The Disappearance of Logan Schiendelman

Logan Schiendelman has been missing since May 19th, 2016. He was last seen in his hometown of Tumwater, Washington, where he lived with his grandmother and half-sister at his grandmother’s home. Logan’s grandmother said she last spoke to him on the morning of May 19th, as they were both getting ready for their respective jobs. His grandmother stated that he seemed nervous, and he was claiming that he had an “epiphany” that he needed to work through. When the grandmother asked for more information, Logan said it was too difficult to explain, so she suggested that they talk about it later that day. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old never returned home and was never heard from again.

The following day, Logan’s grandmother pinged his phone to try and figure out where he was. Logan’s phone pinged off a tower near his mother’s Olympia, Washington home. His grandmother simply assumed Logan was visiting his mother, so she initially did not worry about him. She later learned that Logan’s mother had not seen him. Logan’s grandmother attempted to report him missing after that, but the police department was closed for the weekend, so she had to wait until May 23rd, 2016 to finally report his disappearance.

Once Logan was reported as missing, his family learned that there had been various sightings of both him and his car along Interstate 5 on May 20th, 2016—a day after he was last seen. A woman reported seeing Logan standing with two Caucasian men by his car, which was parked on the shoulder of the southbound Interstate near exit 95. When she later drove home, she saw that the car was still parked there with the hood up. 

Then, around 2pm that same day, three people called 911 to report a car drifting across the lanes of Interstate 5 near milepost 92. It did not appear that anybody was driving the car. It eventually veered across three lanes before hitting a concrete barrier that caused it to stop. A truck driver reported seeing a Caucasian man with red/brown hair jump out of the passenger side of the car shortly before it crashed. After exiting the vehicle, the man ran into the woods on the side of the Interstate. The description of this man does not match Logan’s description, yet it was later confirmed that the car in question was his. Logan’s cell phone, wallet, personal identification, cash, and other personal items were found inside the vehicle. An extensive search in the wooded area near the car’s location yielded no signs of him.

Logan's car

About a week after his disappearance, someone accessed Logan’s Facebook page and checked into the Olympia Regional Airport. There are no records of Logan being at the airport that day and it is unclear who, exactly, updated his page. Both investigators and Logan’s family members fear that he was suffering from an unspecified mental illness at the time of his disappearance. He remains missing today and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case. If you have any information about Logan, please report it by calling 360-786-5500.

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For further information, Logan's case is featured on season 9 on ID Channel's Disappeared.