The Child Actor Who Has Been Missing For 20 Years

Born on February 14th 1987, in Bremerton, Washington, Joseph David Wolfgang Pichler was one of five children. He began his acting career at the tender age of four, and a few years later, his family relocated to Los Angeles to support his budding career in the entertainment industry.

Joseph went on to appear in numerous commercials before making his film debut in the 1996 thriller The Fan, acting alongside Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes.

In 1999, at just 12 years old, he landed one of his most memorable roles in the movie Varsity Blues. The following year, he starred in Beethoven’s 3rd and Beethoven’s 4th, family comedies centred around the lovable antics of a mischievous St. Bernard.

Joe’s career was quickly on the rise, and before long, he was sharing the spotlight with some of the era’s biggest names, including fellow child actor Frankie Muniz.

Over the next few years, Joe continued to appear in films, including the 2001 Halloween comedy When Good Ghouls Go Bad, where he starred alongside Christopher Lloyd.

His final acting role came in the 2002 film Children on Their Birthdays. In 2003, Joe’s mother, Kathy, decided he needed a break from Hollywood. Concerned about potential burnout and wanting him to focus on his education, she explained, “I just wanted him to have some normalcy in his life.”

Joe was disappointed by the decision but, being a “good boy,” he respected his mother’s wishes. After all, he fully intended to return to acting once he had completed his schooling.

During his hiatus from acting, Joe returned to his hometown in Washington and graduated in 2005. According to his family, he fully intended to move back to Hollywood the following year to resume his acting career—once his braces were removed.

At this time, Joe was living on his own in Bremerton, just across town from his parents, younger brother Matthew “A.J.” Pichler, and older sister Samantha. He had taken a part-time job as a telephone technician at Teletech, but his eyes remained set on returning to Hollywood to pursue his acting dreams.

Tragically, Joe would never get the chance to make that move.

On January 5th 2006, 18 year old Joe spent the day with friends, who later recalled that he seemed to be in good spirits. However, in the early hours of the following morning, around 4:15am, he called one of his friends. According to the friend, Joe was sobbing and inconsolable during the call. He ended the conversation by saying he would call back in an hour—but he never did. This would be the last time anyone would hear from Joseph Pichler.

Four days later, Joe’s car - a silver 2005 Toyota Corolla, was found abandoned half a mile from Port Washington Narrows — a large body of water.

A search of the vehicle revealed a note and several poems. In the note, Joe expressed a desire to be a stronger brother to his siblings and mentioned that he wanted his younger brother, Matthew, to have some of his belongings.

Investigators interpreted the note as an indication that Joe may have planned to take his own life. His family, however, strongly disagreed. They stated that he was not depressed at the time of his disappearance and had been looking forward to resuming his Hollywood career.

They believe that in the worst-case scenario, foul play occurred, but definitely not suicide.

A search of Joe’s apartment revealed that he had left his front door unlocked and the lights on—behaviour that was unusual for him. Later, Joe’s mother reported that someone had broken into his home, noting that some of Joe’s most valuable Magic: The Gathering cards were missing.

Kathy later stated that the police had not investigated any other leads, remaining firmly convinced that Joseph had taken his own life. One officer reportedly told her:

Despite extensive searches for Joe, he has never been found. His wallet and car keys were also missing from the scene where his car was discovered.

Hi mother Kathy has remained critical of investigators for giving the impression that they believed Pichler was dead, saying:

It is not clear what became of the former child actor that January night, but Joseph Pichler has now been missing for 19 years and 11 months.

If alive today, he would be 38 years old.