George James Contos

Contos, circa 2015; Tattoos on Contos's arms; Contos's car

  • Missing Since 05/09/2015
  • Missing From Palm Coast, Florida
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 01/04/1957 (67)
  • Age 58 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'11 - 6'3, 240 - 280 pounds
  • Medical Conditions Contos has diabetes.
  • Associated Vehicle(s) White four-door 1997 Lincoln Town Car with Florida license plates (accounted for)
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Gray hair, brown eyes. Contos's left leg has been amputated and he wears a prosthetic replacement. He has multiple tattoos on both arms, including a Viking helmet and the words "9-10-81 Aaron" on his left bicep and a spiderweb on his elbow. He also has lightning bolts tattooed on his abdomen. Photos of some of his arms tattoos are posted with this case summary. Contos had a mustache and a long gray goatee at the time of his disappearance. His nickname is Uncle Waldo.

Details of Disappearance

Contos was last seen in the F section of Palm Coast, Florida on May 9, 2015. He was supposed to visit a friend in South Carolina, but never arrived there and has never been heard from again. He was reported missing on May 17.

On May 20, his white four-door 1997 Lincoln Town Car with Florida license plates was found abandoned in the parking lot of an ACE Hardware Store at St. Joe Plaza along Palm Coast Parkway in Palm Coast. A photo of the car is posted with this case summary.

Contos had lived in a mobile home in the 5800 block of Apricot Lane in Daytona North, Florida for about ten years prior to his disappearance, but he was planning to return to Connecticut, where he used to live and work as a welder, and where his relatives live.

He enjoyed riding his motorcycle and going to swap meets, and he's described as a self-reliant man who was well-known in his community. He was in close contact with his family, but none of them have heard from Contos since two days before he was last seen.

Prior to his disappearance, Contos had sold some property and planned to buy a 2013 Dodge Dually truck for $15,000. Donald Corcoran, a handyman who sometimes did yard work for him, said he was going to help him get the truck. Traffic cameras showed Contos's vehicle trailing behind Corcoran's car on the day Contos disappeared; they were driving in the direction of St. Joe Plaza, where Contos's car was later found.

Based on some discarded money bands the police later found in Contos's home, about $25,000 in cash was missing from the residence when it was searched. Corcoran is known to have made several large purchases between May 11 and June 4, 2015; he spent a total of $22,834, mostly in cash.

Corcoran and his stepson, Andrew Nemec, are suspects in Contos's disappearance and presumed murder. Corcoran is known to have made a purchase at the ACE Hardware store where Contos's car was found on the day Contos was last seen, and Nemec's DNA was found on the driver's seat lever of Contos's car. The two men have not been charged, however.

In 2021, Contos's son was charged with attempted murder and and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after he allegedly chased his girlfriend with a gun, refused to comply with police orders to stop and get on the ground, and had to be stopped with a taser dart. The son's girlfriend stated he had made multiple explicit threats to kill her. He has not been named as a suspect in his father's case, however.

Contos's case remains unsolved.

Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated February 17, 2022; details of disappearance updated