US Military Academy Cadet, Class of 1952, he disappeared one evening in January 1950 never to be found again. He is believed dead, and his body is still missing to this day. The USMA Register of Cadets simply lists him as "mysteriously disappeared." As of 2013, he is the only cadet in the US Military Academy to have disappeared without a trace.
After graduating from high school in Mansfield, Ohio in 1946, Richard Cox enlisted into the Army and served in intelligence, working in the S-2 Section of the 6th Constabulary Regiment in Coburg, West Germany, near the border between East and West Germany. There he rose to the rank of Sergeant. In 1947, Cox applied to West Point for admission, and was accepted into the Class of 1952, to begin his studies in January 1948. He was assigned to Company B-2. On Saturday, January 7, 1950, in his second year as a cadet, he received a telephone call to meet an Army buddy of his named George, from his old unit in Germany. He met the man in the visitor's area of Grant Hall, and the two men went to George's car, parked outside. In those days, the USMA was an open post, and anyone could drive onto the installation without being registered and identified. Cox returned shortly afterwards, and changed the time of his departure in the B-2 Company sign-out book to 6:30 pm, to show that he had gone to the Supper formation, which he actually had not attended. George returned the next day, and again on the evening of Saturday, January 14, 1950, and this time, Cox went with him, never to be seen again. At the time of his disappearance, he was engaged to marry a young woman named Betty Tiermons in his home town of Mansfield, Ohio. In the dorm, Army investigators found $87 in cash, two unmailed letters and Cox's wristwatch. He disappeared wearing his dress grays, in full overcoat. A search of the entire campus was conducted the following week, without success. To date, he is listed by the Army as having disappeared, but his whereabouts has never been determined. He was declared legally dead in 1957. There is no memorial for him.
A book by Harry J. Maihafer "Oblivion" (published 1996) details the exhaustive search and lack of discovery of Richard Cox. His exhausted investigation into the disappearance makes him believe that the person named George is really an old Army buddy of Cox from Fort Knox, KY who arranged for a phony ID for Cox. He believes that Cox, under pressure to marry from his fiancée, was also ambivalent about his sexuality (some people believed that Cox was homosexual). Disillusioned with the Military Academy and the Army, Cox decided to disappear and become someone else. He believes that Cox is still alive, and is using another name.
Parents - Father: Rupert Francis Cox, b 24 Apr 1879 in Ohio, d 15 Mar 1939 in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio; & Mother: Marguerite "Minnie" Colvin, b 20 Feb 1891 in Ohio, d 20 Apr 1986 in Nursing Home in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio.
After graduating from high school in Mansfield, Ohio in 1946, Richard Cox enlisted into the Army and served in intelligence, working in the S-2 Section of the 6th Constabulary Regiment in Coburg, West Germany, near the border between East and West Germany. There he rose to the rank of Sergeant. In 1947, Cox applied to West Point for admission, and was accepted into the Class of 1952, to begin his studies in January 1948. He was assigned to Company B-2. On Saturday, January 7, 1950, in his second year as a cadet, he received a telephone call to meet an Army buddy of his named George, from his old unit in Germany. He met the man in the visitor's area of Grant Hall, and the two men went to George's car, parked outside. In those days, the USMA was an open post, and anyone could drive onto the installation without being registered and identified. Cox returned shortly afterwards, and changed the time of his departure in the B-2 Company sign-out book to 6:30 pm, to show that he had gone to the Supper formation, which he actually had not attended. George returned the next day, and again on the evening of Saturday, January 14, 1950, and this time, Cox went with him, never to be seen again. At the time of his disappearance, he was engaged to marry a young woman named Betty Tiermons in his home town of Mansfield, Ohio. In the dorm, Army investigators found $87 in cash, two unmailed letters and Cox's wristwatch. He disappeared wearing his dress grays, in full overcoat. A search of the entire campus was conducted the following week, without success. To date, he is listed by the Army as having disappeared, but his whereabouts has never been determined. He was declared legally dead in 1957. There is no memorial for him.
A book by Harry J. Maihafer "Oblivion" (published 1996) details the exhaustive search and lack of discovery of Richard Cox. His exhausted investigation into the disappearance makes him believe that the person named George is really an old Army buddy of Cox from Fort Knox, KY who arranged for a phony ID for Cox. He believes that Cox, under pressure to marry from his fiancée, was also ambivalent about his sexuality (some people believed that Cox was homosexual). Disillusioned with the Military Academy and the Army, Cox decided to disappear and become someone else. He believes that Cox is still alive, and is using another name.
Parents - Father: Rupert Francis Cox, b 24 Apr 1879 in Ohio, d 15 Mar 1939 in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio; & Mother: Marguerite "Minnie" Colvin, b 20 Feb 1891 in Ohio, d 20 Apr 1986 in Nursing Home in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio.
