From the Charley Project:
Name: Geoffrey David Apke
Classification: Endangered Missing Adult
Alias / Nickname: Geoff
Date of Birth: 1976-03-10
Date Missing: 2000-04-10
From City/State: Florence, KY
Age at Time of Disappearance: 24
Gender: Male
Race: White
Height: 77 inches
Weight: 180 pounds
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Complexion: Medium
Clothing: White shirt, jeans.
Circumstances of Disappearance: Unknown. Geoff was last seen in the vicinity of the 600 block of Main St. in Covington. An accident occurred on westbound I-275 at the bridge heading to Indiana at approximately 3:20am. When the police arrived, his vehicle was located but Geoff's whereabouts remain unknown.
Investigative Agency: Boone County Sheriff's Office
Phone: (859) 334-2147
Details of Disappearance
Geoffrey David Apke was last seen at the Strasse Haus at 630 Main Street in Covington, KY. The 1974 silver Chrysler Newport that Apke had been driving was found at 3:20 a.m., crashed in Boone County on the Interstate 275 bridge to Indiana When the police arrived, his vehicle was located with the keys inside, but Geoff's whereabouts remain unknown. A passer-by told police the driver left in a Jeep Cherokee. Police hope to talk with the Jeep's driver and anyone who saw the accident or might have information that could help locate Apke.
On the night that Geoff disappeared, he had dinner with his parents and left about 7 p.m. to shoot pool with friends. ''He said 'I'll be home by 10,' '' his mother said. He had just started a job installing garage doors and was to work the next day. He called at 10, then again at 11, saying he was going to be later. The second call was the last time Mrs. Apke heard her son's voice. The next day, Saturday, the garage door company called to ask why he hadn't shown up for work. On Sunday night, he was drinking with friends at the Strasse Haus. At 3:20 a.m. Monday, the car was found. Geoff never picked up his last paycheck.
Apke resided with his parents in Florence, Kentucky in 2000. He lost his driver's license due to a drunk driving conviction in 1998, but his driving privileges were reinstated in March 2000. Apke bounced several checks in 1997, but paid his fines and the total amounts due by April 2000. His relationship with his girlfriend of three years ended in early March 2000. According to Apke's loved ones, he does not have the type of personality which could be brought down by such events.
Apke's family members said that he was planning to turn his life around in April 2000. He secured employment as a garage door installer and even said he was planning to quit smoking cigarettes. His parents last saw him during the evening of April 7 after dinner together. Apke said he was going to meet friends to play pool. He told his family he would return to their residence by 10:00 p.m., as he was scheduled to begin work the following morning. Apke called home twice later in the evening, the last time at approximately 11:00 p.m. He told his mother he would be returning later than expected. Apke's family has never seen him again. They stated that it was not unusual for him to leave without warning and they were not initially concerned about his lack of immediate contact. His employer called his residence on April 9 and said he never reported for work as scheduled.
Apke was at the Strasse Haus on Main Street in Covington, Kentucky during the evening hours of April 9. His friends told authorities that he was celebrating the reinstation of his driver's license. Apke's former girlfriend was also at the bar and said that he was drinking heavily during the night. According to a private investigator hired by Apke's family, he may have taken doses of the tranquilizer Valium in addition to the alcoholic beverages. Apke was last seen as he departed from Strasse Haus at approximately 2:30 a.m. on April 10, which was the bar's closing time.
Apke was driving his grandmother's silver 1974 Chrysler Newport at the time of his disappearance. The car was discovered abandoned at approximately 3:20 a.m., less than one hour after Apke departed from the Strasse Haus. The vehicle had been wrecked and was located in Boone County, Kentucky on an Interstate 275 bridge heading towards Indiana. There was no sign of Apke at the scene. There was a high dropoff from the bridge to the water below, but there were no indications Apke committed suicide. According to his family's private investigator, no one noticed any behaviorial changes in Apke prior to his disappearance and he was not considered suicidal.
An extensive search of the surrounding area produced no clues as to Apke's whereabouts. A passing motorist told authorities that the driver of the wrecked Chrysler Newport entered an unidentified Jeep Cherokee by the roadside shortly after the car crashed.
Investigators do not know if Apke chose to leave his home voluntarily or if other factors were involved in his case. It is possible that Apke feared he may have problems with law enforcement and his loved ones after the automobile crash and decided to leave of his own accord. It is unknown if foul play was involved in his disappearance.
Apke never claimed his final paycheck from his previous employer before his disappearance. He has experience working as a cook in restaurants. Apke's case remains unsolved.
