Overview

Last Seen: Night of November 12, 2024 / early morning hours around November 13, 2024

Location: His home in Waukesha, Waukesha County, Wisconsin

Age When Missing: 32

Date of Birth: April 22, 1992

NamUs: MP135611

Waukesha Police Case: 24-44493

Circumstances: Daniel was last known to be at home in bed. His fiancée reportedly woke at approximately 1:00 a.m. and discovered that he was gone. He left behind important belongings, including his identification, phone, wallet and money. Reports indicate that a bicycle was missing from the household and authorities and family members believed Daniel might have been traveling by bicycle.

Daniel’s family said his disappearance appeared spontaneous rather than planned. At the time he disappeared, family members were particularly concerned for his welfare because he had reportedly run out of medication prescribed for schizophrenia.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Daniel William DeChant Missing Person Case: Waukesha Man Missing Since November 2024

Daniel William DeChant was 32 years old when he disappeared from his home in Waukesha, Wisconsin, during the night of November 12, 2024. He reportedly left unexpectedly, without many of the personal belongings a person would ordinarily take when planning to be away from home.

More than a year after his disappearance, publicly accessible missing-person resources continue to list DeChant as missing. His disappearance is being handled by the Waukesha Police Department under case number 24-44493, and he is listed in NamUs as MP135611.

Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: Night of November 12, 2024 / early morning hours around November 13, 2024

Location: His home in Waukesha, Waukesha County, Wisconsin

Age When Missing: 32

Date of Birth: April 22, 1992

NamUs: MP135611

Waukesha Police Case: 24-44493

Circumstances: Daniel was last known to be at home in bed. His fiancée reportedly woke at approximately 1:00 a.m. and discovered that he was gone. He left behind important belongings, including his identification, phone, wallet and money. Reports indicate that a bicycle was missing from the household and authorities and family members believed Daniel might have been traveling by bicycle.

Daniel’s family said his disappearance appeared spontaneous rather than planned. At the time he disappeared, family members were particularly concerned for his welfare because he had reportedly run out of medication prescribed for schizophrenia.

The Disappearance of Daniel DeChant

Daniel DeChant was living in Waukesha when he disappeared in November 2024. According to missing-person records and news coverage, he was last known to be at his residence on the night of November 12.

His fiancée reportedly saw him in bed that night. When she woke at approximately 1:00 a.m., Daniel was no longer there.

The circumstances immediately raised concerns because Daniel apparently had not packed for an extended absence. His identification, phone, wallet and money were reportedly left behind. CBS 58 additionally reported that he left behind his car keys, full-time job and girlfriend.

A Bicycle May Be Important to the Case

Early reports contained conflicting information about whether one or two bicycles disappeared from the household. Missing People in America and some initial news coverage reported that two family bicycles were taken.

Other community information subsequently indicated that Daniel may have left with only one bicycle. Because that detail has varied among sources, it should not be treated as conclusively established without confirmation from investigators.

What has remained consistent is the possibility that Daniel was traveling by bicycle after leaving his residence.

What Daniel Was Wearing

Daniel was described as approximately 6 feet 1 inch tall and 185 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

His reported clothing included a red Marty’s Pizza T-shirt, dark blue hoodie, black Columbia sweatpants and camouflage slider shoes. CBS 58 reported that the sweatpants had holes and that he did not take a jacket.

Those details may be particularly important because Daniel disappeared in Wisconsin in November, when prolonged exposure to cold weather can become dangerous.

Family Says His Disappearance Was Unexpected

Daniel’s mother, Sandy Smith, told CBS 58 that there was no evidence indicating that Daniel had planned to disappear. She said he had been doing well during the preceding two years, making his sudden disappearance especially unexpected for his family.

His family reported that Daniel had previously struggled with addiction and schizophrenia but had recently been doing well. According to his mother, he had run out of his schizophrenia medication shortly before he disappeared.

The family believed that his medical circumstances could have caused him to become disoriented. They also considered the possibility that he could have become associated with people experiencing homelessness, which led relatives to contact shelters and distribute information in hopes that someone would recognize him.

Search for Daniel DeChant

Family members, friends and community members began circulating Daniel’s information through missing-person organizations and social media.

A community report posted to Missing People in America claimed that a man resembling Daniel was seen at JoJo’s Playground in the Wausau area on November 18, 2024. The person reportedly had an older bicycle and a navy-colored hoodie.

That report should be regarded as an unconfirmed possible sighting, not an established movement of Daniel. Publicly available information reviewed for this article does not establish that the person at the playground was Daniel.

A November 2024 Reddit discussion concerning Daniel’s disappearance also contained community-supplied information about his movements. Because those comments were not official law-enforcement findings, they should likewise be treated as leads or community observations rather than verified facts.

Police Investigation

The Waukesha Police Department opened a missing-person investigation. In December 2024, police confirmed to CBS 58 that an investigation was ongoing.

WISN 12 subsequently reported that investigators were working with Daniel’s family to locate him.

Daniel’s disappearance was assigned Waukesha Police Department case number 24-44493. He was subsequently entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as NamUs MP135611.

Latest Publicly Available Information

A review of publicly accessible case resources through September 2026 did not locate a law-enforcement announcement stating that Daniel has been found.

Missing People in America’s Wisconsin database continues to display Daniel among Wisconsin’s missing people, identifying him as missing from Waukesha since November 12, 2024. The organization’s individual case page was last recorded as updated February 12, 2025.

Wisconsin Missing also continues to maintain a case listing for Daniel, identifying the Waukesha Police Department as the investigating agency and displaying police case number 24-44493.

Later community discussion has continued to circulate Daniel’s name. A Wisconsin Reddit post concerning missing people during the 2025 hunting season listed Daniel as missing from Waukesha and mentioned a possible Milwaukee sighting. No official confirmation of that possible sighting was located, so it should not be considered a verified location for Daniel.

No publicly documented arrest, criminal charge, confirmed abduction, homicide determination or identified suspect was located in the sources reviewed. Based on the publicly available information, Daniel’s case should therefore be described as an unresolved missing-person investigation, rather than a homicide or confirmed criminal disappearance.

Daniel DeChant Remains Missing

Daniel William DeChant disappeared under circumstances that his family described as sudden and unplanned. He apparently left his Waukesha home during the night without his identification, phone, wallet or money, and his family was immediately concerned because he had reportedly run out of medication.

The passage of time has not eliminated the importance of new information. Even a seemingly minor recollection—particularly involving a man matching Daniel’s description traveling by bicycle in Waukesha, Milwaukee or elsewhere in Wisconsin after November 12, 2024—could potentially help investigators establish what happened after he left home.

Anyone with information concerning Daniel DeChant’s whereabouts or disappearance should contact the Waukesha Police Department at 262-524-3831 and reference case 24-44493.