On the morning of October 6, Joe Bieger, a 59-year-old school administrator, threw on some clothes and told his wife he was going to walk their dogs. He hasn't been seen since.
Bieger's story is similar to that of Jeff Ingram, a 40-year-old man who made international headlines over the weekend when he was recognized by family and friends after he appeared on television asking for help in identifying himself. Over the weekend, Ingram appeared on several news shows asking: "If anybody recognizes me, knows who I am, please let somebody know."
Ingram had been missing since September 6 from Olympia, Washington. On September 10, he checked himself into a Denver hospital and was diagnosed with dissociative fugue, a type of amnesia.
Dallas' Joe Bieger also suffers from amnesia, and his family and friends are almost certain that he is still alive, but that, like Ingram, he may not know who or where he is.
On September 21, Bieger, an assistant athletic director at the Highlands School in Irving, had a seizure that was followed by memory loss. A week later, he had another seizure after he left work around lunchtime. He spent the rest of the day driving up and down the same road, his daughter Brandy McCally says. He was found sleeping in his car in a parking lot near the school. When he was found at about 11 that night, he had no idea what he had been doing for the past 10 to 12 hours.
His family took him to a hospital, where McCally says he was diagnosed with global amnesia. His family had kept a close eye on him since.
Since his disappearance, McCally says there have been several tips--Bieger was reportedly seen at a grocery store, near a Wal-Mart, near NorthPark Centerl and at a soup kitchen--but none of the leads has gone anywhere. The family has now enlisted the help of United Response Search and Rescue, a volunteer organization, and they spent much of yesterday putting up fliers, visiting pawn shops and talking to people throughout their neighborhood all in hopes of finding Bieger. On Friday, they even took out an advertisement in The Dallas Morning News' weekend Guide section.
Bieger, who is 5-foot-11 and weighs 190 pounds, was last seen wearing a white shirt, blue shorts or khaki pants, a gold wedding band, a gold ring with a carnelian stone and a gold ring with an onyx stone. He also has a St. Christopher's medal and a St. Joseph's medal around his neck. He may have a gray or salt and pepper beard by now. He took his dogs for a walk near Southwestern Boulevard and Skillman Street. If you have any information on Joe Bieger's whereabouts call 1-877-JOE-FIND. --Jesse Hyde
