Dave Bocks - Blog Posts

Unsolved: Death of Dave Bocks

Working at a nuclear energy facility in rural Ohio, Dave Bocks was an engineer responsible for fitting pipes. The facility opened in the 1950′s, and was one of the few factories in America that produced uranium, a much sought-after material for the production of nuclear weapons at the time. The place was dangerous should things go wrong, and an incident in the fall of 1984 proved this when 200 tons of radioactive dust particles were released into the atmosphere, polluting local air and water supplies. Three years before this scandal, Dave Bocks mysteriously vanished into thin air in an incident far more horrific.

Dave normally carpooled to work with his co-worker, Harry Easterling. On the night of June 18th, 1984, Harry picked him up and they drove to work, ready to start the graveyard shift. They chatted about the usual things- Dave told his buddy that he was planning on taking his three children on holiday at some point. Though a divorcee, he had a good relationship with his kids and was apparently on good terms with his ex-wife. The pair clocked on at midnight and began work. Dave’s assignment for the night was to look at a broken water pump in building 8. Four hours later, another employee witnessed Dave sitting in a car. Dave and an unknown person were deep in conversation with both windows up, which the worker noted as being unusual based on how hot the night was. Later, Dave was seen walking into building 4, which was also unusual as there were no faults or work to be done in that particular building. Dave Bocks was never seen alive again.

His disappearance was first noticed when he didn’t show up to the 7 a.m. safety meeting. His colleagues assumed he was working overtime, probably stuck on some problem that needed fixing. 30 minutes later, an operator working in building 6 noticed a strange smell coming from the furnace. When a supervisor was called, they noticed that a sticky residue had formed on the casing inside the oven. At 11pm that night, when Dave was due to go to work again, he didn’t show up. A search of his locker revealed he hadn’t been back to change into his own clothes, meaning he had never left the site. It was discovered that at 5:15am on the morning of Dave’s disappearance, something foreign had entered the furnace in building 6. A worker had also found a piece of bone on the lip of the furnace. A horrible feeling of unease swept over the workforce as they all had the same idea: Dave had fallen into the hot liquid metal.

The plant was shut for several days while authorities investigated. Once the metal had cooled properly, they were able to unearth more bone fragments, a pair of steel-toed boots, and part of the signature thick glasses that Dave used to wear. It was clear this is where he had met his end. Police suspected suicide, as Dave had been depressed after his divorce and there were rumours he had attempted it before. His heartbroken family suspect foul play, as nobody knows who he was talking to in that car or more importantly, what they were talking about. Anonymous employees have come forward to say they believe Dave was a whistle-blower for the facility’s many safety concerns. There is a possibility that he was silenced by the factory in the most gruesome way possible. However, the truth remains a frustrating mystery.