Welcome to Mysteries of the Missing, a podcast and blog about missing person's cases. You can find my podcast, my blog, and my social media pages on my Linktree at: https://linktr.ee/MysteriesoftheMissing or you may follow me on social media at @mysteriesofthemissing.
Keep in mind that I am only reporting the events of what have happened, per my research through various media outlets. I’m not trained in any way in true crime. Instead, I'm a published author who loves to blog. Also, I’m solely a human being that’s trying to do my part to get the message of the story of Kyle Fleischmann out there so that one day, hopefully, he may be found, and his case may be solved. Join me as I dive into the last day that people saw Kyle and what happened after he was last seen.
2007 was a big year: Nancy Pelosi became the first female U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives. Steve Jobs of Apple introduced the world to the first iPhone, which was released later in the year, and Microsoft released Windows Vista and Office 2007. A young senator from Illinois named Barack Obama announced his bid for presidency. The United States mourned the loss of life at the Virginia Tech shooting and a debate began about mental illness and gun ownership. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Matthew Shepard Act, which is the first gay rights bill seen on the floor. Spiderman 3 comes out in the box office, thrilling superhero fans, along with Transformers and The Simpsons Movie. Bob Barker starred in The Price is Right for the last time and Drew Carey took over the show. The Boeing 787 made its debut and Halo 3 was released on XBox. In November of 2007, Kyle Fleischmann went missing from Hilton Head, North Carolina, which is close to Charlotte. He remains missing to this day, in 2024.
Kyle Fleischmann grew up with two siblings in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. He was described as an outgoing, kind young man.
Kyle Fleischmann had it going on in 2007: The outgoing young man was 24, had just graduated with a Business degree a year prior from Elon University, was a newly-hired recruitment executive for a company, and had a new car and a condo in South Carolina. While in college, he was President of his fraternity and a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club and with the Special Olympics. To many, he had it all going on, with so much to live for and was a stand-up kind of guy.
Also, Kyle's mom had just been diagnosed with Cancer, and Kyle was right by his mom's side, championing her on.
One wouldn't just walk away from all of that.
The evening of November 9, 2007, Kyle had gone to a comedy show with his family and his friends, Dan, Christina, Dom, and Dom's girlfriend. After the show, Kyle and his friends walked to the Buckhead Saloon, a nearby bar. It was a celebratory night, as it was Christina and Dom's birthdays and the group was also celebrating work changes for the pair.
While at the Buckhead Saloon, the group ran into acquaintances. They remained at the bar until midnight, and Kyle chose to stay behind to drink by himself, and eventually danced with a girl at the bar. This lead to a disagreement with the girl's boyfriend and his group of friends.
Two minutes before Kyle left the bar at 2:19 a.m, the girl he danced with left the bar. When Kyle left, he was recorded on camera walking down North College Street, stopping at Fuel Pizza to eat something along the way. A Fuel Pizza employee claims he served Kyle the Meat Lover's Pizza, Kyle ate it, then went into the restroom and wasn't seen after that because the restaurant got busy. The night was cold, and Kyle accidentally left his jacket and card behind at the Buckhead Saloon, but he had his keys on him.
Between 2:19 and 3:29 a.m, Kyle made several phone calls: one to his dad (who was staying in Raleigh, North Carolina in a hotel because of work that night), one to his sister Noelle, and one to his own voicemail, his friend Dan, his roommate Bruce, but all went unanswered.
The day after, November 10, 2007, Kyle's sister came by The Buckhead Saloon to look for her brother, without luck. Kyle's car remained at Dan's house...but where was Kyle?
Dan created a Facebook page to find Kyle, which amassed 60,000 followers within the first day.
Across the bridge, near North Davidson, was a bad area, known for crime and drugs known as Cordelia Park. Kyle disappeared close to this area. The last phone call pinged within a few feet from the bridge. Police searched this area, but nothing turned up.
Near the bar was a homeless encampment. A homeless man came forward and said Kyle was killed near Cordelia Park and his body was buried there, but again, police found nothing there. However, the two dogs from Public Safety Dogs Inc hit scents in the park.
