The case of Henry McCabe is like so many others. He went out with some friends, had a lot of drinks, and vanished in the night. What makes his case so strange would be the bizarre phone call he made.

 In 2015, Henry was a 32-year-old Liberian immigrant who lived in Mounds View with his wife Kareen and two daughters. He was an auditor for the Minnesota Department of Revenue Henry, but his family planned on moving back to California. His wife and kids had gone to California to finalize the move during the Labor day weekend. Before the big move, Henry wanted to spend one more night with friends. 

On the night of Sunday, September 6th, Mccabe went to a local club in Spring Lake Park called Povlitzki’s On 65 with pals Calvin Johnson and William Kennedy. According to Johnson and Kennedy, Henry was drinking a lot, so they took his wallet and keys to prevent him from buying more drinks or driving.

At 1:40 am, Henry left with William Kennedy. Henry’s apartment was a little over two miles from the club, but he asked to be dropped off at the Super America gas station for unknown reasons, and Kennedy obliged.

Kareen received a phone call from Henry at 2:28 am. She believes Henry’s phone accidentally dialed her. This phone call is what makes this case extremely disturbing and bizarre. When Kareen answered the phone, she heard high-pitched screaming and growling. Kareen said during the call Henry said someone shot him. While she was on the phone, she dialed Henry’s brother, but his voice mail picked up, which recorded the last 2 minutes of the call. Not all of the recording has been released publicly, but Kareen says she heard a male voice say stop it, and the call dropped. 

She immediately tried calling her husband back, but the call went straight to voicemail. Henry was never heard from again.

When Henry’s brother, Tim Borbor, listened to the voicemail the next day, he knew something was wrong and filed a missing person report in Moundsview. 

Police would discover Henry’s cellphone last pinged in New Brighton, which is five miles from Moundsview. Detectives became suspicious of William Kennedy when they couldn’t find surveillance footage of him dropping off Henry at the Super America gas station. Kennedy was adamant he dropped Henry off at the gas station. They would later discover through camera footage Kennedy actually dropped him off at the Holiday gas station three miles down the road. Kennedy turned over Henry’s keys to the police, and Calvin Johnson still had the missing man’s wallet. They had never given them back to Henry after leaving the club.

 Police and family searched the area for Henry. David Singleton, who heads the Minnesota Community Police, offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to Henry Mccabe, but they rescinded it after saying Kareen McCabe was misleading the public. Kareen said she fired the organization and hired a different agency to help with the case.

On November 2nd, a kayaker found Henry’s body in Rush Lake. The location was five miles from the Holiday gas station Kennedy left him at. 

There were no injuries or any signs of trauma to Henry’s body, and the autopsy concluded he died of an accidental drowning. There are reports the FBI has been involved with the case.

Possible theories

One theory is Henry was drugged at the club and was hallucinating during the phone call. He then stumbled into the lake. Are the sounds on the voicemail of him struggling in the water? Investigators said toxicology tests were being performed, but the results were never released.

Another theory that has been suggested is Henry committed suicide. There are reports of him having marital problems. He also had recently bounced a rent check and received a bad work review. Did he place the phone call to throw everyone off?

There’s still suspicion surrounding his friends. Why would you be so worried about your drunk friend and take his keys and wallet yet drop him off alone at a gas station?

What do you think happened to Henry?

The Trail Went Cold did a great episode on Henry’s case

The Trail Went Cold – Minisode 31 – Henry McCabe – The Trail Went Cold

Murdered Suspicious Death henry mccabe Suspicious Death unsolved