Unsolved Ohio: Columbus father missing for five years

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – In 2019, Dennis “Danny” Fout called his mother asking if she could pick him up in Hilliard, marking the last time anyone heard from the father of seven. Five years later, his family is searching for answers as his sister says there’s been “no trace” of him since.

At the time of his disappearance, Danny was a 44-year-old retired ironworker. Danny’s sister, Tammy Fout, said he was a family man who loved to have a good time, cookouts and dancing.

“We played a lot of mud volleyball and we were very close,” Tammy said. “We pretty much did a whole lot. From the time he was younger, he was kind of like my sidekick.”

His daughter, Kaitlyn Fout, described her father as a very generous man who would give “the shirt off his back to anybody.”

“His personality is very easygoing, friendly, can walk in a room and just kind of shine, makes friends everywhere he goes,” Kaitlyn said. “He’s very much a jokester. He can turn any terrible or sad moment and just flip it around and make the best of it.”

Before Danny went missing, he began taking medication after multiple surgeries stemming from a work-related accident that led to him suffering from a drug addiction. The addiction continued through his disappearance, according to Tammy. Danny did not have a stable living situation, a phone or a car, but stayed in regular contact with his family.

On Feb. 6, 2019, around 11 p.m., Danny called his mother from Hilliard asking for a ride. Due to the snowy weather, she was unable to pick Danny up, according to Kaitlyn. That was the last time anyone heard from Danny.

Danny received social security disability checks on the second Wednesday of each month, according to Tammy. When he did not come pick up his check on Feb. 13, the family became more concerned.

Danny’s mother reported him missing on Feb. 19, according to a Columbus police report. That day, a police officer visited a residence Danny was known to frequently stay at. The officer spoke with one of Danny’s acquaintances, who stated she had not seen him in two weeks. She was uncooperative and would not provide any further information, the police report states. Over five years later, Tammy said there is “not one lead” and “no trace” of Danny.

“Unfortunately, with Danny’s lifestyle he didn’t have a cell phone, he didn’t have a bank card on him or a car,” Tammy said. “He was untraceable, so that made it very difficult.”

Both Tammy and Kaitlyn said Danny was very close with his family and would never go this long without contacting them.

“There’s a reason he was never found,” Tammy said. “I believe something happened to him and he was hidden.”

Tammy said the first six months after Danny disappeared were a roller coaster for her family. Her father had died the month before his disappearance, then her mother was diagnosed with cancer in May and had to undergo surgery in June.

“People say time goes by so fast, but when you’re in this type of a situation, it seems like an eternity,” Tammy said.

Since Danny’s disappearance, he has become a grandfather, as one of his daughters had two children, Kaitlyn said.

“We have two new grandbabies in our family,” Kaitlyn said. “If my dad even knew that, he would just be a estatic and just seeing all the changes that me and my sisters are going through, like five years is a long time and we just wish he was here to celebrate all the happy moments.”

Danny’s family created a Facebook page, Instragam account and website dedicated to finding him. They also took part in the Andy Chapman March for the Missing and the Attorney General’s Ohio Missing Persons Day event.

“It could take one person to just see what we’re doing and maybe give us an opportunity to find him,” Kaitlyn said. “We just want our dad.”

Tammy said her mother volunteers four days a week at two soup kitchens for the homeless, hoping that she will recognize someone as Danny.

“We miss our dad and wherever he is, we hope he’s ok and we still have hope,” his daughter Danielle Fout said. “We won’t give up.”

At the time of his disappearance, Danny was 6 feet 2 and had brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a tattoo of a skull above a four leaf clover on the center of his neck, along with praying hands with a rosary on one side of his neck and the word “chaos” on the other. While the last outfit he was wearing is unknown, he often wore a ballcap, hooded sweatshirt, jeans and tennis shoes. He was known to frequent the Hilltop area. As of Thursday, he would be 50 years old.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Danny Fout is urged to call the Columbus Police Department at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 614-461-8477.

If you’re a family member of an individual with an unsolved missing persons or homicide case in Ohio, reach out to [email protected].

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