Case file
Key facts
- Names: Leo Lester Lindeman (73) and Katherine Marie Lindeman (74) — husband and wife, who vanished together
- Last contact: September 15, 2026
- Believed missing since: About September 16, 2026; reported missing September 24, 2026
- Location: Rural Anderson/Pineville area, McDonald County, Missouri
- Descriptions: Leo — 5’7″, 143 lbs. Katherine — 5’2″, 150 lbs
- Also missing: Their small dog
- Key detail: All of their vehicles were left at the house
- Status: Still missing — listed through the Missouri State Highway Patrol Missing Persons Clearinghouse as of early October 2026, and re-checked October 20, 2026, with no report of them being found
- Investigating agency: McDonald County Sheriff’s Office — McDonald County Dispatch Center, 417-223-4318
Nobody noticed they were gone
Leo Lindeman, 73, and Katherine Lindeman, 74, lived in the rural Anderson/Pineville area of McDonald County, Missouri — country sparse enough that a couple’s absence could go unremarked for days. The last time anyone had contact with them was September 15, 2026. Authorities believe they went missing around September 16. They were not reported missing until September 24 — more than a week later.
On September 26, the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office issued a missing-person alert. Along with the couple, the alert noted that their small dog was missing too. And it carried the detail that has defined the case ever since: all of the couple’s vehicles were still at the house.
“A bit of a mystery”
McDonald County Sheriff Robert Evenson has been unusually candid about how baffling the case is. “These people, from all accounts, seemed to be very nice people, but they seemed to be private people,” he said. “For some of their neighbors to not have contact with them, that was not out of character. So we’ve got a bit of a mystery.”
The sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant for the residence. The home and surrounding properties were searched, and a grid search of the property was conducted. Investigators collected electronic evidence for examination. No sign of foul play was found.
Evenson explained the evidence collection this way, in remarks carried from his KNWA interview: “If you don’t collect it, you don’t know what you may need later on down the road until you collect it to begin with — everything that you can. So we’ve done a lot of that in the last couple of days, and a lot more of it just today.”
Leo’s sister, Leza Linderman, has spoken publicly, urging anyone who knows anything to come forward: “We do love our brother, and that’s why we’re here, is because we’re worried about them. So, if anybody has any information, even if you think it’s not important, please do give the police a call.”
Who they were
What is known about Leo and Katherine Lindeman is modest, befitting the private people their neighbors describe. They lived rurally, kept to themselves, and hardly interacted with the people around them — which meant their absence registered as nothing at all for over a week. Katherine has an adult daughter from an earlier marriage. The couple took their small dog with them, or the dog went with them; either way, the dog has not been seen either.
That combination — private people, a rural home, vehicles untouched, a dog gone too — is what has made this one of the most discussed missing-person cases of the fall. It is a disappearance with almost no friction points: no forced entry, no car abandoned on a roadside, no phone pinging from a tower. Just an empty house where a couple used to live.
Theories: what might have happened
A walk that went wrong. The couple’s dog is missing with them, which suggests they may have gone out together — a walk in the surrounding countryside that ended in injury, disorientation, or a medical event, with neither able to get help. What supports it: the missing dog, the rural terrain, their ages. What undercuts it: the searches of the home and surrounding properties, including a grid search, found no sign of them.
A medical emergency, compounded by isolation. At 73 and 74, a sudden medical event affecting one of them could have left the other unable to reach help — particularly in an area with few neighbors and spotty coverage. What supports it: their age, the privacy that delayed anyone noticing. What undercuts it: no evidence of such an event has been reported.
Something deliberate — or something criminal — that left no trace at the house. Investigators have not ruled out foul play; they have simply found no sign of it. The vehicles were left behind and the search of the residence turned up nothing, which argues against a struggle at home but does not close the question. What supports it: the sheer unexplainedness of the case. What undercuts it: everything found so far — or rather, everything not found.
What is rumor and what is fact: online discussions and videos have circulated unverified claims about the couple’s phones, wallets, and whether the house was locked, and — in a widely shared October video about the case — claims about coffee mugs and a coffee maker left out and tools left outside the home. Those home-condition details trace to social-media discussion, not to any sheriff’s-office statement. None of that has been officially confirmed, and it should be treated as unverified.
Have information?
