Weird NJ: What happened to missing professor?

It was a Sunday morning when John E. Warren decided to take a walk on the Ocean County College campus for some exercise. He lived about a mile away in the Squire Village section of Toms River. He cut through the woods separating his home from the college. Estelle, his wife of 47 years at the time, would later tell an Asbury Park Press reporter, "I said to him why go through the woods? Why don't you take the car? If it gets too hot, you can drive back."

Warren was 69 years old, and his wife never saw him again. He was declared an unsolved mystery of Toms River and has been ever since.

On Aug. 8, 1983, at 8:45 a.m., Warren, a two-month retired OCC associate professor of engineering, a job he had held for 16 years, took his usual four-mile walk. Mrs. Warren would later tell the APP Warren was "very athletic" until he was diagnosed with arthritis two years prior to his disappearance. He was a jogger for more than 20 years but had to limit himself to just walking as his exercise because of his arthritis in his hip, she told the APP.

But Warren never returned from his walk. When Warren did not return home by 11 a.m. for a neighbor's pool party at 10 a.m., Mrs. Warren called the police and reported him missing, according to an Ocean County Observer article.

"He's a very considerate person… He would make it a point to call if he were even going to be a half-hour late," said Mrs. Warren to the APP in 1983. But before Mrs. Warren called the police, she retraced his steps on the dirt path where her husband would have gone for his walk. She said, at the time, she found two sets of footprints similar to his sneakers. She saw one set that went toward the college and another coming back toward home.

According to APP articles, an OCC security guard saw Warren walking on College Drive at 9:15 a.m. that Sunday, and a jogger stopped to speak with him at 9:50 a.m. on Brokaw Boulevard in Toms River, as well. The unidentified jogger told the police Warren told him "how much he envied the ability to run."

"He just couldn't stand up and lecture for six hours anymore," said Mrs. Warren about her husband. "He certainly wasn't depressed about his retirement because every summer he was on vacation," she told the APP. Police, at the time, did not suspect foul play. Mrs. Warren did not rule out foul play, saying at the time, "That comes to my mind. But who would want to do something like that?"

By 2:30 p.m., a search party was organized and looked for Warren inside buildings, on streets and in wooded areas around OCC. When he could not be found by the Silverton Volunteer Fire Co., a bloodhound, three Army National Guard helicopters and one State Police helicopter with an infrared heat detector, police and 35 volunteers from fire companies and first aid squads around the area came to assist.

But Warren could not be found, and the search was temporarily halted after a six-hour blanket search. The search continued, and on the fifth day, Lt. Fred Bahr, who was heading the investigation of Warren's disappearance, told the Observer, "The situation hasn't changed one bit...we're still conducting a search, but nothing has really changed. There are no new developments." Bahr also told the Observer the police department conducted foot searches in the woods every day for those five days.

Guy Chamberlain, a member of the sheriff's search and rescue unit, had been called every day for four days to help with the search, but, he said, the bloodhounds were no longer useful in the search for Warren because the propellers from the helicopters spread the scent, confusing the hounds.

"Too much time has elapsed since he's been missing," said Chamberlain, "I'm surprised my dog followed the scent as far as he did on Sunday."

On the eighth day of the search, the investigation was "at a stalemate," said Bahr to the Observer. The case was handed over to Detective Robert Hayes, who was re-investigating the Warren case by re-interviewing neighbors, friends and relatives. "Once we've exhausted everything, then we can't continue, and when we reach that stage of the game, the lieutenant (Bahr) and I will sit down and decide what we can and can't do," Hayes told the Observer. "There's no indication of what might have happened; it's confusing to piece it together," said Hayes on Aug. 17, 1983. "We've found no rhyme or reason to explain it."

According to Lt. Micheal Dorick, supervisor of the Detective Bureau of the Dover Township Police, there were "no leads to follow up on." Dorick decided to re-investigate the case in the summer of 2001, when he became a supervisor. Dorick said he went to re-interview some family members about Warren's case, but "some family members are not cooperating." While Dorick did not say those family members knew more about the missing Warren, he did say "anything's possible in a case like this. You just never know. I just think it's very weird how he went for a walk and disappeared, and no body was found."

Missing professor had done government work

According to Warren's resume dated May 16, 1968, he was highly trained and knowledgeable in rocket science for the United States government. Before becoming a professor at OCC, he was the senior development engineer/consultant for Nash Controls, where he developed a "fuel control system for military use on a rigid rotor helicopter." His employment background included "designing and developing scientific instruments and control systems ... designing and developing analog computers for flight control simulation."

He listed "interesting projects" while being the chief systems engineer from February 1954 to September 1956 with Airborne Accessories Corp. as "fail-safe d-c servo, 3 axis 'feel' system; engine controls and instruments; guided missile servo system; magnetic amplifiers; printed circuits; powdered iron clutches."

Many wonder if Warren's brilliance and background played a role in his disappearance when he went for his ill-fated walk Aug. 8, 1983. No body or remains were ever found, leaving police baffled to this day. The case remains unsolved.

The Professor Warren I Knew

I was a student of Mr. Warren's during his last two years with OCC. I pass by OCC regularly and think about Mr. Warren. I spoke with him exactly one week before he went missing, via phone, to tell him that I had landed a job putting my degree to use. That's the kind of guy he is/was. I remember I called him at his home from the place I was working for at the time –– the "old" Radio Shack in Brick. The guy was a great influence in my life –– very tough teacher but would spend hours with you to help you totally understand what you needed to know. Both he and I were audiophiles and he helped me design a set of speakers that I still have today.

I remember his students were invited to his retirement dinner at the Thunderbird in Ortley(?). I didn't attend and don't recall if any of my classmates did. I recall a plaque being made for him using a circuit board etching technique. The graduating class pitched in and bought him a bottle of Pinch scotch, which we knew he was fond of. I remember he was embarrassed when we gave it to him and quickly put it away in fear of the department head coming in!

Also, although I only knew Mr. Warren for a short time, I can't imagine him having jogged recently. Honestly, the guy wasn't steady on his feet and shuffled a bit. He also carried a very heavy accordion briefcase that, if it started to sway while he was walking, would cause him to literally bounce off the hallway walls.

The guy had some pretty extensive educational and professional credentials. In fact, there was a theory floating around after he disappeared that his work on missile guidance systems many years earlier may have been a contributing factor in his disappearance. But, that was just hearsay. He was always quick to tell us stories of his days with RCA and some military research projects he worked on in the '40s.

This event will always haunt me and I would like to see this case solved. I had contacted Dover PD about it back in the '90s and spoke to one of the detectives involved. Although the case file was still open, there hadn't been any movement. I always hoped that he had just "had enough" and took whatever money he had stashed away and disappeared to the south Pacific. Until proven otherwise, that's what I'll believe as it's better than the alternatives. Thanks for everything Mr. Warren –– all your advice and teachings weren't lost on me. –Bob Schwendel

Special thanks to Erik Weber for his help with this article from Weird NJ magazine, "Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets," which is available on newsstands throughout the state and on the web at www.WeirdNJ.com.