Kenneth Earl Mohler

• Missing Since 08/17/2012
• Missing From Newton, North Carolina
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 06/03/1942 (82)
• Age 70 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 190 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A white or gray t-shirt, jeans and mid-calf work boots.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Hazel eyes. Mohler is bald. He wears eyeglasses, but they were left behind. His nickname is Ken.

Details of Disappearance

Mohler was last seen in Newton, North Carolina on August 17, 2012. He worked the third shift as a maintenance employee at Gregory Wood Products, a lumberyard in the 2800 block of Woodtech Drive. He contacted his wife at 7:30 p.m. to say he'd be home soon, then texted his boss at 8:05 p.m., saying he had finished a waterline repair. He has never been heard from again.

The next morning his truck was found in the parking lot of the business. The employees searched the 57-acre property when Mohler's wife called there looking for him, but couldn't find any indication as to his whereabouts. They did find Mohler's keys and cellular phone lying in the dirt near the truck. His glasses were in the bed of the truck, and his paycheck was in the truck as well. After Mohler's coworker located these items, he called 911.

Investigators searched the lumberyard, and a piece of "flesh-like material” with red stains consistent with blood, and white hair, was located in some soil on the property. DNA testing later proved the "flesh-like material" was Mohler's, but there was no sign of him.

In November 2017, a witness told police she'd overheard two men, who were drunk, talk about killing Mohler. Supposedly, they were stealing from the lumberyard when Mohler caught them, and in the struggle he was unintentionally killed. The men reportedly said they'd dumped the body in an abandoned well in the woods. In 2019, acting on this information, police dug up an abandoned well near the lumberyard. An officer thought he smelled human remains there, but the dig turned up nothing of interest.

Mohler is an Army veteran and a religious man who helped found Fresh Oil Ministries, a church in Hickory, North Carolina. He was also a strong believer in alternative medicine and kept an herb garden. He was close to his family and hoped to be named the legal guardian of his young granddaughter.

Foul play is suspected in Mohler's case; both police and his loved ones believe he was attacked at his workplace and abducted. His case remains unsolved.