Michael Eugene Reapp (July 30, 1945 - January 10, 1997) was a man suspected of murdering his wife, Grace and daughter Gracie Reapp, who disappeared on June 7, 1978. Michael himself disappeared from his Florida home in October 1996 when he learned that authorities were conducting a search on his former Vermont property, where he, his wife and daughter lived when the latter two disappeared. In June 2010 he was identified as a John Doe from Yuma, Arizona, who in 1997 carjacked a man and then shot himself in the head when authorities cornered him.
Case[]
Sometime after the disappearance of Grace and Gracie Reapp, Michael moved to Jupiter, Florida. In October 1996, when he learned that Vermont police were going to conduct a search for his wife and daughter on his former Vermont property, he drove from Jupiter to New Orleans, Louisiana, taking only his toothbrush and cigarettes. The last sign of him was a withdrawal made at a New Orleans ATM.
In November, Michael’s son reported him as a missing person and in December his truck was found at a New Orleans airport, but Michael wasn’t located.
On January 10, 1997, about three months after his disappearance, Michael abducted a man at gunpoint and stole his car in Yuma, Arizona. The man escaped and called police, leading to a high speed chase. Michael was eventually forced to pull over and he then shot himself in the head. Since he didn’t have any identification with him he couldn’t be identified at the time, leaving him a John Doe. In June 2010, nearly thirteen and a half years later, investigators compared the John Doe’s fingerprint with Michael’s, which was a match.
In 2006 Michael was charged with Grace and Gracie’s murders, which was after his death and before his identification. The two remain missing and are still believed to be buried on or around the family’s former property.
Michael is buried in Yuma Pioneer Cemetery.