David Anthony Bocks

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Butler County Sheriffs Office Fernald Feed Materials Production Center (OH)

Missing From:

Fernald, Ohio

Summary:

David Anthony Bocks was a 39-year-old pipefitter who disappeared during the night shift on June 19, 1984, at the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center, a uranium processing plant in Ohio. His remains were found in a furnace in Plant 6 days later. The death was officially ruled a suicide, but remains highly controversial with his family and investigators questioning whether he was murdered.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Dave worked the graveyard shift (midnight to 8:30am) at the facility. Monday, June 18, 1984, began like any other evening for him. At 11pm, he met his rideshare partner, Harry Easterling, in the parking lot of a local White Castle restaurant. On that night, Harry drove them in his truck to the facility. A witness claims to have last seen Bocks sitting inside a car around 4:00 AM, "having a serious discussion with a supervisor". The last official sighting of Bocks occurred around 5:00 AM, and it was reported that he was seen walking toward Plant 4, the "Green Salt Plant." His remains were found inside the furnace in Plant 6, the metals fabrication plant. One of Dave's coworkers/carpool buddy told police that Dave was not present in Plant 4 for a scheduled safety meeting at 7:00 AM that morning. His remains were later discovered inside a uranium processing furnace located in Plant 6; a sudden 28 °F (16 °C) drop in furnace temperature (which was kept at a constant 1,350 °F (730 °C)) had been recorded at 5:15 am the night of Bocks's disappearance. In the hardened slag were chunks of bone ... and Bocks' locker key.

Additional Details:

The investigations found insufficient evidence that foul play was involved. The death was ruled a suicide. Bocks had been diagnosed with schizophrenia nearly 10 years prior, but had been taking his medication as prescribed at the time of his death. However, Casey is certain that Dave did not commit suicide. She says there was no reason for him to do that. He was in perfect health, had recently remodeled his home, had purchased groceries and cigarettes for the week, was planning a vacation with her and Matt for the following summer to Florida, and had paid all of his bills for the month. She had visited him the weekend before his death, and everything seemed normal. He also had not had a breakdown or a suicide attempt since the divorce. His psychiatrist also believed he was not suicidal. Some believed that he was murdered by one or more coworkers who suspected him of being a whistleblower in the 1984 nuclear emissions scandal. Season 3 of the Accused podcast focused on the 1984 death of Dave Bocks, a pipe fitter who worked at a controversial uranium processing plant in Fernald, Ohio. Police determined that Bocks jump or dove into a vat of molten salt kept at 1,350 degrees Fahrenheit. An experiment conducted by the podcast found it would have been incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for a man his size to enter through the available 9-inch-by-22-inch opening on top of the vat. In 1989, five years after Dave Bocks' death, the N.L.O. was shut down. Sadly, years later, Dave's family is still unable to lay him to rest. Dave's remains are just a few bone fragments and are too toxic to be buried in the ground. They have been sealed in a drum, and shipped off to a Nevada test site to be stored with other radioactive materials.

Case Last Updated:

Aug 29, 2026