Redlands police came to UCLA last week to search for clues and
information about a former student who has been missing for over
three months.
Michael Niemeyer disappeared Oct. 13, 2003 and has not been seen
or heard from since. He was supposed to be on his way home to
Redlands that day.
Niemeyer left his apartment at around 2 a.m., but never came
home, said Travis Martinez, a Redlands police detective .
Police say Niemeyer, 22, was seen leaving his apartment in his
1997 red Ford Ranger, with California license plate no. 5L62573. He
had been enrolled at UCLA from 1999 to 2003, but was not enrolled
during fall 2003.
Niemeyer’s mother, Linda, said he was home for a week and
a half before his disappearance, and that he usually came home
about once a month.
She said it was unusual for him not to tell people where he was
or where he was going. She said he had not told any of his friends
or his girlfriend of two-and-a-half years of any plans before his
disappearance.
She added that Niemeyer, who was one class short of graduating
last spring, was moving back home for financial reasons. She said
he planned to get teaching credentials after graduating to become a
high school history teacher.
“He said he was coming back to Redlands, and he was going
to be moving home,” Linda said.
Police said many of Niemeyer’s belongings were still in
his apartment after his disappearance, and that there are currently
no leads on his whereabouts.
“We’re in the process of determining if he’s
in another state,” Martinez said. “We are currently
checking to see if there are any John Does in any of the
states’ county coroner’s offices ““ to see if
there are any John Does that match his description,” Martinez
said.
Martinez said he also plans to work with university police and
hopes UCPD can help with the investigation.
On Oct. 10, 1999, Michael Negrete, then a first-year student,
went missing from Dykstra Hall. His whereabouts are still
unknown.
Because of this incident, Martinez said UCPD has additional
detailed procedures in place to deal with missing students.
Martinez said he was assigned the case on Tuesday after it was
transferred back from the Los Angeles Police Department.
LAPD conducted a brief investigation, but transferred the case
back to Redlands and said it would not assume responsibility
because Niemeyer was on his way back home, Martinez said.
Oren Mayer, a fifth-year micro-biology student and one of
Niemeyer’s roommates, said Niemeyer was a big sports fan and
his long-term plan was to be a teacher and high school football
coach.
Mayer said he and Niemeyer’s other roommate met during
their first year at UCLA and were close friends. He said they
played foosball and watched and played sports together.
Mayer added that Niemeyer always had friends over and had lots
of people who were concerned about him and his whereabouts.
Niemeyer’s family moved to California from Missouri when
Michael was 7 years old ““ and his mother said he had talked
about going to UCLA ever since.
“We’re worried, we’re scared. We just want to
know what happened,” Linda said.
With reports from Robert Salonga, Bruin senior staff. To
contribute information about Michael Niemeyer’s whereabouts,
contact the Redlands Police Department at (909) 798-7688 or (909)
798-7659.