Sheriff’s Office Seeks Answers In Cold Case Missing Persons
Calaveras, CA– The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office is highlighting unresolved investigations during September, which is Cold Case Month, including the disappearances of Jeffrey Askren in 1984 and Mark Norman Dantche in 2015, and is asking the public to come forward with any information.
Jeffrey Askren was 30 years old when he went missing on May 1, 1984. He never arrived at work in Santa Clara, and days later his red 1978 Honda Accord was found abandoned on Winton Road, east of West Point. Snow covered the ground but showed no footprints. Investigators discovered a camera lens cover near the car and a tripod inside. Askren was known to carry camera gear, but no other items or signs of him were found. He had red hair, blue eyes, stood 5-foot-9, and weighed 150 pounds. He would be 72 years old today.
Mark Dantche, 45 at the time, was last seen on May 30, 2015, in the Railroad Flat area. He had planned to go fishing near West Point that evening. He was driving a blue 1996 Subaru with a yellow kayak strapped to the roof and a dent in the front passenger fender. The vehicle bore California license plate 4YMF103. Neither Dantche, his vehicle, nor the kayak has been seen since. He would be 56 today.
Anyone with information about either disappearance is asked to call the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office Anonymous Tip Line at (209) 754-6030. More information about the Cold Case Task Force can be found here.
