Abel resided in Orange City, Florida in 2001. He planned to spend the day of December 20 on a fishing trip at Canaveral National Seashore Park, a federal park near New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Several fishermen told authorities that they saw Abel casting net along the shore from approximately 7:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. By 11:30 a.m., his white 1999 GMC Suburban sport utility vehicle (SUV) with Florida license plates numbered A57-QJL had disappeared from the park's lot. A year after he vanished, Abel's car was found abandoned in Boca Raton, Florida. Police located unspecified evidence in the vehicle, but nothing conclusively pointing to Abel's fate. An extensive search of the area produced no clues as to Abel's whereabouts. Investigators do not have enough evidence to determine if his disappearance involves foul play, but his credit cards have not been used.

Abel's wife said that her husband went through his normal routine on the day of his disappearance. He brewed a pot of coffee and ate a bowl of cold cereal, departing from their home at approximately 5:30 a.m. He said that he planned to park in lot number 4 at Canaveral National Seashore and told his wife to call the ranger if there was a problem at home. He regularly fished at the park.

Police are interested in identifying and speaking to a possible witness about Abel's disappearance. Other witnesses saw the man near Abel shortly before he vanished. They described him as a clean-shaven Caucasian male in his twenties. He has never been identified. A sketch of the individual is posted below this case summary. He is not being called a suspect in Abel's disappearance, but investigators believe he may have information that could lead them to Abel's whereabouts.

In June 2004, authorities announced their suspicion of Douglas McClymont's involvement in Abel's disappearance. His photograph is posted below this case summary. In May 2004, McClymont shot an acquaintance to death, kidnapped the dead man's wife, and drove to North Carolina, where he fatally shot a married couple and kidnapped his own estranged wife. He committed suicide after fleeing a traffic stop in North Carolina. The two women he abducted didn't suffer serious injuries.

After his death, investigators named McClymont in the disappearances of ten-year-old Joshua Bryant and Bryant's grandmother, Lillian Martin, both of whom vanished from their home in Deltona, Florida in May 2001. Bryant's body was found in June 2004; Martin is still missing and presumed dead. One of the women McClymont kidnapped said he confessed to both murders. McClymont's known crimes share similarities with Abel's disappearance, and he'd bragged about killing somebody in New Smyra Beach. However, no strong evidence links him to Abel.

Abel married in 1945. He is a World War II veteran. He and his wife previously resided in New York, Michigan and Wisconsin before relocating to Florida in 1989. Abel's loved ones describe him as an extremely dependable man who always kept to the same routine. They stated he did not have any medical conditions which would cause him to suffer memory loss or wander away. His case remains unsolved.

Left: Possible witness in Abel's case;
Right: Douglas McClymont, circa 2004