Leaving behind his beloved cat and dog as well as his partner of more than 45 years, the former Disney child actor was reported missing back since July 2018.
- Apr 8, 2019
AceShowbiz - Human remains are found last week at the Oregon home of former Mouseketeer Dennis Day, who has been missing since July 2018. Authorities, however, have yet to identify the body as the investigation is still ongoing.
Captain Tim Fox, a spokesperson for the Oregon State Police, said to USA Today in a statement, "On Thursday April 4, 2019, the Medford Assault and Death Investigation Unit (MADIU) was contacted by the Phoenix Police Department after human remains were discovered at 510 Pine Street in Phoenix, Oregon."
The 76-year-old was reported missing from his small town of Phoenix for over 8 months. He left behind his beloved cat and dog as well as his partner of more than 45 years, Ernest Caswell. Caswell is currently living in assisted care as he suffers from dementia-related memory problems.
Denise Norris, Day's niece, posted a message on the "Help us find Dennis Day" Facebook group, which was created to generate public awareness of his disappearance. "2 dogs and a drone search for my Uncle Dennis will be starting today at 2pm," Denise wrote at that time.
It took a few months before the rest of Dennis' family in California was alerted of his disappearance. A relative "saw it on the news broadcast and called us immediately" in January, said Dennis' sister, Nelda Adkins of Coalinga, California.
She previously said, "I called Phoenix Police Department the very next day, and we’ve been working on it ever since. The whole family got in on it. The way it looks now, unless we find a body, we're not going to find him."
Prior to the discovery of the human remains, police had searched Dennis' rural home and property alongside local cemeteries and canals. But the effort went to no avail. Later on July 26, 2018, his car was found in the possession of two strangers roughly 200 miles from Day’s residence. They claimed that Dennis let them borrow it.
Authorities impounded and searched the car, though they didn't found sign of foul play.
Dennis was cast as one of the original members of 1956-57 cast of Walt Disney's "The Mickey Mouse Club."