Contact the McDonald County Dispatch Center at 417-223-4318. As Leo’s sister said, even information that seems unimportant could matter. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- September 15, 2026 — Last contact with Leo and Katherine Lindeman.
- ~September 16, 2026 — The date authorities believe the couple went missing.
- September 24, 2026 — Reported missing to authorities, more than a week after last contact.
- September 26, 2026 — McDonald County Sheriff’s Office issues a missing-person alert (first reported by KOAM); all vehicles reported at the house.
- October 2, 2026 — 979 KICK FM, 101 The Eagle, and Front Page Detectives publish coverage; Sheriff Evenson calls the case “a bit of a mystery.”
- October 3, 2026 — Early-October reporting notes the couple remain listed as missing through the Missouri State Highway Patrol Missing Persons Clearinghouse.
- October 7–10, 2026 — Regional television coverage continues; no recovery reported.
- October 20, 2026 — Still missing. Case re-checked; no agency or outlet has reported them found.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Leo and Katherine Lindeman still missing?
- Yes. As of October 20, 2026, they remain listed as missing through the Missouri State Highway Patrol Missing Persons Clearinghouse, and no outlet or agency has reported them found.
- When were Leo and Katherine Lindeman last seen or contacted?
- Last contact was September 15, 2026. Authorities believe they went missing around September 16, 2026. They were not reported missing until September 24, 2026, and the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office issued its alert on September 26. Note that some secondary coverage confuses these dates — for example, describing September 24 as the day they “disappeared,” when it was the day they were reported.
- What happened to their cars?
- Nothing — that is central to the mystery. All of the couple’s vehicles were left at the house, which is why investigators believe they did not simply drive away.
- Did police search the Lindemans’ house?
- Yes. The sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant, searched the residence and surrounding properties, conducted a grid search of the property, and collected electronic evidence for examination. No sign of foul play was found.
- Where is their dog?
- The couple’s small dog is also missing — it disappeared with them. Its breed and name have not been published in the reporting checked.
- Is foul play suspected?
- Authorities have not determined whether foul play was involved. The sheriff’s office searched the residence and surrounding properties, including a grid search, and found no sign of foul play. The case remains officially a mystery.
- Why did it take over a week to report them missing?
- The Lindemans were private people who hardly interacted with their neighbors, in a rural area — so their absence was not immediately noticed. Sheriff Evenson has said this was not out of character for them.
- How can I help?
- Share this case file. If you have any information about the Lindemans’ whereabouts, contact the McDonald County Dispatch Center at 417-223-4318.
Sources
Official / law enforcement: McDonald County Sheriff’s Office missing-person alert (September 26, 2026), via KOAM reporting; Missouri State Highway Patrol Missing Persons Clearinghouse listing (direct URL not published at time of writing; listing corroborated by October 2026 news coverage). Dispatch: 417-223-4318.
News: Front Page Detectives, “Elderly Missouri Couple Vanishes With Dog as Sheriff Calls Disappearance a ‘Mystery'” (October 2, 2026) — https://www.frontpagedetectives.com/p/elderly-missouri-couple-vanishes-with-dog-as-sheriff-calls-disappearance-a-mystery ; 979 KICK FM, “Missouri Authorities Seek Help Finding Missing Couple and Dog” (October 2, 2026) — https://979kickfm.com/ixp/463/p/missing-mcdonald-county-missouri-couple/ ; 101 The Eagle, “Missouri Authorities Seek Help Finding Missing Couple and Dog” (October 2, 2026) — https://101theeagle.com/missing-mcdonald-county-missouri-couple/
Reference: Websleuths community discussion thread — https://websleuths.com/threads/mo-leo-73-and-katherine-lindeman-74-and-their-small-dog-pineville-9-16-2026.782684/ ; The Disappearance Desk, “The Lindeman Disappearance: Two People, One Dog… and a House Full of Questions” (YouTube, October 2026) — a 14-minute video case file citing the Missouri State Highway Patrol Clearinghouse and news reporting alongside Facebook/Reddit discussion; its home-condition claims (coffee mugs, coffee maker, tools outside) are drawn from social-media discussion and are treated here as unverified, as the video itself flags speculation. Front Page Detectives also carried Sheriff Evenson’s electronic-evidence remarks from his KNWA interview, quoted above.
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.