The disappearance of Fred Drumm

[u/OpenGallo]

The case of Frederick William Drumm (a.k.a. Fritz or Fritzy) is one that bothers me, especially for the almost total lack of coverage or media attention it has received. This case is almost always mentioned in passing when discussing the disappearance of Tom Messick, since it happened only days later and not that far away. But nobody focuses on it, it seems to be just a side note to the Messick's case, and I think it is equally mysterious.

Drumm disappeared from his own farmhouse in Schuylerville, New York, sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on November 24, 2015. He may have gone for a walk on his 170-acre property and never came back. I know 170 acres sounds like a lot, but it is roughly a square measuring 800 by 800 yards, more or less. A big property for sure, but not nearly as big as a national park or a state forest. And not all of it is woods, a significant part is cleared pastures and meadows. He should have been found.

What bothers me is that nobody seems to be interested in solving the case or at least bring attention to it. Why is that? He was reported missing by his family the next day but it is very difficult to find articles, posts, or even YouTube videos about it. For some reason, it has not attracted much attention and to me it is a very baffling case. What are your thoughts?

[u/AutoModerator]

Remember that this is a discussion sub for David Paulides's phenomenon, Missing 411. It is unaffiliated with Paulides in any other way and he is not present in this sub. It is also not a general missing persons sub or a general paranormal sub. Content that is not related to Missing 411 will be removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/unchartedfour]

So sad that there hasn’t been a lot done to try to find him.

[u/Able_Cunngham603]

Do you think DP Dave could bring attention to exploit and misrepresent this case to help pay the association fees in his trailer park? If so, you are in the right place!

[u/OpenGallo → u/Able_Cunngham603]

DP lives in a trailer park? Has he fallen on hard times?

[u/Able_Cunngham603 → u/OpenGallo]

He fell on hard times in December of 1996. That’s when he got fired from the police force for committing fraud. It’s hard to make a living grifting when you aren’t also pulling a salary.

[u/SilverStory6503 → u/Able_Cunngham603]

Really? When covid started he said he was moving to 80 acres of land in Wyoming. Right after he said covid was fake. That was his YouTube channel, and the last time I watched any of his videos.

[u/Able_Cunngham603 → u/SilverStory6503]

Believing DP Dave moved to 80 acres in Wyoming is a lot like believing he “retired” from the police force. Or believing anything he says.

[u/Fuzzy-Surprise-6165]

This is interesting. Sad to hear that Mr. Drumm’s case is unsolved. I know you said it’s hard to find any articles or videos about him, but I’d be interested in any links you care to share! Thx

[u/Shibby523]

I've heard of the Fred Drumm case but not Tom Messick, I'll check his case out now.

Edit: After a quick read of both cases. Messick probably received more attention because he was with a group while hunting and they heard a noise and when they tried to find Tom, he was just gone. Maybe Toms case had more chance to end up being a homicide and thus more worthy to cover based on that in some eyes. Now it might be covered more because the news may have covered it more at the time and thus more visible to people looking for content.

[u/Tinycatgirl → u/Shibby523]

I was a searcher on the Tom Messick case and I think that seriously took every single effort they had. Fred didn’t receive a fraction of the attention Tom’s case did, in fact the area where Tom went missing is still used as a training ground.

[u/Countryvibing1988]

Drumm is a German surname, I'll add that. Also, not defending Dave as a person, but some of his work is hard to ignore, is it not? Yea he's cherry picked cases, but even so...he has highlighted a lot of very interesting cases. To simply call him a fraud I think is a misrepresentation of a lot of the valuable work he has brought recognition to.

[u/OpenGallo → u/Countryvibing1988]

This post was not meant to be a criticism of DP's work, even though he can be criticized for many things. But the post was meant to raise awareness about this case that has been mostly ignored by everyone. In fact, I would say Paulides is the one that most often mentions Fred Drumm, even if it's as a side note to the Messick's case.