He Left A Pizza Place In Charlotte One Night, Made Eight Phone Calls, And Disappeared
Kyle Fleischmann, who was 24-years-old in late 2007, had a bright future ahead of him. One year prior, he’d graduated from Elon College with a business administration degree and was known by his loved ones as a kind and caring person.
He stood by his mother, Barbara, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and committed himself to beating the illness with her. Yet, after taking his mother out on November 8, 2007, in Charlotte, North Carolina, he tragically disappeared.
The Night Kyle Vanished
That evening, Kyle, his sister Noel, and Barbara all met at his best friend Daniel’s house. Then, the group of four called a cab and brought Barbara to a Dane Cook comedy show. The goal was to lift her spirits following her cancer diagnosis.
Once the show was over, Barbara and Noel went home first. Kyle stayed out with Daniel, and the pair visited the Buckhead Saloon, located in downtown Charlotte. They enjoyed a few drinks at the popular bar, but since Daniel had work the next morning, he headed out at about 1:00 a.m.
Kyle, on the other hand, was reportedly speaking to a girl and decided to stay at the bar a bit longer. According to Daniel, Kyle didn’t seem intoxicated at the time and was enjoying himself.
So, Daniel went home alone, and later that night, Kyle was caught on surveillance camera footage as he got into an altercation with two to three men. He left the bar not long afterward, at approximately 2:20 a.m., leaving behind his debit card and coat, even though it was 30 degrees Fahrenheit that evening.
Outside the bar, he was spotted talking to the same girl from inside, and they walked across what’s now Fitzgerald Street.
Afterward, he was alone as he reportedly went to Fuel Pizza, ordering two slices of “everything” pizza. The cashier who served Kyle that night later stated he seemed drunk.
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This marked the last time anyone saw him. Kyle left the pizza place, made eight phone calls, and disappeared. The first call was at 2:42 a.m., and he proceeded to try contacting his father’s business, his sister, his roommate, and Daniel.
Each call was only about 10 seconds, and he didn’t leave any voicemails. Kyle’s last call was dialed at 3:38 a.m., and he has remained missing ever since.
His friend, Daniel, realized something was wrong when he woke up the next morning and noticed Kyle’s car was still at his house. Daniel also saw the missed calls from Kyle and attempted to call him back, yet he was sent directly to voicemail.
He reached out to Kyle’s roommates and mother to determine his whereabouts, and everyone soon decided Kyle had never made it back home. The police were then contacted, and Kyle was reported missing.
The Search For Kyle
Daniel jumped into action, creating a Facebook group to raise awareness about Kyle’s disappearance. The Charlotte community united to search for him; meanwhile, authorities spoke to local cab drivers, people who were at the Buckhead Saloon, and the cashier from the pizza place. Kyle’s father confirmed that Kyle would often order the “everything” slice.
Upon analyzing phone records, the police determined Kyle’s phone pinged from Fuel Pizza to North Davidson Street, which is reportedly a dangerous area. It eventually was either shut off or died at 4:00 a.m.
The final ping placed Kyle at the entrance to Cordelia Park, which is about two miles away from the bar. It would’ve taken him between 35 and 40 minutes to walk this distance.
Cadaver dogs were ultimately added to the search effort, using Kyle’s scent from his coat. On the second day of searching, the dogs traced Kyle’s scent past Cordelia Park and into a construction area, which is now an apartment complex located 200 years away. The searchers that day claimed there was a bad smell, like a deceased animal.
The dogs were brought throughout the construction site in an attempt to pinpoint the smell’s source. Unfortunately, the effort was unsuccessful.
Years later, in 2019, Kyle’s parents, Barbara and Dick, stated they believed Kyle was buried under the apartment complex. The only problem is that there is no evidence or recovered remains, meaning proving this theory is impossible.
“I just think he was a victim of robbery; it got bad, and they took his life,” Dick explained.
“There are condos now. We tend to believe he’s buried under there. At the time, there was open dirt because they were digging for the pipes.”
Dick also detailed how, even years later, residents of the apartment complex have noted a foul smell. One woman even contacted the police three years later, reporting a “horrible stench” and saying she thought there was “something deceased here.”
Back in 2009, a federal judge issued a search warrant for the construction site. Nonetheless, the resulting documents from the search were sealed off from the public.
Kyle’s parents have tried taking matters into their own hands and working with a private investigator, but justice still seems out of reach.
“I think we know, but it’s never gonna be prosecuted or anything like that. We know what our PIs [private investigators] have found and the police to a lesser extent, but nothing provable,” Barbara said.
Still, Kyle’s story lives on in the Facebook group, which has 5,000 members. There, Kyle’s friends and family share their memories of him, and even strangers continue to be perplexed by his disappearance.
“It resonates with people on so many different levels. [Kyle] comes from a good family, [was a] good college graduate, and [was] hard-working. He could be anybody; he’s the guy next door,” stated Detective John Tuttle.
Dick admitted that he finds it tough to remember the sound of his son’s voice as time passes, despite thinking of him every day, and Barbara wonders where Kyle would be today.
“I wonder what he’d be doing. I see all of his friends getting married and having children, and I assume he would be doing that, too, and that would have been wonderful,” she shared.
Kyle was six feet tall, weighed 180 pounds, and had brown hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and black dress shoes. According to the Facebook group, there is a $50,000 reward for information regarding his whereabouts.
Anyone with information about his case is urged to contact Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600.
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