Unsolved: The 1993 Disappearance That Led to a Shocking Arrest

On August 25, 1993, Edward Fonder, a retired machinist, went missing from his family's 12-acre property on Winding Road in Springfield.

On the morning of his disappearance, his daughter woke up at around 7:00 AM to set the breakfast table. Afterward, she returned to her room. From there, she heard her father walking down the hallway to the kitchen, opening and closing the refrigerator, and then leaving the house. She assumed he was going to pick up the newspaper from the end of the driveway. She fell back asleep, and when she woke up again, her father was gone. She checked his bedroom and the outside of the house, then called the police around 11:00 AM.

Search parties were formed, an infrared helicopter camera was utilized, and scent-tracking dogs were brought in to help locate him. A comprehensive search around his home in Springfield Township produced no leads. A bloodhound traced his scent from the front door to the road at the end of the driveway before it was lost.

Other than the clothes he was wearing, his wallet, and the antique rosewood cane he used for walking, Fonder left all his belongings behind. His wallet was found by postal officials in Allentown nearly a year after he disappeared.

His children were interviewed by the police as persons of interest, but they were never considered suspects. His adult daughter had moved in to care for him and his wife.

On April 1, 2008, Edward Fonder's daughter, Mary Jane Fonder, was arrested in connection with the case of Rhonda Smith, which occurred in January 2008. She was ultimately convicted of first-degree homicide and sentenced to life in prison.

Edward Fonder's case remains unsolved.