Susan Cappel
Real Name: Susan Diane Wolff Cappel
Nicknames: Susan Wolff
Location: Newcomerstown, Ohio
Date: March 16, 1982
Bio
Occupation: Supermarket employee
Date of Birth: March 30, 1962
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 107 pounds
Marital Status: Divorced
Characteristics: Caucasian female, Brown hair, brown eyes,
Case
Details: Nineteen-year-old Susan Cappel vanished on March 16, 1982, from the supermarket where she worked in her hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio. Susan was walking to her car when a blue car pulled up to her, and the driver talked to her. She then got into the car and was never seen again.
In 1983, a Greyhound bus driver claimed to have picked up Susan sometime after her disappearance, taking her from Cleveland to Newcomerston. She asked to be dropped off at a filling station, but he refused to do this and dropped her off at a bus station. However, this sighting was never confirmed.
Her family has never stopped searching for her and believe that her ex-husband, Allen Cappel, was involved in her disappearance. At the time, they were fighting over custody of their son. Some believe that the custody dispute led to her disappearance. However, no one has ever been charged in the case and Susan remains missing.
Suspects: Susan's family believes that Allen may have killed her in order to get full custody over their son, Damin. Another possible theory involved two friends of Allen, Patrick and Robert Parrish. Patrick worked at the same filling station that the woman on the Greyhound bus asked to be dropped off at. Patrick owned an older model blue Plymouth Satellite, similar to the one that Susan was last seen getting into.
Her family believes that Patrick and Robert threatened Damin's life, so she agreed to disappear in order to keep her on safe. In the process, Allen would receive full custody. Two weeks after Susan vanished, Robert and Patrick died in a car accident. It is unknown what information they may have had regarding the case.
Extra Notes: The case was featured as a part of a missing persons special alert in the October 25, 1989 episode.
Results: Unsolved. In September of 2003, Allen Cappel died without ever revealing what he might have known about his ex-wife's disappearance. In 2014, her parents had her declared legally dead. They no longer believe that she went into hiding for her son's safety. They recalled that Allen was very controlling over her. She was also very excited about visiting her son on March 17 (the day after she vanished). They believe that she was most likely killed by Allen that day. However, her remains have never been found.
Links:
- Susan Cappel on the Charley Project
- Susan Cappel on the Doe Network
- Susan Cappel on NamUs
- Susan Cappel on Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office
- Missing Newcomerstown woman case still open after 17 years
- Cold case heats up: Investigators confident they’ll solve Cappel case
- Death decree issued; Disappearance of Susan Wolff Cappel unsolved after more than 30 years
- Obituary for Susan Wolff Cappel