Name: Christoph Zahn
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: April 29, 1992
Location Last Seen: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia.
Date of Birth: c1971
Age: 21 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 6'0-6'1"
Weight: 160-170 lbs
Hair Color: Light Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: American/Swiss citizen; scar on his chin; speaks English with a slight German accent
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown
Clothing: A turquoise cap and blue jeans
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Chris Zahn is a dual American/Swiss citizen who was last heard from on April 28, 1992, while he was visiting Atlanta. According to court documents, Mr. Zahn had set out on an American tour in September 1991 and had stayed with numerous friends around the country. He stayed with family friends over the Christmas holidays who he kept in touch with via phone calls and letters as he continued his travels. The Van Norden family last heard from Chris via letter some time in April and never heard from him again.
The last known whereabouts of Christoph begin on April 27, 1992. He took an overnight bus from Jacksonville, Florida to Atlanta and checked into a hotel across the street from the bus station. Zahn was last heard from on April 29, 1992 (some sources indicate April 28), when he placed a call to his travel agent in Orange County, Florida, from a telephone at the Denny's Restaurant on Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Tucker, Georgia, confirming his bus trip to see the national parks that was leaving from Atlanta. In May, the Van Nordens informed Christoph's mother that they had lost touch with Christoph. His mother also hadn't heard from her son since April. He mentioned that he was returning home early, but never picked up his pre-paid airline ticket to make the return trip home.
Thanks to the work of a private investigator hired by Christoph's family, it was determined that Christoph' Mastercard had been used after his disappearance in the Atlanta area Between April 30 and May 11, Zahn's credit card was used 31 times, including Cobb and Carroll Counties. After viewing video surveillance and corroborating additional evidence, in February 1993, authorities executed a search warrant on the Kentucky home of Harry Eugene Hale where they found Zahn's camera bag, his two cameras, and a quilt that Zahn had purchased for his mother from Pennsylvania. Arrested and convicted in connection with these fraudulent credit card transactions was Harry Eugene Hale. He was arrested in Miami, Florida on warrants for three counts of first degree forgery for using Zahn's credit card. There is no evidence that Hale murdered Zahn. At the time of Zahn's disappearance, Hale drove a 1993 red Ford Probe with Georgia tags.
Agency Name: Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Agency Contact Person: Unknown
Agency Phone Number: 1-800-587-TIPS
Agency E-Mail: Unknown
Agency Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 532
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Hale vs. The State of Georgia
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 11-13-2021 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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