Disappearance of Ronald Tammen

Tammen was from Maple Heights, Ohio, the second oldest of five children.[2] In 1953, Tammen was a sophomore at Miami University living on-campus in Fischer Hall; his younger brother also attended the university. He was described as a tall handsome muscular athlete who was on the varsity wrestling team, and was a residence hall advisor. He played string bass in a band and drove a 1938 Chevrolet.[1]

At around 10:30pm on April 19, Tammen's roommate returned to their room and found the lights on, the radio playing, Tammen's coat - notably it was a snowy night - his wallet, car keys, and a book open the desk. Tammen had not returned by the next morning and authorities were notified, but Tammen was never found. The last person to see Tammen was the Hall manager earlier in the evening, when Tammen asked for a new set of bed sheets because a prankster had put a fish in his bed.[3][1]

A women from a nearby town said that someone matching Tammen's description had knocked on her door in the early morning of April 20th asking for directions to the bus stop. He appeared dazed and had a streak of dirt on his face.[1] Other sightings over the years have been reported.[3] When Fisher Hall was demolished in 1978 the ruins were searched but nothing was found.[3]

Long considered a cold case, in 2009 detectives looked into old records about a John Doe body found in 1953 in Georgia on the theory it might be the same person due to a height and weight match. They obtained DNA samples from Tammen's sister and the Georgia body, but there was no match. Nevertheless it moved the case forward by entering Tammen's DNA into a database should any other search turn it up in the future.[4]

An alumni of Miami University, Jennifer Wenger, has been researching the case since 2010. As of 2020, she is working on a book as well as maintaining a blog about Tammen.[2]