Body found at former Disney Mouseketeer Dennis Day's home after actor was reported as missing for months
Police have found human remains at the home of former Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer, Dennis Day, on 510 Pine Street in Phoenix. The corpse is feared to be of the missing actor since Day had been missing for over eight months now, however, the remains which were discovered at his home have not been identified yet, although the police on Thursday asked the coroner to identify them. Day's disappearance was first reported by his husband, Ernest Caswell, in July 2018, but he was unable to contact Day's family as he is ill with dementia.
The statement by the Oregon State Police department reads, "On Thursday, April 4, 2019, the Medford Assault and Death Investigation Unit (MADIU) was contacted by the Phoenix Police Department after human remains were discovered at 510 Pine Street in Phoenix, Oregon."
Day's missing had an impact on his family as his niece, Denise Norris had even initiated a search party on the Facebook page 'Help us find Dennis Day'. In order to make the public aware of the initiative, she had written, "2 dogs and a drone search for my Uncle Dennis will be starting today at 2pm. We are asking for LOTS of prayers that he will be found. We need this nightmare to end!"
The 76-year-old, who was a Mouseketeer with Disney's 'The Mickey Mouse Club' during 1956-57, was once one of the most popular child actors in America. His disappearance, hence, became a matter of concern as he left behind his beloved cat and dog, and his partner of more than 45 years, Caswell. Day's sister Nelda Adkins of Coalinga, California, mentioned in February that after the long wait her worst fears might be confirmed. She had said, "The way it looks now, unless we find a body, we're not going to find him." His car was apparently discovered near the Oregon coast about 200 miles away from his home on July 26 in the possession of two people “unfamiliar” to the couple but there was no evidence of crime.
Phoenix police Lt. Jeff Price had told Fox News at the time, that Day and Caswell were living under pretty bad conditions in their rural home. “His sister doesn’t like it when I say he [and his husband Ernie Caswell] were kind of reclusive. They didn’t leave the house. They have friends, but not that many. They weren’t social and if you saw the house you would see that they didn’t leave the house. It’s in very bad shape — very, very poor shape.” Day's family was only informed about his disappearance when the news was shown on television. Adkins told one of her relatives learned her brother was missing following a television report.
"He saw it on the news broadcast and called us immediately. I called Phoenix Police Department the very next day and we’ve been working on it ever since. The whole family got in on it.” Day was one of the many child actors who were part of 'The Mickey Mouse Club', where he would put on the iconic black ears and wear shirts with his name on them.