Missing
Theodore Frederick Kampf
Kampf, approximately 1981; Kampf's pickup truck
Date and time person was reported missing : 07/13/1981
Missing location (approx) :
Oaklyn, New Jersey
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 03/30/1935 (86)
Age at the time of disappearance: 46 years old
Height / Weight : 5'9 - 5'10, 180 - 190 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Sandy brown hair, blue eyes. At the time of his disappearance, Kampf's hairline was receding and his hair was gray at the temples. He occasionally wears eyeglasses. He wears an upper dental plate. Kampf has caps on several of his lower teeth. He has a surgical scar on his spine that is eight inches in length.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Kampf left his residence in Oaklyn, New Jersey on July 6, 1981 for a vacation in Canada. He drove his 1980 brick/brown Chevrolet pickup truck on the excursion. A photo of the vehicle is posted at the end of this summary. Kampf's family received correspondence from him until July 11, five days after he departed.
On July 13, he called his parents and said he was in Mount Vernon, Washington and going to cross the border into Canada. This was the last time anyone heard from him.
That same day, $500 in Kampf's travelers' checks were exchanged for Canadian currency at a bank in Richmond, British Columbia. The bank was only fifteen miles north of the border and would have been the first bank a person encountered after crossing.
Investigators learned that Kampf's pickup truck had been involved in a traffic accident on July 27. An unidentified person was driving the vehicle at the time and impersonated Kampf during the course of the traffic incident. Both Kampf and an impersonator had cashed several of Kampf's travelers' checks from July to October 1981.
Kampf's pickup truck was located in a Montana ravine on October 29, 1981, three months after he initially disappeared. The vehicle was abandoned and there was no sign of Kampf or anyone else at the scene. He has not been seen since 1981. There has been no report about anyone continuing to impersonate him.
Other information and links : ncy
Oaklyn Police Department
609-854-0049
Camden County Sheriff's Department
609-225-5470
609-225-7661
September 2021 updates and sources
Camden County Sheriff's Department
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
October 12, 2004. June 4, 2013; date of disappearance corrected, two pictures added, Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
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