Missing
Samuel Bryan Dennis
Dennis, approximately 2000
Date and time person was reported missing : 10/07/2000
Missing location (approx) :
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 07/26/1971 (50)
Age at the time of disappearance: 29 years old
Height / Weight : 5'9 - 5'11, 150 - 160 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A long-sleeved, dark-colored shirt, jeans and Nike sneakers.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Dennis has a bald spot on the top of his head. He may have a mustache, beard or goatee. He has a scar on his right knee and the following tattoos: a heart with the name "Wendy" on his right shoulder, a Tasmanian devil on his left shoulder and a snake on one of his forearms. Dennis's nickname is Sam. Some Age at the time of disappearance: ncies may spell his middle name "Brian."
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Dennis was last seen at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Broadway Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 7, 2000. He was shopping near Typhoid Larry's Burger Dairy at the time. He was riding a red Moped with a torn seat.
Dennis has never been heard from again. He resided with roommates in the 1100 block of Swinney Avenue in 2000, but he was visiting friends when he went missing.
The last time Dennis saw his mother was in September, the month before he vanished. He went to visit her at her home in Monroeville, Indiana. During the visit he told her he smoked marijuana and said, "When I go home, they're going to kill me." He didn't say who he was referring to or why they would want to kill him. His mother didn't take his statement seriously, but she did invite him to move back in with her.
Dennis was in a reformatory school in his teens and has a minor criminal record as an adult for offenses including public intoxication and driving on a suspended license, but nothing in his life suggests he would have wanted to disappear. He was close to his mother and they spoke on the telephone on the day he went missing.
Family members said that it is uncharacteristic of Dennis to disappear; he has left town before, but never for this long. He never cashed his last paycheck from his employer.
In 2009, a man incarcerated for murder in Indiana wrote a letter confessing to Dennis's murder. He stated he killed Dennis in retaliation after Dennis molested his three-year-old son. He led authorities to the spot where he said he buried Dennis, but they didn't find anything buried there. Authorities haven't said whether they believe the man's statement, but he hasn't faced any charges in the case.
Dennis's disappearance remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.
Other information and links : ncy
Fort Wayne Police Department
219-427-1202
September 2021 updates and sources
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
The News-Sentinel
Fort Wayne Police Department
Missing Persons CyberCenter
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
October 12, 2004. February 15, 2010; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
