Table of Contents
Child Actor Joseph Pichler Disappearance Still Mystifies 20 Years Later
Joseph “Joe” Pichler was a child actor at the age of 4 and showed a larger-than-life personality and determination from the very beginning. Joe, the fourth of five children, was born on Feb. 14, 1987, in Bremerton, Washington.
It was only after a few years of auditioning that Joe finally got his first job in a Seattle-area department store commercial. 1996 found Joe steadily working in commercials and television, including guest spots on In the House, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Guideposts Junction and a feature in the movie The Fan.
Joseph Pichler Acted in Several Movies Before His Disappearance
Joseph “Joe” Pichler kept climbing the Hollywood ladder in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and branching out to both on-screen and voice jobs.
In 1997, he initiated voice acting with The Land Before Time: Sing Along Songs. He attracted a lot of attention in 1998 with his first appearance in Touched by an Angel, and that year Pichler also portrayed the young Billy character in Music from Another Room.
In 1999, Pichler’s performance as Kyle Moxon, the younger brother of James Van Der Beek’s character, Jonathan “Mox” Moxon, further boosted the popularity of Varsity Blues. He was 12 years old at the time and his career seemed to be heading upwards.
The following year, he got the part of Brennan Newton in Beethoven’s 3rd, a character he also played in Beethoven’s 4th the next year. So, the upward trend in his career didn’t stop there.
Joseph Pichler’s Family Took Him Away From Showbiz To Give Him A “Normal” Life
Joseph “Joe” Pichler’s family became concerned about the potential impact on Joe’s personality of a childhood spent in Hollywood, as his acting career started to take off.
In 2002, after starring in The Nightmare Room and Children on Their Birthdays, the Pichlers decided to relocate to Washington so that Joe could experience a childhood similar to that of other kids. Joe’s mom Kathy Pichler has talked about this move to the Kitsap Sun.
“The main thing was that he got the chance to live a normal life,” she shared, pointing out that Joe was able to handle the situation pretty well but he was not thrilled. “He’s a good kid, and he took it well, but he wasn’t really happy about it,” she said. “We always kept him really grounded.”
Joseph Pichler Intended to Continue Acting—Then Disappeared in 2006
Joseph “Joe” Pichler moved back to Washington, enrolled at Bremerton High School, and graduated in 2005. He was said to have planned a return to acting after getting his braces off and therefore giving himself a year or so after graduation to stay at home.
The day he turned 18 and became entitled to the money from his previous acting gigs, Joe left the family house and got his own apartment. His family stated that he continued to have a good relationship with them and at the same time he was hanging out more with his friends.
On Jan. 4, 2006, Joe met friends and subsequently made his last phone call very early on Jan. 5 to a friend he had spent the evening with. He said to the friend that he would call again—but he never did.
Joseph Pichler’s Car Was Located Along With a Note, but There Was No Trace of Him
Joseph “Joe” Pichler’s 2005 Toyota Corolla was found four days after he was last heard from, parked at an intersection nearby.
Recently, they found a note that was filled with poetry and personal comments in the car. The letter seemed to convey that Joe was not really a good big brother, the letter also contained instructions for the younger brother to have the belongings of the person who wrote the letter.
When they were telling the Associated Press about what the situation might be they were very vague and they only said “there is a great possibility that it could be a suicide” but Joe’s family was saying that there was no indication that he was in any kind of mental health issue.
His brother Matthew said to The Mirror, “He left us that note saying that he wanted to start from scratch.”
Family Disputes Suicide Theory as Joseph Pichler’s Case Remains Unsolved
Joseph “Joe” Pichler’s disappearance is still surrounded by mystery, and his family is denying the possibility of suicide as a reason for his disappearance.
It was reported that Joe’s sister Shawna stated that if she had to consider a worst-case scenario, she was sure it would be a case of foul play instead of suicide which was she reiterated the family’s opinion that the note showed his desire ‘to start over’.
In 2011, Joe’s mother, Kathy Pichler even took the case to the Surviving Parents Coalition where she heavily criticized the way she thought the investigation was conducted. She stated that the police handled the case “so poorly” but at the same time, her main concern is still her son and highlighting missing-person issues.”Running away is not in Joseph’s character and this is the only thing I am 100% sure of concerning his disappearance. It is so frustrating that after almost six years we still have no solution to our problem… I also find it very difficult to live each day without knowing where my son who has gone missing is,” she said.
Joseph Pichler’s Mother Says She’s Trying to Find Meaning as He is Still Missing
It has been almost 20 years since Joseph “Joe” Pichler disappeared, and his family is still without any answers — his mother confesses that she has attempted to channel that sorrow into advocacy.
In 2011, Kathy Pichler wrote an article for the Surviving Parents Coalition where she referred to the system as “very much broken,” and she mentioned that First she tried to find the meaning of her son disappearance by helping other families in the same situation.
“There is always a hope through education and prevention,” she penned. “The sole thing that I have found to be positive in my loss is when I reach out to those who are living this nightmare… I am trying now to work towards a better future so that other people won’t be forced to wear these shoes.”
This past February would have been Joe’s 39th birthday. In the records, he is still considered a missing person.
