his life," Kathy Pichler told the Kitsap Sun. "He's a good boy and took it well, but he wasn't really happy about it." Woody said she did not sense her brother had been despondent. She said he seemed eager to get back into acting as soon as his braces came off his teeth. The second-youngest of five children, Joe Pichler lived across town from his parents, A.J. and 20-year-old sister, Samantha. Woody said she found it suspicious that the door to his apartment was unlocked and the lights were on - something a neighbor told her was not common for Joe.

Despite a massive search and rescue effort Saturday, combined with continued daily searches by friends and family, the whereabouts of Joe Pichler, 18, remain unknown. "We?re kind of at the, ?OK, what do we do now?? stage," said Joe?s mother, Kathy Pichler, who said that efforts in Kitsap to find her son include searching "every nook and cranny." Pichler took her search to Seattle on Sunday, hanging signs and attempting to contact media outlets to report news of her son?s disappearance.
Pichler said she?s disappointed that an all-day search and rescue mission starting at Lions Field on Saturday morning ? near where Joe disappeared ? didn?t turn up anything, but she remains confident he?ll be found. Pichler was also thankful for support from the community, who she said has given countless hours toward the effort to find her son. "I don?t know how we?re going to thank all these people," she said. "They?ve done way more than I?ve ever imagined."
Joe Pichler, a Bremerton High School class of 2005 graduate, was reported missing to police Tuesday, after his car was found in a parking lot near the intersection of Sheridan Road and Wheaton Way. He left a note in the car expressing thoughts of suicide, including how he wished he were a "stronger brother," said one of his younger siblings, Matthew Pichler. Joe Pichler also mentioned that he wanted to leave behind his belongings to Matthew, and wrote a few poems in the letter.
Still Looking.

A love of acting landed Bremerton native Joe Pichler several roles in blockbuster movies, long-running TV shows and hundreds of commercials. Now, his family and friends can only hope the 18-year-old, long removed from his Hollywood heyday as a child star, is still alive so that someday he might resume the acting career that was his passion. Pichler, who hasn?t been seen by anyone in more than a week, apparently left his car near the intersection of Wheaton Way and Sheridan Road with a note inside expressing thoughts of suicide. With help from law enforcement, the family has already orchestrated massive searches for the 2005 Bremerton High School graduate, including one Wednesday night in which 150 people showed up and helped comb sites near where his car was left in East Bremerton, as well as the beaches below on the Port Madison Narrows. A Kitsap Sheriff?s boat and search and rescue dogs also were on the lookout, and Bremerton detectives followed up leads. Still, nothing.
"We?re still optimistic," said Bremerton Detective Robbie Davis. "But we just don?t know where he is."
Pichler?s family is hopeful that another search at 8 a.m. Saturday, starting at Lions Field, will prove more successful. It isn?t known why Pichler appeared despondent in the letter he left behind. His family said that he?d been passionate in his acting pursuits for nine years, living part-time in Los Angeles until 2002. But his mother, Kathy Pichler, said she encouraged him to come home to stay, to have some semblance of a childhood. She didn?t want his life to be all work and no play, she said Thursday. "I just wanted him to have some normalcy in his life," she said. But she later said: "No, he probably never really wanted to come home ... he?s a good boy and took it well. But he wasn?t really happy about it." Despite that, the last few years as a "normal teen" were happy ones for Joe Pichler. He blended in, even giving up acting because he preferred on-screen work to live stage performances, his mother said. "It wasn?t like a big change because I always worked to make sure he had the normal stuff," Kathy Pichler said. "We always kept him really grounded. He?s always been a regular kid, with a job a teenager wouldn?t normally have."
His love of acting in front of a camera began at an early age, and Kathy Pichler remembers her son sitting in front of a TV watching the Academy Awards, saying to her: "I?m going to be there one day, Mom."
He had indeed carved an impressive path in the direction of show business, landing a spot in a commercial for the now-defunct Bon Marche department store at age 6. He later starred in movies such as 1996?s "The Fan," with Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes, 1999?s "Varsity Blues" ? in a meaty comic performance as a religion-obsessed boy ? and the third and fourth installments of the "Beethoven" family comedy films, in 2000 and 2001.
His television guest appearances include "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Touched By An Angel" and "Mad TV." His mother hopes he?ll be found alive and can continue that career where it left off. "That was his outlet," she said. "An artist paints, and that?s what they have to do ? it makes their souls OK. This is what he had to do."

Pichler Search
Searches thus far to locate Joesph D. Pichler, 18, missing from his Bremerton home for more than a week, have been unsuccessful. The family is planning to search again at 8 a.m. Saturday, starting at Lions Field.

Bremerton -- The family of a local 18-year-old reported that he has been missing for six days Tuesday, according to Bremerton police detectives. The whereabouts of Joseph D. Pichler are still unknown. His car was found in a parking lot near the intersection of Wheaton Way and Sheridan Road. A note inside indicated he may be planning to attempt suicide, detectives said.
Pichler is 6-foot-2, weighs about 160 pounds, has brown hair and hazel eyes and has a tattoo of a "Star Wars" emblem on his right arm. If residents believe they?ve seen him, they can call Bremerton [police].