Detectives team up to solve cold case disappearances of divorced couple

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A Northeast Ohio man has been missing since the mid-1990s, and nearly a decade later, his ex-wife disappeared too.

What happened to Melvin and Florence Shoemaker?

Now detectives believe they have a new chance to crack open these cold cases.

Next week, cold case experts from across the country will get fresh eyes on their cases.

The Vidocq Society based in Philadelphia is a “not-so-secret society” you may never have heard about.

Dozens of cold case experts volunteer their time, drumming up new leads for local detectives.

They include prosecutors, forensic scientists, psychologists and detectives.

Could this be what it takes to solve the disappearances of Melvin and Florence Shoemaker?

“We’ll go over the case and hopefully get some new life breathed into it and some other eyes on it,” said Det. Trent Springer with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office.

“And just use what law enforcement does now, and just network this whole case and get more minds and more eyes looking at it,” he said.

Detectives from Geauga County and Portage County are teaming up to present their missing persons cases at the Vidocq Society next week.

“You know anytime you can get new eyes on a case, there may be something that was missed or again, you know investigators might have used a tool that was helpful for them,” said Det. Don Seamon with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office.

“I think it’s going to be a great thing and hopefully they can help us in some way,” he said.

19 Investigates got an exclusive look at the challenges local detectives are facing in these unsolved cases.

Missing: Melvin Shoemaker

In May of 1994 in Parkman Township, a concerned neighbor called the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office.

He hadn’t seen Melvin Shoemaker, 71 years old, for awhile.

“Everything at the house seemed to be in order, his cars were there, his personal effects were there, his clothes were there,” Det. Seamon said.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“There did not appear to be any sign of a struggle or any kind of foul play, but just that he had miraculously disappeared,” he said.

Melvin lived alone.

He had been divorced from Florence since 1978.

She lived with their adult son, Glenn, about 15 minutes away in Portage County.

For the first time, we’re getting an inside look at their family from detectives.

Investigators learned Melvin was a quiet guy who lived a simple life.

He was a welder and had saved up a lot of money.

Melvin had nearly a million dollars in the bank.

Det. Seamon picked up the case file decades after he went missing.

“He was a hard worker, worked hard,” Det. Seamon said.

“Had a sizable amount of money in different investments, bank accounts at the time of his disappearance,” he said.

A search warrant showed detectives where Melvin spent some of that money, but not much else.

“We did find, you know, numerous guns, ammunition. But again, nothing indicated any kind of foul play. He was just gone,” Det. Seamon said.

Detectives said Florence got nothing when they divorced.

“There was physical abuse in the relationship, from what’s being reported to us, from on Melvin’s part towards Florence,” said. Det. Springer with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office.

Countless interviews with neighbors, family and friends at the time turned up no clues in the missing persons case of Melvin Shoemaker.

Time passed and they still had nothing.

Until, about a decade later, detectives made a shocking discovery.

Missing: Florence Shoemaker

Det. Trent Springer with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office said detectives wanted to see if Florence could help with the investigation of her missing ex-husband.

“So they were looking to get a DNA sample from Glenn Shoemaker, Melvin’s son and Florence’s son,” Det. Springer said.

“Glenn was not very cooperative,” he said.

They thought Florence may be able to help them.

But they couldn’t find her.

“No one had seen Florence for upwards of two years. So we’re talking 2003,” he said.

And with that, they filed a missing persons report.

“So she, like her husband, just seemingly just disappeared off the face of the Earth,” Det. Springer said.

Florence had been living with her adult son Glenn in their Hiram Township home.

Family and friends told detectives the mother and son were close, but detectives said he never reported her missing.

“The last few times people had seen Florence, her health had been deteriorating. She needed help moving. She was not well-kempt,” Det. Springer said.

Det. Springer just recently started investigating this case.

He learned Florence had been a home health aide.

“So Glenn would say ‘she’s in Youngstown taking care of this woman’ or ‘[she’s] in Florida taking care of this woman.’ But could never provide an address or a phone number or give any information as to the whereabouts of Florence,” Det. Springer said.

“And family members had called or left messages at the house. No messages were ever returned, just she never responded,” he said.

Since Florence was missing, investigators got a search warrant for the Parkman Township home of Melvin, her ex-husband again.

Here’s Det. Don Seamon with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office.

“They actually dug up the septic system and looked into septic system to see if there was anything there-- remains or what have you, and they were not able to locate anything,” he said.

Detectives looked more closely at Melvin and Florence’s son Glenn.

They found a documented history of domestic disputes with his dad.

Detectives said their records show Melvin was held at his home by Glenn for about three months around the time of the divorce, in the late 1970s.

“Deputies had responded to Melvin’s home and he was padlocked inside the home,” Det. Seamon said.

Years passed and both cases went cold.

Son’s property searched

In September of 2018, state investigators with BCI joined local detectives in a search of Glenn’s property in Hiram Township.

His mom Florence had last lived with him there.

19 News was there as they searched Glenn’s property for several days.

According to detectives, Glenn ended up with most of his dad’s money after he went missing.

They said Glenn has no running water, electricity, or phone and dirt floors in his house.

“We went through the house extensively. It was very odd, the home. There were padlocks on the outside of the home,” said Det. Seamon with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office.

But the search turned up nothing.

“His son has not been very cooperative and giving several different explanations as to where you know, his dad could be,” Det. Seamon said.

Investigators have interviewed Glenn Shoemaker several times regarding the disappearance of his parents over the years.

They told 19 Investigates the last time they interviewed him was in 2018.

We asked Det. Seamon whether Glenn is a person of interest in this case.

“I would think that yes, he is a person of interest at this time. Yes,” Det. Seamon said.

Glenn Shoemaker, who is now 68 years old, has not been charged with any crimes in his parents’ disappearances.

He has no listed phone number, so 19 Investigates was not able to get a hold of him.

We reached out to an attorney Glenn recently worked with in a civil case by phone and email, but we have not heard back.

We also sent Glenn a letter by priority express mail and we have not heard back.

Tracking down new leads

As time continues to pass, the mystery lives on.

Florence and Melvin would be in their 90s and 100s now.

For now, the detectives working on these cases are focused on their trip to the Vidocq Society.

They hope to return to Ohio with new techniques and possible leads.

“We won’t quit. It’s just it’s not what we do. We keep looking until we find the answer,” said Det. Trent Springer.

“Somebody has to know something and we’re just asking that they come forward at this time,” said Det. Don Seamon.

If you have any information on Melvin or Florence Shoemaker’s disappearance, call the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office detective line at 440-279-2084 or Portage County Sheriff’s Office detectives at 330-351-2821.