US Military Academy Cadet, Class of 1952, he disappeared one evening in January 1950 never to be found again. He is believed dead, and his body is still missing to this day. The USMA Register of Cadets simply lists him as "mysteriously disappeared." As of 2013, he is the only cadet in the US Military Academy to have disappeared without a trace.
After graduating from high school in Mansfield, Ohio in 1946, Richard Cox enlisted into the Army and served in intelligence, working in the S-2 Section of the 6th Constabulary Regiment in Coburg, West Germany, near the border between East and West Germany. There he rose to the rank of Sergeant. In 1947, Cox applied to West Point for admission, and was accepted into the Class of 1952, to begin his studies in January 1948. He was assigned to Company B-2. On Saturday, January 7, 1950, in his second year as a cadet, he received a telephone call to meet an Army buddy of his named George, from his old unit in Germany. He met the man in the visitor's area of Grant Hall, and the two men went to George's car, parked outside. In those days, the USMA was an open post, and anyone could drive onto the installation without being registered and identified. Cox returned shortly afterwards, and changed the time of his departure in the B-2 Company sign-out book to 6:30 pm, to show that he had gone to the Supper formation, which he actually had not attended. George returned the next day, and again on the evening of Saturday, January 14, 1950, and this time, Cox went with him, never to be seen again. At the time of his disappearance, he was engaged to marry a young woman named Betty Tiermons in his home town of Mansfield, Ohio. In the dorm, Army investigators found $87 in cash, two unmailed letters and Cox's wristwatch. He disappeared wearing his dress grays, in full overcoat. A search of the entire campus was conducted the following week, without success. To date, he is listed by the Army as having disappeared, but his whereabouts has never been determined. He was declared legally dead in 1957. There is no memorial for him.
A book by Harry J. Maihafer "Oblivion" (published 1996) details the exhaustive search and lack of discovery of Richard Cox. His exhausted investigation into the disappearance makes him believe that the person named George is really an old Army buddy of Cox from Fort Knox, KY who arranged for a phony ID for Cox. He believes that Cox, under pressure to marry from his fiancée, was also ambivalent about his sexuality (some people believed that Cox was homosexual). Disillusioned with the Military Academy and the Army, Cox decided to disappear and become someone else. He believes that Cox is still alive, and is using another name.
Parents - Father: Rupert Francis Cox, b 24 Apr 1879 in Ohio, d 15 Mar 1939 in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio; & Mother: Marguerite "Minnie" Colvin, b 20 Feb 1891 in Ohio, d 20 Apr 1986 in Nursing Home in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio.
After graduating from high school in Mansfield, Ohio in 1946, Richard Cox enlisted into the Army and served in intelligence, working in the S-2 Section of the 6th Constabulary Regiment in Coburg, West Germany, near the border between East and West Germany. There he rose to the rank of Sergeant. In 1947, Cox applied to West Point for admission, and was accepted into the Class of 1952, to begin his studies in January 1948. He was assigned to Company B-2. On Saturday, January 7, 1950, in his second year as a cadet, he received a telephone call to meet an Army buddy of his named George, from his old unit in Germany. He met the man in the visitor's area of Grant Hall, and the two men went to George's car, parked outside. In those days, the USMA was an open post, and anyone could drive onto the installation without being registered and identified. Cox returned shortly afterwards, and changed the time of his departure in the B-2 Company sign-out book to 6:30 pm, to show that he had gone to the Supper formation, which he actually had not attended. George returned the next day, and again on the evening of Saturday, January 14, 1950, and this time, Cox went with him, never to be seen again. At the time of his disappearance, he was engaged to marry a young woman named Betty Tiermons in his home town of Mansfield, Ohio. In the dorm, Army investigators found $87 in cash, two unmailed letters and Cox's wristwatch. He disappeared wearing his dress grays, in full overcoat. A search of the entire campus was conducted the following week, without success. To date, he is listed by the Army as having disappeared, but his whereabouts has never been determined. He was declared legally dead in 1957. There is no memorial for him.
A book by Harry J. Maihafer "Oblivion" (published 1996) details the exhaustive search and lack of discovery of Richard Cox. His exhausted investigation into the disappearance makes him believe that the person named George is really an old Army buddy of Cox from Fort Knox, KY who arranged for a phony ID for Cox. He believes that Cox, under pressure to marry from his fiancée, was also ambivalent about his sexuality (some people believed that Cox was homosexual). Disillusioned with the Military Academy and the Army, Cox decided to disappear and become someone else. He believes that Cox is still alive, and is using another name.
Parents - Father: Rupert Francis Cox, b 24 Apr 1879 in Ohio, d 15 Mar 1939 in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio; & Mother: Marguerite "Minnie" Colvin, b 20 Feb 1891 in Ohio, d 20 Apr 1986 in Nursing Home in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio.
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