********
I could not resist this case. It grabbed me right from the start. I mean, what a mystery! Did he just up and leave because he'd had it with the family and wanted to avoid their criticism? Or did something untoward happen to this young man? In this matter, most anything is possible. He had been living the high life of a young American male and had being sowing wild oats. Hanging out with friends, partying, enjoying his girlfriend, binge drinking, ending up with DUIs, moving from job to job. A typical young male profile in this country today. But young men like this don't just up and bolt. Geoff wasn't under any real pressure. He had promised to straighten up, get his life on track, hold down a job and stop having so much fun. But there wasn't anything horrible that would happen to him if he fell down on that. I mean, nothing short of disappointing mom and dad, and maybe the girlfriend. And, heck, when young men want to get rid of girlfriends, they just move on. This case is just a real mystery to me. What on earth happened here?
Right away, the charts showed me something different than what was reported. I always start with a chart a few hours earlier than the time reported for the disappearance. The original report says he left that bar at closing time, which was 2:30 am. But the first chart I draw up, for 1:30 am, shows that he is not in the bar at all. He is in somebody's home. This chart, for 1:30, has Sagittarius rising and Gemini falling. Jupiter, his significator, is in the fourth house. Mars rules the fourth house and is also placed there. This shows Geoff at a home with the man who owns that home. The seventh house, which describes his partner, the person he is concerned about or the person he is about to meet, is ruled by Mercury and Mercury is in the third house. He has loaned his car to someone and he is concerned about this. He is waiting for this person to return with his car. Notice that the midheaven is ruled by Libra and Venus is also in the third house. There is a woman who is with this younger person who is driving Geoff's car. This woman may well be this younger persons' mother. I get the feeling that this woman is connected to the man who owns the house and she and a younger person, who may be her son, is in Geoff's car at this time. Geoff has come to this man's house to wait for the woman to return. Mercury is disposed of by Neptune in the second house. This also tells me that the young person who has his car is using it to sell or buy drugs. Whether or not Geof is aware of this, these people are using his car for the selling or buying of illegal drugs. The aspect that stands out for me at this time is Neptune disposed of by Uranus, also in the second. Something unexpected is about to happen.
The next chart I work with is for 2 am. This chart shows consistency. The Ascendant has switched to Capricorn and Cancer is on the Descendant. If you take note, Saturn, the new chart ruler, is in the fourth house. This shows Geoff still in this man's house. Mars still rules the nadir and is still placed in the fourth. This shows the same house, owned by the same man. Cancer rules the seventh house and the Moon is now placed in the sixth. This tells me that someone who works at the bar that Geoff just left is on the way to the house. He is about to be "visited" in a sense by someone who works in the bar. The Moon is in her dignities so this person is not a threat or a problem for Geoff. In fact, the Moon is wide in a sinister sextile with Saturn, showing good will. But Pluto is in the eleventh house, inconjunct to Jupiter and Mars. This tells me that one of his friends, perhaps the man who owns this house, is about to be a problem for Geoff. There may have been an argument or confrontation over something.
But at 2:30 am, some things change and a picture emerges. Capricorn is still rising and Cancer is falling. The Moon is still in the sixth house which tells me that the person who is coming from the bar is still at work, cleaning up. Scorpio has moved onto the midheaven and Pluto is nearly exactly opposed to Mars. Mars is conjoined to Saturn. An argument seems to have begun between Geoff and an older male at the house. This particular person is a violent, dangerous man who lives on the edge. Pluto is also disposed of by Jupiter, which is close to Mars and Saturn. There is a pointed argument between Geoff and this man. Open animosity and anger. Other people are involved in the argument, mostly supportive of Geoff. The chart again describes a wife or female from the family in Geoff's car. This is defined by Taurus on the nadir and Venus in the third.
It's interesting that Geoff's car was found at 3:20 am, an apparent participant in an accident. And, yet, my chart for 3 am shows Geoff still at this persons house, waiting. The woman who had been driving the car got out of the car at 3 am. This is shown by the fourth house ruler, Venus, moving out of the third house. The third house ruler, Mars, is still in the fourth, showing me that the car's owner, Geoff, is still at this house. It is unexplained to me thus far, but this person Geoff is about to meet or is perhaps concerned about is still at work. Does his partner or other important person is his life work at night? Did they work at night at this time? I notice also that the Node is in the seventh house, showing me that all the people who are involved in this case play an important part. There is no one in this picture that is not a part of the outcome.
