Former ‘Beethoven’ child star missing near Seattle

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Former child actor Joe Pichler, who
starred in two of the “Beethoven” movies about the exploits of
a St. Bernard, has been missing for nearly two weeks and police
fear he has killed himself, his family said on Tuesday.

Pichler, 18, has been missing since January 5. His car was
found four days later in a parking lot near Bremerton,
Washington, where he lived alone in an apartment, his sister
Samantha Pichler said.

Pichler, who also appeared in the “The Fan” with Robert De
Niro and “Varsity Blues,” left a note in the car saying he
wanted to leave all his possessions to his younger brother, AJ,
and apologized for not being a better example for him.

The family, however, does not believe that Pichler
committed suicide despite what was written in the note.

“The police are writing it off as a suicide,” said Samantha
Pichler. “I don’t know why they think that. Everybody who knows
him, his family and his friends, think he’s out there. With all
my heart, I don’t think he killed himself.”

According to the actor’s family, Bremerton police said they
suspect that Pichler committed suicide by jumping off a bridge
near the abandoned car and his body may not surface from the
water for months.

On the last night before his disappearance, Pichler drank
alcohol with friends at his apartment. After driving one of his
guests home, Pichler called a friend in the early morning upset
about something, Samantha Pichler said.

The friend calmed him down, but no one has heard from him
since.

Pichler moved to Los Angeles as a child to pursue his
acting career, and appeared in a number of movies and
television shows. He starred in the third and fourth
installments of the “Beethoven” movies, comedies about the
antics of a mischievous St. Bernard.

The actor returned to his native Bremerton, about 22 miles
west of Seattle, three years ago and graduated from high school
this year. He had planned to return to Los Angeles to pursue
his acting career, his sister said.