The Missing
Roderick Hotham
Veazie, Maine
🔎 The Disappearance of Roderick “Rod” Hotham
📍 Case Details
- Name: Roderick “Rod” Hotham
- Case Date: September 16, 1992
- Last Known Location: Veazie / Hermon, Maine
- Age at Disappearance: 38
- Occupation: Certified Public Accountant
- Status: Missing / Wanted as a Fugitive from Justice
- Federal Charges: 17-count indictment involving bank fraud and money laundering
- Agencies: Maine State Police, Bangor Police Department, FBI
- Contact: Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit – North
198 Maine Avenue, Bangor, Maine 04401
📞 (207) 973-3750
📞 Toll-free: 1-800-432-7381
🕵️ The Disappearance
Roderick “Rod” Hotham was living in Veazie, Maine, when he disappeared on September 16, 1992.
Hotham was a successful Bangor-area accountant and prominent member of the local community. He owned or held interests in several businesses and organizations and was involved in civic activities throughout the area.
His disappearance occurred at a particularly significant moment. He was facing a federal investigation involving allegations of approximately $4 million in bank fraud, and on the very day he vanished, he was reportedly scheduled to meet with then-Maine Attorney General Michael Carpenter.
According to witnesses, Hotham planned to provide Carpenter with boxes of documents that he believed contained evidence implicating other people in serious white-collar crimes.
He never made it to that meeting.
And he has never been found.
⏰ What Happened on September 16, 1992?
On the morning Hotham disappeared, an acquaintance reported seeing him at approximately 11 a.m., standing alone beside his blue Dodge Caravan on Coldbrook Road near Dysart’s truck stop in Hermon.
Around noon, Hotham was at the Stucco Lodge, where an employee gave him $9,000 from a check that had been cashed the previous day.
The employee, along with a private detective who was supposed to accompany Hotham to Attorney General Carpenter’s office, later testified that Hotham had several boxes containing what he described as “incriminating evidence” involving white-collar crime.
The Stucco Lodge employee is believed to have been the last person authorities know to have seen Hotham.
Hotham never arrived at the attorney general’s office.
After examining the six boxes of material Hotham left behind, Carpenter said:
“It became clear that, if there was any significance to the documents, we would need Mr. Hotham here to explain it.”
🔫 The Guns
Hotham had purchased a 9mm pistol approximately six months before his disappearance.
On the day he vanished, witnesses said he purchased a .357-caliber Magnum pistol.
These purchases later became part of the investigation into what happened to him.
In 1993, attorney Bruce Jordan, who had served as guardian ad litem for Hotham’s estate, investigated the disappearance. Jordan ultimately concluded that Hotham had “voluntarily disappeared”, according to testimony he gave to Penobscot County Probate Court.
⚖️ The 17-Count Federal Indictment
Hotham had known for at least nine months before disappearing that federal authorities were investigating his business dealings.
He had been interviewed by the FBI, and investigators had obtained handwriting samples from him as part of what was then considered Maine’s largest bank fraud investigation.
A federal grand jury in Bangor was expected to indict him on the day he disappeared.
Instead, Hotham was indicted approximately two months later.
The 17-count indictment included:
- 8 counts of bank fraud
- 9 counts of money laundering
A federal arrest warrant was also issued for him.
The indictment stemmed from a 14-month investigation conducted by the now-disbanded New England Bank Fraud Task Force, which consisted of federal prosecutors, bank regulators and FBI agents.
Federal prosecutors accused Hotham of defrauding five federally insured financial institutions, four in Maine and one in New Hampshire, of approximately $4 million through false representations and promises.
According to the indictment unsealed in December 1992, Hotham allegedly used the names of three prominent people from Bangor and Old Town to obtain credit from local banks.
He was a financial adviser for all three individuals, but prosecutors alleged that he obtained the funds without their knowledge.
The government also alleged that Hotham used his majority interest in a New Hampshire bank to obtain funds illegally.
👔 Who Was Roderick Hotham?
Hotham grew up in Presque Isle, Maine, before moving to Bangor to attend Husson College, now Husson University.
🎓 He graduated in 1972.
He went on to become a Certified Public Accountant and opened an accounting firm at 60 Columbia Street in Bangor.
His clients included:
- The Penobscot Indian Nation
- Unity College
Hotham was also an owner or part owner of several businesses, including:
- Heritage Bowling Center in Hermon
- Stucco Lodge in Veazie
- Beal College in Bangor
- Firepond Restaurant in Blue Hill
He was active in Bangor’s civic and social circles. His positions and memberships included:
- Member of the Bangor Noontime Rotary Club
- Treasurer of the Bangor YMCA
- Vice president at Husson
- Chairman of the Bangor Water District
By the age of 38, Hotham was a well-known figure in Bangor’s business and civic community.
🏠 His Family
Before disappearing, Hotham lived with his wife, Lisa, and their three children at a home on State Street.
His family later said that Lisa moved to Vermont with the children shortly before Hotham disappeared because their home had been broken into and Hotham was reportedly being followed.
Attempts to contact Lisa or the children for a later newspaper investigation were unsuccessful.
🌊 Where Could He Have Gone?
Hotham’s disappearance immediately generated speculation.
Rumors at the time suggested that he could have:
- Been at the bottom of Penobscot Bay
- Fled to the Cayman Islands
- Entered the witness protection program
Officials denied the witness-protection theory.
Despite decades of investigation, Hotham has never been located.
