The Missing
Charles, CJ, and Billy Vosseler
Rochester, New Hampshire
💔🕊️ Taken as Toddlers: The Unresolved Case of CJ and Billy Vosseler 🔎
On October 9, 1986, three-year-old Charles Jason “CJ” Vosseler and his two-year-old brother, William Martin “Billy” Vosseler, left Rochester, New Hampshire, with their father for what their mother, Ruth Parker, believed would be a routine weekend visit. Charles Martin Vosseler Jr. told her he was taking the boys to visit family in Connecticut. Ruth expected her children home within a few days. She had no idea that this would be the last time she would see them.
At the time, Ruth and Charles were going through a divorce, with their first hearing scheduled just days later. The boys had been spending most of their time with their mother, and Charles had agreed to take them for a visit. On Friday, he called Ruth and said they were in Connecticut. The next day, he called again, saying the boys were having fun and wanted to stay until Monday. Ruth could hear them in the background, but Charles did not let her speak with them.
Monday came, but CJ and Billy never returned.
When Ruth went to Charles’s real estate office, she found it locked and nearly empty. An employee told her that Charles had abruptly closed the business and dismissed the staff. Ruth began to realize that this was not an ordinary delay. She believed her sons had been taken.
What followed was another devastating discovery. Photographs of the boys had been removed from her apartment, and belongings she had placed in storage were gone. Ruth also learned that money had been taken from joint accounts and other financial arrangements had been changed. With almost no recent photographs of her children, she worried that authorities would have little to help identify them.
For a time, she had only an old baptism certificate. Then a family friend remembered a home video recorded at a company picnic. The footage captured CJ and Billy for a few seconds, allowing investigators to recover still images for missing-child posters and age-progressed photographs.
Ruth’s relationship with Charles had begun years earlier. In 1981, she met him through a personal advertisement in Mother Earth News. Both were interested in companionship and a simpler way of life. After exchanging letters and phone calls, Ruth moved from Wisconsin to New Hampshire, and they married on June 30, 1981.
Their first son, CJ, was born on December 9, 1982, followed by Billy on April 21, 1984. Ruth remembered CJ as a sweet child who wanted to please others, while Billy was curious and adventurous. The family moved several times as Charles bought and renovated properties, eventually establishing a real estate business in Rochester.
According to Ruth, their relationship changed over time. She described Charles as increasingly controlling and said he discouraged her from returning to her social-work career, limited her contact with friends, and made decisions about finances without her. In August 1986, she and the boys moved into an apartment while a house was being repaired. Charles later filed for divorce, but Ruth said he was evasive when she asked about custody arrangements.
In retrospect, Ruth came to believe that Charles had been preparing to leave for some time. She said he had closed his business, converted assets to cash, and removed family photographs and documents. These circumstances led her to suspect that the abduction had been planned in advance.
The investigation soon crossed state lines. In February 1987, Charles was charged in New Hampshire with interfering with custody. On April 3, 1987, a federal warrant was issued after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Authorities received reports of possible sightings in several states, including Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maine, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Florida, and South Carolina. Many leads proved difficult to verify, and Charles appeared to remain ahead of investigators.
One of the most promising tips came in 1988, when an organization dedicated to finding missing children received information from a woman in Stillwell, Oklahoma. She reportedly believed she knew Charles and the boys. Charles was said to be living under the name Charles Wilson, and the boys were reportedly using the surname Wilson.
Before investigators could reach the family, however, Charles had fled. When authorities arrived, they found that the home and a vehicle had been burned. The lead that seemed likely to bring CJ and Billy home ended without a reunion.
There have been reports placing Charles in Oklahoma as late as 2006, but no confirmed public information has established the current whereabouts of him or the boys.
Charles has reportedly used several aliases, including Charles Foster, Charlie Wilson, Charles Malcolm Amidon, Charles M. Wilson, Charles Wilson, Charles M. Amidon, and variations of his own name. He may also use the nickname Charlie or the name Malcolm. The FBI lists ties to Oklahoma, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Florida, and warns that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
CJ and Billy may have grown up under different identities. Authorities say they could use the first names James or Martin and the surnames Wilson, Foster, or Amidon. Because they were so young when they were taken, they may not know their birth names or realize they were reported missing.
Their mother has long feared that they may have been told she died. She has spoken publicly about wanting them to know that this is not true. She does not expect to recover the childhood years she lost or insist that her adult sons return to her life. She hopes for the opportunity to meet them, if they choose, and to know they are safe.
Today, CJ would be 43 years old, and Billy would be 42. They may have careers, families, and children of their own. Somewhere, they may be living under names that conceal the story of the first years of their lives.
The FBI continues to list Charles Martin Vosseler as wanted in connection with the case and is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the location of Charles or either of his sons.
🔎 Do you recognize Charles Vosseler or have information that could help establish where CJ and Billy are today? Someone who knew the family, encountered them during their travels, or remembers a detail from years ago may have information investigators still need.
📞 Anyone with information can contact the FBI Boston Division at 857-386-2000, the Rochester Police Department at 603-330-7128, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. Tips can also be submitted through the FBI’s official wanted page for Charles Martin Vosseler.
Please share CJ and Billy’s story. After nearly four decades, their mother still hopes they will learn the truth about their childhood and understand one thing: Ruth is alive, she never willingly left their lives, and she has never stopped loving them. 🕊️💙
Sources:
Vosseler, Charles J. | Homeland Security and Emergency Management
A Mother’s Nightmare – Unsolved Mysteries
Authorities seek answers in 1986 abduction of two NH children
After 31 Years, Ruth Parker Still Hopes to See Sons CJ and Billy Vosseler Again
The abducted Vossler boys have been missing since 1986 from Rochester, New Hampshire – NewsBreak
Have you seen this child? Charles Jason Vosseler
Have you seen this child? William Martin Vosseler
The Abduction of Billy and CJ Vosseler — Murder, She Told: Maine & New England True Crime
Charles Vosseler case: Woman hopes to be reunited with sons – WMUR
Charles Vosseler | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom
New Hampshire unsolved case documentary: Where are the Vosselers? – WMUR
CJ and Billy Vosseler: Are They Still Missing? What Happened to Charles Vosseler?
CHARLES MARTIN VOSSELER — FBI
CJ and Billy Vosseler | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom
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