John Curtis Adkins

• Missing Since 07/05/2009
• Missing From Ilwaco, Washington
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 12/05/1955 (68)
• Age 53 years old
• Height and Weight 5'11, 175 - 200 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Gray hair, green eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Adkins sailed on his 48-foot fishing boat, the Tiger, out of Garibaldi, Oregon on July 4, 2009. He was accompanied by two friends, Walter Bremmer and Erin Dean Rieman. The three of them sailed up the coast to Ilwaco, Washington, where the boat was supposed to get repairs in dry dock for ten days. Photos of Bremmer, Rieman and the Tiger are posted with this case summary.

According to his two companions, Adkins was last seen at an Ilwaco-area tavern at 1:00 a.m. on July 5. He spoke to his family that same day. He never arrived back at the boat to get it pulled out of the water for repairs, which is uncharacteristic of his behavior. They said they waited until the following morning for him to show up, then took the boat back to Garibaldi without him.

Adkins never returned to his home in Albany, Oregon and was never seen again. His family reported him missing on July 7.

Nine days after Adkins was reported missing, Bremmer moved to Hawaii. There he was interviewed by the police again and told another story about Adkins's disappearance, stating he had witnessed Riemer beat and strangle Adkins to death on the Tiger on the night of July 5. He said after the murder, Riemer threatened to kill Bremmer and his girlfriend unless he helped clean up the boat with bleach, dispose of Adkins's body at sea, and report him missing.

Bremmer's story was consistent with what police found on the Tiger: there was a broken window, and both Rieman's and Adkins's blood was present in the wheelhouse nearby. Bremmer said Riemer had forced Adkins's head through the window before strangling him with an extension cord.

In October 2009, Rieman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and first-degree theft in Adkins's disappearance. Photos of Rieman, Bremmer and the Tiger are posted with this case summary. Bremmer was granted immunity from prosecution for his testimony against Rieman.

At first, Rieman admitted to disposing of Adkins's body at sea, which is a gross misdemeanor, but denied any other crimes. He subsequently pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Adkins's death and was sentenced to eleven years in prison. At his sentencing, he stated, "I did not take John’s life, but nor did I protect it" and that he would accept his punishment.

In 2012, Bremmer was convicted of a murder in Hawaii, a murder that involved strangulation. After Bremmer's conviction, Rieman wrote a letter to the prosecutor in his case, stating Bremmer was the one who killed Adkins. Rieman stated he had kept this story to himself out of fear because Bremmer had threatened him and his loved ones, but he now felt free to tell the truth because Bremmer was incarcerated in Hawaii.

Rieman subsequently testified at an evidentiary hearing, saying he had witnessed the murder. He had told a completely different story to his family, the police and his attorney prior to this.

Rieman appealed his guilty plea to manslaughter on the grounds that he was factually innocent and his guilty plea had not been voluntary, but forced because of his fear that Bremmer would harm his children and grandchildren, who live in Hawaii. His appeal was denied, however, in 2020.

Adkins grew up in Salem, Oregon and graduated Sprague High School. He worked for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and later for nineteen years as a technician at Hewlett-Packard. He and Rieman decided to launch a commercial fishing venture together prior to his disappearance, and bought the Tiger to that end, hiring Bremmer as a deckhand.

Foul play is suspected in Adkins's case due to the circumstances involved.