🧩 His Family Believes He Was Murdered
Hotham’s younger brother, Tim Hotham, has consistently maintained that Rod did not voluntarily disappear.
Tim believes his brother was murdered on the day he disappeared.
He said that in 2002, his mother, Elaine Hotham, received a phone call from someone who allegedly told her:
“I know who killed your son.”
The family has declined to publicly identify the person who allegedly made the statement.
Tim Hotham said he subsequently brought evidence to the Maine State Police and believes investigators have examined the possibility that his brother was killed and his body buried by someone acting as a hired killer.
He has declined to identify a suspect or provide additional details publicly.
🐕 An Alleged Search for His Remains
Tim Hotham has said that Maine State Police searched for his brother’s body in 2005, in an area west of Dover-Foxcroft and specifically in Mayfield Township in Somerset County.
He recalled that the search took place on June 28, 2005, a Tuesday.
According to Tim:
“We’ve been up [there] with cadaver dogs.”
He said the search was unsuccessful.
Because the investigation remains ongoing, however, Maine State Police have declined to confirm whether such a search actually occurred.
Lt. Troy Gardner, commander of the northern Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit, said authorities generally do not discuss details of ongoing investigations but confirmed that investigators follow up on information concerning the case.
Any search warrants that may have existed in connection with such an investigation would have been retained for only a limited period. A Somerset County Judicial Center criminal clerk said that records, if they existed, would have already been destroyed after approximately a decade.
👮♂️ What Authorities Say
Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said that state police have been involved in Hotham’s case for years, working with the Bangor Police Department and FBI.
He said Hotham remained listed as a missing person on the state police website.
Bangor Detective Josh Kuhn, who became the lead investigator on Hotham’s case, told the Bangor Daily News that Hotham is currently wanted as a fugitive from justice.
The FBI’s role has changed over the years.
Special Agent Kristen Setera of the FBI’s Public Affairs Office in Boston said the federal bank fraud case is closed and that the Maine State Police and Bangor Police Department have the lead in the missing-person investigation. The FBI provides assistance when requested.
At least two FBI agents from Boston were working on the case during its early stages, according to court documents.
📺 “America’s Most Wanted”
Hotham’s case received national attention in 2001, when it was featured on the Fox television program “America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back.”
He was also featured on the FBI website.
The television appearance generated three calls to the tip line, but none produced information that led investigators to Hotham.
📞 The 2002 Tip
Tim Hotham said that coverage of the 10th anniversary of his brother’s disappearance in the Bangor Daily News prompted someone to come forward.
According to Tim, the unidentified individual contacted his mother shortly after the story appeared and said:
“I know who killed your son.”
Tim said he subsequently approached Maine State Police with evidence and that investigators began looking into the possibility that Hotham had been murdered.
He has repeatedly criticized what he considers inadequate public attention to the case.
“Rod’s dead. And he can’t speak for himself, so I will.”
📱 Federal Surveillance of the Family
The case took another unusual turn years later.
According to wiretap requests that were unsealed in 2015, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maine had obtained warrants for phone records involving Hotham’s relatives.
Between 2011 and 2015, the agency obtained approximately a dozen warrants to monitor phone numbers associated with members of Hotham’s family.
The requests had remained secret until they were unsealed on October 7, 2015.
The surveillance did not lead to Hotham being located.
Tim Hotham said he was unaware that federal officials had been monitoring calls involving members of his family.
When contacted about the matter, Donald Clark, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland, said:
“We don’t have anything to say.”
He added that there was nothing new to report.
🕰️ Two Different Views of His Fate
There remains a significant difference between the official status of the case and the family’s belief about what happened.
👮 Officially
Hotham continues to be treated as a missing person by Maine State Police and Bangor Police, while Bangor Police have also described him as a fugitive from justice because of the federal indictment and arrest warrant.
👨👩👦 His Family’s Belief
Tim Hotham and his mother, Elaine, believe Rod was murdered and that his remains have never been found.
His sister, Regina Craig, has said that she simply wants closure.
The family has also maintained that Hotham’s disappearance was connected to what he allegedly knew about financial wrongdoing.
🌲 “Big Trees Are Going to Fall”
One of the most haunting statements attributed to Hotham came shortly before his disappearance.
His mother, Elaine Hotham, recalled that her son told her:
“Mom, big trees are going to fall.”
Elaine believes her son was referring to wrongdoing he had uncovered through his work as an accountant.
More than two decades later, she reached a heartbreaking conclusion:
“He was the one who fell.”
❓ More Than Three Decades Without Answers
Roderick “Rod” Hotham disappeared on September 16, 1992, at the age of 38.
He was facing a federal investigation into alleged multimillion-dollar financial crimes, was expected to meet with Maine’s attorney general about documents he reportedly believed contained evidence of other crimes, and never appeared for that meeting.
His abandoned documents, his firearms purchases, the federal indictment that followed his disappearance, alleged sightings, conflicting theories about his fate, and the family’s claims of a possible murder have all contributed to one of Maine’s enduring missing-person mysteries.
Despite investigations involving the Bangor Police Department, Maine State Police and FBI, Hotham’s whereabouts remain unknown.
His family continues to seek answers.
🔎 If You Have Information
Anyone with information concerning Roderick Hotham’s disappearance is encouraged to contact:
Maine State Police – Major Crimes Unit, North
📞 207-973-3750
📞 Toll-free: 1-800-432-7381
Roderick Hotham remains missing.
Sources:
https://wgme.com/news/local/about-to-be-indicted-this-maine-accountant-went-missing-24-years-ago
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