And then at 3:30 am, which is a chart I drew for 10 minutes after the cops discover his car, abandoned after an accident, I see that things come together in a sort of mosaic. Cancer is still on the seventh cusp and the Moon is still in the sixth. The person Geoff is concerned about is still at work and I get a vibe that this work is the bar he was drinking at earlier. Saturn has moved into the third and is disposed of by Venus in the second. I think Geoff knew about the accident. He knew this was going to happen; perhaps this was planned? He is actually, at the time the accident is reported or discovered, in another car at another location. The person who had been driving his car has now caught up with him. And the 4 am chart sort of sums it up for me. Aquarius is rising and Uranus is in the first. Geoff is not in danger, he is not dead, in fact, he is where he wants to be. At this point in time, I see him calling the shots. The person he has been waiting for all night is now in the car with him; this not the car that was in the accident, but another car he has since obtained. Taurus is ruling the nadir and Venus is in the second so it's almost like he paid somebody to help him. This whole thing looks staged to me.
At 4:30 am, the chart ruler is Aquarius and Uranus is at the Ascendant. There are no violent aspects, nothing to indicate that Geoff is dead. Sagittarius rules the midheaven and Jupiter is in the third. This tells me the authorities have his car. And then between 4:30 am and 5 am, Uranus slips into the twelfth, telling me that Geoff went into hiding. He planned this, with the help of friends and staged this accident to create a mystery around his disappearance. He hoped that people would assume he was dead and that would end it. He did not count on the woman who drove the car creating an accident that would leave questions. He was hoping for a huge crash, with a fire even, to make it look like he had died. But once this was done, he did not want to try again. He simply took his chances and ran. The person who worked in the bar appears to be a woman with whom he was involved. They probably planned this together. There is one thing I can say for certain: Geoff did not die this night nor was he in any danger. In fact, he was not even driving his car. Somehow, he got a group of people to help him with this. I have no idea why he wanted it, what drove him to it but I am sure he is alive and has simply gone into hiding.
So the next question is, where did Geoff go? Well, looking at the chart for the time he last disappeared, I see that certain aspects are at play. First of all, it looks like he headed northwest. And the one city that stands out for me is Piedmont in Portland, Oregon. This is a neighborhood near Peninsula Park. This is just a guess based on traditional readings for planetary placements. It is possible that this is where he ended up. For all accounts I see I can safely say he is alive and where he wants to be.
AFTERWORD-
I had to add this after the fact because I had some more thoughts on this case. It is possible that this thing was not planned at all. My first impressions are often just assumptions as the analysis comes to me. And these assumptions are often wrong. Since someone did borrow Geoff's car and this someone was a woman and there appeared to be a child in the car with her, this could have played out differently. I kept getting a feeling while doing this reading that she was taking the child to the hospital. I am not a psychic so I keep my feelings out of the readings but my impressions and assumptions often slip in and they are usually wrong. So why not toss this in? If she was going to the hospital this may be reason the car was borrowed when it was and why Geoff was where he was. And this could have, in fact, been an accident on the way back. The vehicle I saw Geoff in later was going to the scene so he was no doubt called and he and friends went there to retrieve the woman. I believe this was the Jeep Cherokee that was seen by witnesses leaving the scene with the driver.
When Geoff arrived and realized that there were witnesses and that the police had already been summoned, he may have panicked. An accident in his grandmother's car when he had just gotten his license back? The car being driven by an uninsured third motorist and maybe even with a suspended license or other legal troubles? Perhaps this woman had had DUIs and other traffic violations. Would not his grandmother have been held responsible? I am sure she would be. Were there damages? Was it costly? Would Geoff have lost his license again? His parents and girlfriend would, no doubt, be disappointed. They may now believe they would have been forgiving, that this whole thing was no big deal but how likely was Geoff to have thought this at the time? Perhaps he ducked out after the fact on a whim. Perhaps his friends made suggestions as to what he could do, such as go to a certain place and stay with mutual friends until this blew over. As I said in the post, the Piedmont neighborhood of Portland stands out and this is not area I've ever heard of. It is highly unusual that an area stands out so clearly in a chart. Someone should at least pass his picture around in that neighborhood. There is always that chance that if he is still alive he is in that area. But I am doubtful that after all this time something else hasn't happened. Probably something unfortunate. If Geoff's fortunes had been good and his life had gone on up a ladder or two, he would be more than excited to call his parents and update them. I believe he survived this night and went on somewhere else where he met with misfortune and is perhaps dead or at the least living in unseemly circumstances. He is somehow unable or unwilling to call home.
There is also the possibility that he changed his identity to escape his difficulties at first and now he is reluctant to inform various parties of his deception. Perhaps he has since married and does not want to devastate his wife. I am sure he regrets not contacting his family and may well do so sometime in the future. This, of course, is if he is still alive. In today's world, anything is possible.
Please note that Geoff Apke is a missing person and his family is desperate to know what happened to him and where he is today. Please take note of his picture and commit it to memory. If you think you have seen him, know anything at all about his disappearance or whereabouts and activities on the night he went missing, please contact police at the numbers given above.
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