39 Year Old Ellenville Cold Case: NYS Police Pursuing New Leads in Joseph Helt Case

New York State Police are hoping the public can help in a 39-year-old cold case out of Ulster County.

January 16th, 1987, Joseph Helt Goes Missing in Ellenville

Joseph David Helt was a 17-year-old junior at Ellenville High School on January 16th, 1987.

According to reports, that night Helt was doing what most high school kids do on the weekends partying with his friends near Cathalia Ski Lodge. At some point in the evening, Helt and 3 friends (John LaForge, Wade Marks and Kelly Diaz ) left the party.

They left in John LaForge's Subaru, as reported by Dateline, heading towards Sam's Point. Reports state that the car Helt was in got stuck in the snow. After several attempts at moving the vehicle, the 3 friends split up to get help.

Joseph Helt was last seen by his friends around 3:30 am walking towards Ellenville to look for help. Helt did not show up to work the next day.

Joseph Helt Last Seen Heading Towards Sam's Point in 1987

New York State Police share that Helt was last seen "wearing a camouflage jacket, t-shirt, a long sleeve thermal shirt, a gray hooded sweatshirt, and white high-top shoes."

In the Dateline report, we learn that snow began falling the night of Helt's disappearance and continued throughout the weekend. Joseph's family reported him missing on January 17th and Ellenville police conducted a "massive search."

Dateline writes "They utilized helicopters and tracking dogs and scoured miles of land that consisted of caves and deep crevices. But the snow kept falling, and was not letting up."

Holli Schoonmaker, a NYSP Investigator, was in charge of the case in 2021 and told Dateline:

numerous search efforts were conducted over the days, weeks and months following the missing person report

Schoonmaker added "snowfall and ice that weekend made the search efforts extremely difficult.”

39 Years Later Police Still Searching For Answers in Joseph Helt Missing Person Case

Leading up to the 39th anniversary of Joseph Helt going missing, the New York State Police shared details about the case.

They also shared that they are still actively looking for answers. In a statement on Facebook the New York State Police write:

The New York State Police in Ellenville are actively investigating this case, pursuing new leads and ask any member of the public that has information to contact NYSP Ellenville.

Information can be shared by phone at 845-626-2863 or by email at NYSVICAP@TROOPERS.NY.GOV.

Joseph Helt would be 55-years-old today. At the time of his disappearance,  Helt was 5'9", 150lbs with brown eyes.