Police stymied as original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer Dennis Day missing since July
Dennis Day, an original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer, according to reports has been missing since July 2018. Day, 76, resides in Phoenix, Oregon and was reported missing by his husband, Ernie Caswell. Authorities say the Phoenix Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff's Office were handling the case and Day's bank account remains untouched. His car was discovered about 200 miles away from his home.
A man with a long rap sheet has been arrested in the death of a Dennis Day, an original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer, according to a report.
Day disappeared 12 months ago. His body was found in April after searches of his home in Phoenix, Oregon. He was 76.
Oregon State Police announced on Friday that Daniel Burda, 36, was charged in the death. He was jailed last week for violating the conditions of his probation in a 2018 robbery case.
Oregon State Police announced on Friday that Daniel Burda, 36, (pictured) was charged in the death (Oregon State Police)
Burda was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, abuse of a corpse, criminal mistreatment and identity theft, state police said.
ORIGINAL MICKEY MOUSE CLUB MOUSEKETEER DENNIS DAY HAS BEEN MISSING SINCE JULY, REPORTS SAY
He worked for Day and his husband Ernie Caswell, 88, as a handyman, the Oregonian reported.
“I just find that I’m saddened for Dennis. I’m saddened for Ernie. I’m also sad for Dan,” said Kirk Pederson, 62, according to the paper.
Pederson said he introduced Burda to Day and Caswell.
In this Aug 20, 1957, file photo, Walt Disney's Mouseketeers enter a large trailer that serves as their school on the Disney lot in Hollywood, Calif. Greeting them is their teacher Jean Seaman of the Los Angeles Public School System. Jimmy Dodd, red-haired and fortyish, is master of Mouseketeer ceremonies. Mouseketeer Annette Funicello can be seen at far left. Police have confirmed that a body found in April 2019 at an Oregon home is that of missing man Dennis Day, who was an original member of Disney's "The Mickey Mouse Club." (AP)
Burda has a criminal record that includes convictions for sodomy, robbery and assault going back a decade, according to the paper.
2 OREGON WOMEN ACCUSED OF STEALING FROM A DEAD MOUSEKETEER
He was accused in January 2018 of strangling a girlfriend he told police was “possessed by spirits,” the paper reported.
Casewell told police Day didn’t like having Burda in their home, the Oregonian reported.
Last week, two women were charged with stealing Day’s 1996 Ford Escort a few days after he was last seen.
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Day was a familiar face on TV to baby boomer kids, appearing on the Mickey Mouse Club show from 1955 until its end in 1957.
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