Keith William Schmidt, 53, of Dickinson, North Dakota, was reported missing on May 29, 2024, after last being seen nine days earlier. Schmidt, owner of Schmidt Flooring in Dickinson, was not known as a morning person, but on the morning of May 20, 2024, he was awake unusually early: he set his trash out for curbside pickup a day ahead of the scheduled Tuesday collection, and at 5:56 a.m. he texted an acquaintance, "Sorry, been busy." At 6:03 a.m., a neighbor's residential security camera recorded him leaving his home on foot, facing north. He did not return. In the roughly ten days before his disappearance, Schmidt had stopped returning calls and text messages from several people, including a client whose flooring job he had left unfinished with tools still at the job site, and another client he had completed work for but never billed. He left behind his vehicles and his cell phone, found charging on his workbench; his wallet and a job-list notebook were not recovered with his other belongings. Police have not identified a clothing description for that morning. Schmidt is described as a White male, 5'9", 140 pounds, with graying brown hair, green eyes, a mustache and beard, and several tattoos, including a clock-style tattoo on his left wrist, a tattoo resembling a clock with skulls on his left shoulder, a tattoo on his back resembling a snake skeleton, and a tattoo of a creature on his right wrist.
The Dickinson Police Department is the lead investigating agency (case number DPD24-04742; Det. Sgt. Jeremy Moser). Investigators have searched Schmidt's residence and his family's farm near Watford City, canvassed the surrounding neighborhood for video surveillance, and looked into businesses Schmidt frequented and potential social-media leads, without a confirmed lead as of the most recent public update. Police have stated the investigation includes the possibility of foul play and that this has limited how much of the investigation is disclosed publicly. Volunteer ground searches, coordinated with Badlands Search and Rescue, were conducted in the Dickinson area through 2025; as of a June 2025 update, ground, K-9, and ATV searches within the identified search radius had been exhausted without result and were suspended pending new leads or tips. The case remains open and unsolved. It is catalogued as NamUs #MP123952. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dickinson Police Department at (701) 456-7759 or submit an anonymous tip through Badlands Crime Stoppers.
