Out of the many cases of people disappearing or turning up dead under mysterious circumstances, the case of one missing black man is one of the most chilling. It is also one of the hardest ones to make sense of. By all accounts of those that knew him closely, he had a happy and successful life with his wife and two children. Then, he suddenly went missing one day. The same night that he went missing, his wife received a strange voicemail. It appears that he had pocket dialed her while he was out that night. What she heard set the tone for one of the most unsettling investigations that is still looking for answers to this day. This is the case of Henry McCabe.
In 2015, 32-year-old Henry McCabe worked as an auditor for the state of Minnesota. According to those closest to him, Henry had a beautiful life and family to match. He was married to Kareen McCabe and had two kids. He lived a fruitful life with his family in the town of Mounds View Minnesota. Not too long before he went missing, Henry was seen at a local club named Povlitzki’s. The club was in Spring Lake. Since it was Labor Day weekend, Henry was out partying and having fun with his friends. One of his friends, William Kennedy, claims that night that he dropped Henry off at a gas station before going home. This was at 2 am. According to Kennedy, it was Henry who had requested to be dropped off at the gas station. This is where the first discrepancy in this case would come up. Kennedy says that he dropped Henry off at a Super America gas station in Fridley Minnesota. He would even take the investigators to the location and point out the exact spot where he says he last saw Henry before driving off. It would turn out though, that Kennedy had dropped Henry off at a Holiday gas station in a completely different area. Security footage shows Henry getting out of a car at that specific gas station.
While this was happening, Kareen was going about her night thinking that her husband was out having fun with his friend. Then, something strange happened. During the early hours of September 7, 2015, Henry McCabe's wife Kareen received a strange phone call from her husband. The call appeared to be a pocket dial, but it was an illuminating phone call at the same time. For two minutes, Kareen listened to what seemed like her husband — or some kind of weird creature — screaming for his life for two minutes, saying he'd been shot but not able to utter much else that could be easily comprehended. Snippets of the voicemail were released by ABC News, and you can hear the unusual grunts and moans that characterized the phone call. According to ABC News, A male voice said "Stop it," and then the call dropped. That's the last time Kareen heard Henry's voice. She managed to record some of the phone call and brought the recording with her to the police station the next day when she reported her husband missing.
After the concerning phone call, there was no longer any word from Henry McCabe. He had completely vanished. There was no activity in his bank account or with his work, or even on his phone. The police were able to learn that Henry’s phone pinged off a cell tower in New Brighton Minnesota when the voicemail was recorded. But then his phone was disconnected after the mysterious voicemail message. Because of this, a massive search and rescue team was dispatched. And it would take months before a horrifying discovery was made.
On November 2, 2015, A kayaker was sailing across the waters of Rush Lake. At one point, they came upon the body of a man floating in the water. An autopsy was performed on his body and the coroner could find no evidence of injuries and nothing to indicate foul play was involved. Decomposition was so advanced that it took two days for the body to be identified. When they were able to identify the body, they learned that it was Henry McCabe. His cause of death was ruled a drowning by the medical examiner. The case remained open due to the bizarre voicemail message. That message, however, doesn’t depict the scene of a man drowning, and that has led to more confusion in this case. The recording was even analyzed by the FBI, but no concrete information was ever released.
The investigators would also focus on the last person to see Henry alive. Although William Kennedy was never officially linked to the crime, there was something about him that was suspiciously linked to the voicemail. According to the investigators, one of the distinguishable words in the recording was "papus". Papus was known to be Kennedy’s nickname. Kennedy had also been the one to turn in Henry’s keys and wallet to the police. He claimed that he only took them so that he could prevent Henry from drinking and driving that night. But if that's the case, why would he drop Henry off at a gas station at 2 in the morning without any mode of transportation? Henry’s wife, Kareen, has even questioned why Kennedy wouldn’t have just driven him home instead.
The Minnesota Community Police Department has offered a $5,000 reward in exchange for information in this case that might lead to an arrest. An anonymous tip line was also set up as well. After firing the Minnesota Community PD, Henry's wife Kareen began working with Mounds View Police midway through the investigation because she felt that they better fit the needs of her family. So far, neither organization has been successful in tracing clues to McCabe's death and disappearance. To this day, the death of Henry McCabe remains a mystery.
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