Episode 18: Franklin Gottschalk
Hello,
Here is episode 15 but the First Episode in my Missing Men in the Mid-West Rabbit Hole.
Let’s start off with a little information on Franklin.
Franklin Thomas Gottschalk was a 25-year-old English major at Michigan State University. He was within three credits of graduating. He hadn’t registered for the upcoming spring semester of classes at the time of his disappearance.
I am gonna give you a series of things that happened In the order they happened. I couldn’t find date for these so I can’t do a proper timeline.
He was last seen on February 2, 1997, Franklin at his residence in Mason, Michigan. When he took his brother's car, a 1977 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo, without permission.
The car was later found in a parking lot at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Cedar Street in Lansing, Michigan.
Cyclists later found two bags with belonging to Gottschalk on the Shiawassee Street bridge in Lansing. Several Items of his were missing from those bags including: his black leather jacket, his Detroit Lions coat, his wallet, and a watch his mother had given him.
The Detroit Lions coat was later found in a cornfield in the Mason area.
On Feb. 10, 2004, Gottschalk's father got a call from Capital One Vise advising him that Franklin had applied for a credit card and used his name as a reference.
Feb. 12 a security person from Capital One responded stating they had looked into the application and found no sign of a Franklin Gottschalk.
A high school classmate told police he spotted Gottschalk at a submarine shop on Okemos Road on Feb. 22, 1997.
Police search various area and had Diver search the Grand River beneath the Shiawassee Street bridge but found no clues.
According to VanceHolmes.com, "the missing student's parents, Adeline and David Gottschalk suspected there may have been a connection between their son and Ryan Getz’s case. In 1998, Adeline Gottschalk said, 'I don’t believe he is voluntarily missing. He would’ve called if he was alive . . . It’s still a mystery to me. Especially since I heard about the Getz boy, it makes me think something is going on.' She prophetically added, 'I hope it doesn’t continue, but if it does, you’ve got to stop and think.' " She also added "This is totally out of his realm," she said then. "We were very close and he always calls. It was my birthday on March 5, and he didn't call."
Here are a few things regarding the investigation at this point
There was no evidence of foul play
It is still unsure if he wanted to take a trip or not. If he did it’s still unclear if he wanted it to be permanent.
The detectives who worked on the case have all since retired.
This case follows a trend of missing or drowned college-age men throughout the Midwest in the past 10 years.
Foul play is suspected in Gottschalk's case; his family says it is uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning and they think he would have contacted them if he could have. He is a gifted public speaker who at the time of his disappearance aspired to become a teacher. His case remains unsolved.
Theories
He may have been depressed at the time and took his own life. This was thought before the fact he didn’t enroll in classes for the spring.
He could have left on his own free will to just get away and Something bad happened to him while he was alone.
Someone forced him to leave.
If Franklin is still Alive he would be 51. He is still missing so I have included his description of him at the time of his disappearance.
Name/age: Franklin Gottschalk, 25
DOB: February 2, 1972
Physical Description: 5'2", 150 pounds, brown eyes, straight brown hair (styled curly for photo)
Scar on left shoulder from a bicycle accident. Scar on solar plexus.
Residence: Mason, MI (Ingram County)
Last seen: 2/2/97 Mason, MI, possibly near Shiawassee Street bridge
If you have any information, call the Eloy Police Department at 520-466-7324.