The nearby Holiday Inn frequently had after parties going on, since it was close to the bar. Kyle's friend Dan says that he thinks that Kyle went there, as the group was invited to an after party. However, there were a few cameras in the foyer that would've picked up Kyle had he entered the hotel, and the cameras did not show Kyle, unfortunately.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department didn't have any K-9 scent dogs at the time, so they hired out dogs and their handlers from Public Safety Dogs, Inc. Two dogs traced Kyle's steps from from Fuel Pizza, down 6th Street, and down Brevard Street. The police department did exhaustive searches of the area.
The Fleischmann family hired a PI, who went to the Buckhead Saloon to retrieve Kyle's jacket and card. Also, he viewed the footage of Kyle walking down the streets outside the bar. In the PI's opinion, Kyle looked intoxicated, because he was staggering. The PI says that Kyle did not go back to the Buckhead Saloon, contrary to Kyle's dad's belief.
A taxi driver came forward four days after Kyle disappeared, on November 13, 2007, claiming he saw Kyle walking down N. Davidson Street by himself. However, his recollection of what Kyle was wearing is wrong, and the PI says that he is doubtful that the taxi driver saw Kyle. What evidence he has that the taxi driver is lying, I don't know. I also don't know why someone would make up the fact that they saw someone who went missing on the evening of their disappearance.
There was a construction site near the area where Kyle went missing from, named the Edgeline Construction Site. A woman (whose pseudonym is "Mary") came forward a few years after Kyle went missing, and said she smelled a foul odor coming from the construction site a few days after Kyle went missing. The smell was so bad that "Mary" couldn't open her doors or windows, and her neighbor also complained about the smell. "Mary" contacted the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department about the smell at the time he disappeared, but no one came out to investigate. Many days later, dump trucks came to the construction site to remove dirt, and the smell went away.
In addition, the night Kyle disappeared, she said she saw a red truck with two men inside it at the construction site. According to Mary, she was sitting on her porch after work, as she did on nights when the weather was good like this particular evening, when she saw two white men in a red truck sitting at the construction site, talking, then standing behind the truck for a long time. The men were in a position where they could see Mary and she could see them, but neither the men or Mary looked at each other. Mary said she never saw people on the construction site until this night.
Adding to the mystery was the fact that the two dogs from Public Safety Dogs, Inc searched the construction site and hit on the area. The handlers also said they "smelled death."
The police used ground penetrating radar and nothing hit on the construction site, though. In fact, the police department covered a 9 mile search on November 17, just 10 days after Kyle went missing, but nothing turned up.
Even so, could the bad smell have been something natural at the construction site, or was it the scent of a body, Kyle's more specifically?
Both of Kyle's parents believe he is buried under the Edgeline Flats on Davidson, where the construction site was. They also believe he was a victim of a robbery.
What do you believe happened to Kyle?
Personally, I feel like either Kyle was a victim of an attempted robbery that turned into murder, or he was killed by the group of guys who were with the girl he danced with at the bar, in a fight that turned into more.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Crime Stoppers has a private reward of $50,000 for anyone who knows anything about Kyle's disappearance and comes forward with information that leads to the discovery of Kyle.
Kyle's family started the Kyle Fleischmann Foundation,
Today, Kyle would be 41 years old. At the time he went missing, he was 24, 6 foot tall, and 180 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark short sleeve shirt and jeans.
Kyle, if you're out there, your family is still searching for you today. I hope that you are found and brought home to your family.
If you know what happened to Kyle Fleischmann or have any information surrounding his case, you may contact the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department at (704) 336-4978, contact Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600, or you may contact me at mysteriesofthemissing2023@gmail.com. Please share this episode, social media posts, and blog post so that we can all try to help bring Kyle home.
This has been another episode of Mysteries of the Missing. Until next time, stay safe...
Kyle's walking path: Starting at the Buckhead Saloon and ending at the construction site
Resources: 1. 2007 in the United States
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