Missing Since: 2017-06-29 Location: Longview, Washington
Johnson was last seen by neighbors at his home in Longview, Washington at 11:00 a.m. on June 29, 2017. He appeared to be going about his normal routine at the time. He has never been heard from again. The next day, his silver 2007 Honda Accord with the Washington license plate number 447XUG was found abandoned, high-centered in a roadside ditch in Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Skamania County, Washington, east of Cougar, about a hundred miles from his residence. Witnesses reported having seen the car there at 6:00 p.m. the day before. The driver’s side door was dented and the window was smashed, with glass scattered on the seat. A jacket and jumper cables were missing from the vehicle, but the keys were still inside it. It appeared as if whoever was driving the car had simply left it after it got stuck in the ditch, without attempting to get it onto the road again. Although Johnson was in good physical condition for his age and enjoyed going for walks, he doesn’t go hiking or traveling long distances, he has no connection to the national forest, his family doesn’t think he would have driven his car there. An extensive search of the area turned up no indication of his whereabouts. Johnson is a Navy veteran who served in World War II and worked for most of his life in a paper mill, and was a longtime member of the Abundant Life Church of the Nazarene in Kelso, Washington. After his wife died in 2011, he lived alone and was self-sufficient. He went for a walk twice a day, and enjoyed going to local restaurants and attending his great-grandchildren’s sporting events. There is no evidence of foul play in Johnson’s disappearance, but his family thinks he may have been robbed by someone; they stated he would have tried to help anyone who seemed to be in distress. He didn’t use credit cards and would carry a lot of cash in his wallet as a result. He didn’t carry a cellular phone, and since he went missing there’s been no activity on his bank account. The circumstances of Johnson’s case are unclear, and it remains unsolved. Investigating Agency Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office 360-577-3092 Source Information NamUs Washington State Patrol The Longview Daily News FOX 12 Oregon KGW Missing Veterans Washington State Missing Persons Information Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated June 29, 2018; casefile added.