No update on missing Copley man Frank Feher who has Alzheimer’s

More than two months after a well-known Copley scientist seemingly vanished without a trace, police say they have exhausted their current investigative leads and are hoping a new tip will finally provide some answers.

Dr. Frank Feher, 67, disappeared July 27 after leaving his home on South Hametown Road in Copley around 5 p.m. Despite extensive searches, repeated pleas for information and a statewide endangered missing adult alert, he has not been seen since.

New Copley Police Chief Jason Beck tells us the previously released image of Feher remains his last confirmed sighting.

“We hoped to get additional footage and/or other leads to his whereabouts, but have unfortunately not received information to locate him at this time,” Beck said.

That lack of additional surveillance is one of the lingering questions surrounding the case. Feher was known to walk frequently throughout the Copley and Norton area, and people who had seen him during those walks before his disappearance told us that, despite his Alzheimer’s disease, he generally appeared alert and able to navigate the area on his own.

Feher is an internationally recognized chemist and scientist who previously served as a professor and vice chair of the Chemistry Department at the University of California, Irvine. He later worked at Goodyear’s Innovation Center in Akron, with research spanning organosilicon chemistry, polymers, catalysis and rubber science.

His dementia diagnosis prompted authorities to classify him as an endangered missing adult after his disappearance.

Beck says investigators still can’t determine what happened after Feher’s final known sighting, or even how far he may have traveled.

“We do not know if Mr. Feher remained local or was able to travel further,” Beck said. “We do not have any surveillance footage to confirm distance traveled after the last local image.”

Police have conducted multiple searches in areas Feher was known to frequent and enlisted specialized resources, including the Ohio Special Response Team. Beck says investigators currently have no evidence suggesting foul play.

But he also confirmed that, at this point, detectives have followed the available leads as far as they can.

“I agree that current investigative leads have been exhausted,” Beck said. “While investigators remain in regular contact with family, no new evidence has come to light that would move the investigation forward at this time.”

Feher remains entered with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office as an endangered missing adult, allowing his information to continue to be distributed statewide.

Copley Police say they are prepared to devote additional resources to the investigation if new information develops, but right now, another credible sighting, piece of surveillance video or tip could be what investigators need to restart the trail.

For Beck, the lack of answers is also personal.

“I want to provide info and answers to Mr. Feher’s family and I hope that new information becomes available so that we can continue our investigative efforts,” Beck said. “It is tremendously sad to not know the whereabouts of a loved one.”

Anyone with information about Frank Feher’s disappearance is urged to contact Copley Police or the Summit County Emergency Communications Center.