Overview

Full Name: John Daniel DeMarino

Age at Disappearance: 51, according to The Charley Project (initial WTAP reporting listed him as 53)

Date Last Seen: January 30, 2019, shortly before midnight

Last Known Location: Uncle Mike’s Bar, Seventh Street, Parkersburg, West Virginia

City / County / State: Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia

Residence at Disappearance: Spencer, Roane County, West Virginia

Case Classification: Endangered Missing Person

Current Status: Missing; unresolved as of October 20, 2026

Associated Vehicle: Silver 2015 Ford Escape, subsequently recovered in Conneaut, Ohio

NamUs Reference: MP58424, as reported by a secondary database

Investigating Agencies: Roane County Sheriff’s Department and Spencer Police Department

Main Circumstances: DeMarino disappeared after leaving a Parkersburg bar on January 30, 2019. His mother’s vehicle was subsequently discovered abandoned in northeastern Ohio. His whereabouts, the circumstances of his departure, and how the vehicle reached Ohio remain unknown.

Detailed Case Breakdown

John Daniel DeMarino: The Unsolved 2019 Disappearance from Parkersburg, West Virginia

On January 30, 2019, John Daniel DeMarino disappeared after visiting a bar in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The 51-year-old father of two reportedly ordered a beer, drank only part of it, and walked away. He never returned to finish his drink, and his family has not heard from him since.

Days later, the silver Ford Escape he had been driving was discovered abandoned at a truck stop in Conneaut, Ohio, more than three hours from where he was last seen. The vehicle was unlocked, and DeMarino was nowhere to be found.

The unusual circumstances surrounding his disappearance, particularly the abandoned vehicle and his sudden loss of contact with his children, have left investigators and loved ones with unanswered questions.

More than seven years later, his disappearance remains unresolved. His case is classified as an endangered missing-person investigation, and there has been no publicly confirmed determination that he was the victim of a homicide.

Sources: The Charley Project and WTAP.

Case Summary

Full Name: John Daniel DeMarino

Age at Disappearance: 51, according to The Charley Project (initial WTAP reporting listed him as 53)

Date Last Seen: January 30, 2019, shortly before midnight

Last Known Location: Uncle Mike’s Bar, Seventh Street, Parkersburg, West Virginia

City / County / State: Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia

Residence at Disappearance: Spencer, Roane County, West Virginia

Case Classification: Endangered Missing Person

Current Status: Missing; unresolved as of October 20, 2026

Associated Vehicle: Silver 2015 Ford Escape, subsequently recovered in Conneaut, Ohio

NamUs Reference: MP58424, as reported by a secondary database

Investigating Agencies: Roane County Sheriff’s Department and Spencer Police Department

Main Circumstances: DeMarino disappeared after leaving a Parkersburg bar on January 30, 2019. His mother’s vehicle was subsequently discovered abandoned in northeastern Ohio. His whereabouts, the circumstances of his departure, and how the vehicle reached Ohio remain unknown.

Sources: The Charley Project, WTAP, and SpotCrime.

Background: Who Was John Daniel DeMarino?

John Daniel DeMarino was a father of two who had been living with his mother in Spencer, West Virginia, in the months leading up to his disappearance.

According to The Charley Project, DeMarino had divorced approximately five months before he went missing. Following that change in his personal life, he returned to live with his mother.

His two children were important parts of his life. At the time, one was attending college and the other was still in high school. Family accounts describe him as someone who maintained regular contact with his children.

His disappearance was particularly troubling because his loved ones considered extended periods without communication highly unusual.

There were also indications that DeMarino had plans for the future. He had reportedly purchased tickets to an upcoming basketball game that he intended to attend with his son.

Those plans became significant to his family because they did not suggest an intention to abandon his life or permanently sever contact.

According to the case information compiled by The Charley Project, DeMarino had no known history of trouble with law enforcement, and there was no established evidence that he had planned to disappear.

These details provide important context, although they do not independently establish what happened to him.

Source: The Charley Project.

January 30, 2019: The Night John DeMarino Disappeared

On the evening of January 30, 2019, DeMarino traveled from the Spencer area to Parkersburg, West Virginia.

He was driving his mother’s silver 2015 Ford Escape.

His last reported sighting occurred shortly before midnight at Uncle Mike’s Bar on Seventh Street in Parkersburg.

According to the account documented by The Charley Project, DeMarino ordered a beer and drank approximately half of it.

He then got up and walked away.

An employee reportedly believed he had gone to the restroom. However, DeMarino did not return to finish his drink.

