Curtis Pishon
A security guard disappears after his car is torched in an arson fire.

CASE DETAILS

For 10 years, Curtis Pishon cherished his career as a police officer.   Then he was stricken with multiple sclerosis, a painful muscular disorder that severely limited his mobility.   The disease progressed to the point where Curtis could no longer fire his gun accurately.   He had no choice but to turn in his badge.   His brother, Mark Pishon, believed this devastated Curtis:

"His personality changed. He became sort of quieter. And I don't think even up to the time of his disappearance he really knew what he was gonna do the rest of his life."

According to his family, Curtis became depressed and withdrawn.   But when he got a job as a factory security guard in Seabrook, New Hampshire, his self-esteem slowly returned.  

On the night of July 5, 2000, everything seemed normal.   Curtis was already well into his shift when at 1:42 AM, he called Seabrook firefighters complaining that his car was on fire.   Jeff Brown, a Deputy Chief at the Seabrook Fire Department, was on call that night:

"He pretty much said that he saw a bunch of smoke... went to find a fire extinguisher and... put the fire out. One fire extinguisher is not going to have much effect. We did notice that he did try to put out the fire. But I don't have any idea, or gut feeling--how the fire started or--or why the case ended up the way it did."

After interviewing Curtis, Deputy Chief Brown found him to be very accepting that his car had been torched.   This was puzzling to his brother Mark because Curtis had the odd habit of using his car to store what he treasured most:

"I would think that if he had seen his car on fire with his belongings in it that he would have been very upset. I would think he would have been almost in tears and in shame and I can't believe he was quiet, timid."

After the fire was extinguished, the factory's security supervisor checked on Curtis. He appeared to be alright.   Then 20 minutes later, at 3:45 AM, a factory worker noticed that Curtis was missing. An exhaustive search of the factory and the surrounding area turned up nothing.   Curtis' brother, Nicolas Pishon Jr., immediately suspected the worst:

"Our very first thought about what happened to Curt was that he could have taken his own life ... Suicide was a possibility with somebody in Curtis' condition, with MS. He had lost a job that he wanted all his life..."

Curtis had recently purchased a 9-millimeter gun from his father, so suicide seemed like a likely theory.   However, police found no trace of the gun in his car or apartment.  

Investigators next focused on the possibility that Curtis had a mental breakdown.   They believed Curtis accidentally started the fire, and then became so despondent over losing his prize possessions, that he simply walked away.   Nicholas Pishon disagreed with that theory:

"There is absolutely no way that Curtis would have, or even could have, wandered off by himself under these circumstances. Curtis was a smoker. Smokers don't leave cigarettes. You don't... go anywhere without your cigarettes. It doesn't happen. So he didn't just walk off."

It was also possible that Curtis called for a taxi or hitched a ride on a truck leaving the factory.   But investigators discovered that no cabs or company trucks left the plant during his shift.   That left a disturbing possibility for investigators--Curtis Pishon was abducted or even worse, murdered.   While exploring the possibility of foul play, investigators found that a door and two vending machines inside the factory where Curtis worked were damaged during his shift.   But no one knows who caused the damage.   For Nicholas Pishon, any possibility that his brother is alive has faded:  

"My best guess is that somebody abducted him and did him in and disposed of the body in such a way that it hasn't shown up yet... I think if he was alive he would have reached out already, and he never would have put us through this... I miss my brother. I miss Curtis. I was his best friend. And I miss him. I miss him very much."

The case remains unsolved but Curtis' family and friends hope he will someday be found.