Last month, we asked you about your DTD memories, and Robert Wolf ’56 said that one of the most vivid memories from his DTD days was the disappearance of brother Ron Tammen. It turns out this is the biggest mystery at the University of Miami to date, and it's quite a spooky story.

Ron Tammen disappeared from his room in Old Fisher Hall, a dorm that was once the site of Oxford College for Women, on the evening of April 19, 1953. 

Ron was a typical college student. He was a sophomore, played string bass in the band, and was a member of the wrestling team. It's said that at about 8:00 p.m. that evening, Ron left his room to get new bed sheets from the hall manager because someone had put a fish in his bed. With the new sheets in hand, he returned to his dorm room to study psychology. That's the last time anyone ever saw him. 

That evening, at 10:30 p.m., Ron's roommate returned to their room and found his psychology book open on his desk and all the lights on. Ron was nowhere to be found. His roommate assumed he was out and went to bed. But when Ron failed to come back the next morning, his roommate became concerned. The search for Ron Tammen began shortly after, but it was to no avail. 

Although his fate is unknown, many have their theories. Some think he was murdered, others feel he may still be alive somewhere. A witness who lived close to the university claimed that Ron came to her Seven Mile home the day after his disappearance. She said he appeared dazed and unable to remember his name. He asked for directions to the nearest bus stop. Other sightings of Ron, in the flesh and as a ghost, have been reported over the years. 

In 1973, the Butler County Coroner said that Ron had visited his office for a blood test exactly five months before he vanished. The coroner said that, in his 35 years of practice, he had never received that kind of request. 

Old Fisher Hall was demolished several years later in 1978, and officials scoured through the rubble to search for clues about Ron's disappearance. No signs or traces of his remains were found. As time continues to pass by, it becomes more evident that we will probably never know exactly what happened to Ron that night.