That encounter became the last publicly documented sighting of him.

At the time, DeMarino reportedly had his wallet, vehicle keys, and iPhone X with him.

The publicly available accounts do not establish why he left the bar, whether he intended to return, or where he went afterward.

They also do not establish whether he encountered another person after leaving.

Source: The Charley Project.

The Abandoned Ford Escape in Conneaut, Ohio

One of the most significant developments in the investigation was the discovery of the vehicle DeMarino had been driving.

On February 8, 2019, authorities recovered the silver Ford Escape at a Love’s truck stop in Conneaut, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border.

The location was approximately three and a half hours by road from Parkersburg.

The vehicle was reportedly unlocked and positioned across two parking spaces.

According to The Charley Project, the following items were found inside:

• A phone charger.
• An empty bag of chips.
• Loose change in a cup holder.

DeMarino was not with the vehicle.

Reports indicate that the Ford Escape had been parked at the truck stop for approximately three or four days before it was reported.

This creates an important distinction between the date the vehicle was recovered and the date it may have arrived at the location.

The available accounts do not establish who drove the Ford Escape to Conneaut, whether DeMarino was inside it when it arrived, or what happened after the vehicle was left there.

Although the abandoned vehicle became an important piece of the investigation, its discovery did not resolve the disappearance.

Sources: The Charley Project and WTAP.

Investigation History and Available Evidence

Initial missing-person investigation

Authorities in Roane County began investigating DeMarino’s disappearance after he failed to return and could not be located.

On February 11, 2019, WTAP reported that the Spencer Police Department was searching for him and that the vehicle he had taken from the Spencer area had been recovered in northern Ohio.

The news report asked anyone with information to contact law enforcement.

The investigation has been associated with both the Spencer Police Department and the Roane County Sheriff’s Department.

Because the last reported sighting occurred in West Virginia and the vehicle was found in Ohio, the case involves circumstances spanning more than one state.

However, the publicly available sources do not establish the full extent of cooperation between individual law enforcement agencies.

Source: WTAP — Man reported missing from Roane County since Jan. 30.

Cell phone information

A September 2025 case review published by Disappeared Blog reported that DeMarino’s phone last connected with a cell tower near Elizabeth, West Virginia, in connection with a call on the day he disappeared.

Elizabeth is in Wirt County, West Virginia.

This reported phone activity is potentially relevant to reconstructing his movements, but it has important limitations.

A cellular tower connection does not establish a person’s precise physical location. The publicly available account also does not provide complete call records, tower-sector information, or an independently verified investigative timeline.

Consequently, the reported phone activity should not be treated as definitive proof of the route DeMarino traveled.

Source: Disappeared Blog — The Disappearance of John DeMarino.

Vehicle evidence and unanswered questions

The discovery of the Ford Escape remains central to the case.

The vehicle’s location raises questions about how it traveled from the Parkersburg area to northeastern Ohio.

Its unlocked condition and unusual parking position have also attracted attention.

However, there is no publicly verified forensic finding establishing that a crime occurred inside the vehicle.

No confirmed public investigative report located for this article identifies fingerprints, blood evidence, DNA evidence, or other forensic results connecting a specific person to DeMarino’s disappearance.

The absence of publicly released findings should not be interpreted as proof that investigators never collected or examined such evidence.

Witness information

The most clearly documented witness account concerns the employee at Uncle Mike’s Bar who reportedly saw DeMarino leave his unfinished beer.

The employee apparently believed DeMarino was going to the restroom.

There is no publicly confirmed account establishing where he went after that observation.

No verified public source located for this article identifies an additional witness who definitively saw DeMarino at the Conneaut truck stop.

Physical description and identifying characteristics

At the time of his disappearance, DeMarino was described as:

• Height: Approximately 6 feet 2 inches to 6 feet 4 inches.
• Weight: Approximately 165 to 175 pounds.
• Eyes: Brown.
• Hair: Bald.
• Head scar: An unusual pattern of small circular scars on the back of his head, described as three or four rows of approximately eight white circles.
• Tattoos: An infinity symbol on his upper left arm; red-and-black arrows and circles on his inner right arm; and the Roman numeral XIII on his upper right arm near the shoulder.

He was reportedly wearing a green winter jacket over a red hooded sweatshirt, tan khaki pants, brown work boots, and a black wool beanie.

These details may be useful when evaluating possible sightings or unidentified-person reports.

