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Topics: US News, TV And Film
Britt Jones
A known child actor went missing nearly 20 years ago, and the case remains just as much of a mystery as it was when it was first reported.
Joe Pichler was known on the big screen in the noughties when he starred in two Beethoven movies as a teenager. However, just a couple of years later, he would vanish without a trace.
The young actor made his start at the age of four and then jumped into roles in TV adverts at six.
But it wasn’t until he got older that he became known for his appearance in things like Touched by an Angel and Varsity Blues.
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In the 90s, he appeared in the 1996 sitcom In The House, which co-starred The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's Alfonso Ribeiro. Then, he went on to feature on Lois & Clark later that same year.
But his success skyrocketed in 2000, when he was cast in Beethoven’s third movie and then the fourth.
His last role was in 2002, and afterwards, he took a brief break from acting in Los Angeles to return to his hometown of Bremerton in 2003.
He then graduated from High school and started making plans for a return to LA.
However, just three years later, Pichler would hit the spotlight for a different reason altogether - his disappearance.
After the New Year in 2006, the 18-year-old vanished after having called a friend at 4.00am on 5 January.
While family say he was in good spirits, his friend revealed he was ‘inconsolable’ during their call that morning.
Pichler is claimed to have said he would call again in an hour, but he was never seen or heard from again.
For four days, Pichler was completely unaccounted for - but it wasn't long before police found his silver Toyota Corolla with an eerie note inside.
According to reports, Pichler had left a poem which apologised for not being a better role model for his younger brother, stipulating that he wanted all of his belongings to go to his sibling.
The car was found close to Port Washington Narrows in Bremerton, his Washington home town.
His family went on to report him as missing on 16 January, but while investigations believed he had taken his own life, his family still have hope.
His sister Shawna Pichler told the Kitsap Sun at the time: “He's probably too embarrassed to come home.
"In the worst-case scenario, if anything, it's foul play. But not suicide."
His brother Matthew then added: "He left that note saying that he wanted to start over.”
But for his mum, Kathy, ‘there was no goodbye’, which would suggest he had not meant to harm himself.
She then revealed a shocking conversation an investigator had with her, telling the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "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."
The Bremerton Police Department continue to take tips on Pichler's whereabouts.