Lawrence Joseph Bader

Lawrence Joseph Bader (December 2, 1926 – September 16, 1966), also known as John Francis "Fritz" Johnson, was an American cookware salesman from Akron, Ohio, who disappeared while on a fishing trip on Lake Erie on May 15, 1957. Declared dead in 1960, Bader was found alive five years later as John Francis "Fritz" Johnson, a local television personality living in Omaha, Nebraska. The incident is described by author Jay Robert Nash as "one of the most baffling amnesia disappearances on record, a weird story forever unanswered."

Disappearance On May 15, 1957, Bader, a cookware salesman for the Reynolds Metals Corporation from Akron, Ohio, rented a boat, kissed his wife Mary Lou goodbye, and went to Lake Erie to go fishing. His boat was found the next day after a storm. The boat had minor damage and a missing oar. Bader, who was $20,000 in debt and in trouble with the IRS, was missing. The couple had three children, with another on the way.

Death The malignant tumor that cost Bader his eye eventually resurfaced. Bader/Johnson died on September 16, 1966, at St. Joseph's Medical Hospital in Omaha. His death meant that the question of whether he was an amnesiac or a hoaxer was never resolved.