Source: The Charley Project — John Daniel DeMarino.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

The circumstances of DeMarino’s disappearance have led to several possible explanations. None has been publicly established as the definitive account of what happened.

Could another person have been involved?

One possibility is that DeMarino encountered another individual after leaving the bar.

The recovery of his mother’s vehicle far from his last known location raises the question of whether someone else may have driven it to Ohio.

However, the vehicle’s location alone does not establish criminal involvement.

Public reporting discussed the possibility of foul play, but no confirmed homicide determination, identified suspect, or criminal charge related to his disappearance was located.

Did DeMarino travel to Ohio voluntarily?

Another possibility is that DeMarino personally drove the Ford Escape to Conneaut.

If so, investigators would still need to determine why he traveled there, why the vehicle was abandoned, and what happened afterward.

The available evidence does not establish whether he made that journey.

There is also no verified public account showing that he entered the truck stop, purchased anything there, or departed with another person.

Could he have experienced an accident or medical emergency?

An accident, sudden medical event, or other emergency cannot be excluded solely on the basis of the publicly available information.

However, no verified evidence establishes that such an event occurred.

Similarly, there is no public evidence sufficient to conclude that DeMarino intentionally disappeared or died by suicide.

Why did he stop communicating with his family?

This remains one of the most troubling questions.

His relatives described regular contact with his children as part of his normal behavior.

The upcoming basketball game he reportedly planned to attend with his son also suggested continuing family commitments.

Although these circumstances make his disappearance particularly concerning, they do not establish the cause.

The central unanswered questions remain where DeMarino went after leaving Uncle Mike’s Bar, who transported the Ford Escape to Conneaut, and what happened between January 30 and the vehicle’s recovery on February 8, 2019.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates

2020: Continued public attention

By February 2020, DeMarino had been missing for more than a year.

The Charley Project’s case entry, last updated February 26, 2020, continued to identify him as an endangered missing person.

The case profile documented his last reported movements, the recovery of the Ford Escape, and the impact of his disappearance on his family.

It also reported that his mother had died less than a year after he vanished.

Source: The Charley Project.

2024: Continued coverage of the disappearance

On March 16, 2024, True Case Files published a retrospective account of DeMarino’s disappearance.

The article revisited the unfinished drink at Uncle Mike’s Bar, the recovery of the Ford Escape in Ohio, and the uncertainty surrounding his movements.

This was a retrospective report, not a confirmed new investigative breakthrough.

Source: True Case Files — The Disappearance of John DeMarino.

2025: Updated case awareness

On September 17, 2025, Disappeared Blog published a case summary identifying DeMarino as still missing.

The article revisited his family circumstances, the last reported sighting, the abandoned vehicle, and reported cellular activity.

The publication did not establish a new arrest, identification, forensic breakthrough, or resolution.

Source: Disappeared Blog — The Disappearance of John DeMarino.

October 2026: Current publicly verifiable status

As of October 20, 2026, the available case listings and reporting continue to describe DeMarino as missing.

No publicly confirmed recent investigative developments were located establishing that he has been found, that human remains have been identified as his, or that anyone has been arrested or charged in connection with his disappearance.

The research also did not locate a verified case-specific public announcement of new DNA findings, forensic genetic genealogy results, an age-progression image, or a newly disclosed suspect.

These limitations concern publicly available information. They do not establish whether investigators are pursuing leads privately.

The case remains unresolved in the sources reviewed.

Sources: The Charley Project, Disappeared Blog, and StillMissing.us.

Conclusion: The Search for Answers Continues

The disappearance of John Daniel DeMarino remains a deeply troubling mystery involving two states, an abandoned vehicle, and a sudden break in contact with loved ones.

On January 30, 2019, he was reportedly seen leaving a Parkersburg bar after drinking only part of a beer.

On February 8, authorities recovered the Ford Escape he had been driving at a truck stop in Conneaut, Ohio.

What happened between those events remains unknown.

His family has endured years without an explanation for his disappearance. The publicly documented evidence does not establish whether he left voluntarily, experienced an emergency, or became the victim of a crime.

Even after many years, information about his movements, the Ford Escape, or anyone who may have encountered him could be significant.

Anyone with information about John Daniel DeMarino’s disappearance is encouraged to contact the Roane County Sheriff’s Department at 304-927-3410 or the Spencer Police Department at 304-927-5616.

Individuals with relevant information should report it directly to law enforcement rather than publicly identifying or accusing individuals based on speculation.

DeMarino’s children and surviving loved ones continue to deserve answers about what happened to him.