30-03-2025
David Riemens' remains found in 2018 after disappearance. But Watertown case a mystery
Editor's note: This story is one of 11 Middle Tennessee cold cases profiled by The Tennessean. There are hundreds across the region, their families waiting for justice that may never come. Find more cases featured here.
Remains of the popular stone mason, artist and Hobbit house builder David Riemens who lived off the grid were found in 2018, but the case is still unsolved.
David Riemens lived off the grid in a treehouse for years in the Watertown area, but he wasn't a recluse.
Known around town as a talented artist, stone mason and Hobbit house builder, Riemens often visited the library and local merchants, friends Laura and Donny Nuessle said.
The 60-year-old was reported missing on Aug. 8, 2012. And while Riemens had a transient lifestyle and was planning a trip to visit family in Michigan just before his disappearance, finding his truck at a nearby store quickly cast suspicion.
"You start to think the worst,' then Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe said.
In January 2018, a human skull was found off Taylor Road near Sparta Pike close to Watertown. That led to more human remains, later determined to belong to Riemens.
Investigators have spoken with several people, though Wilson County Sheriff's Office Det. Major B.J. Stafford said, 'I would not classify anyone interviewed as a person of interest.'
Solving the case 'would mean so much to Donny and I and so many friends here in Watertown,' Laura Nuessle said.
Stafford still encourages anyone with information to submit a lead or information by visiting the Wilson County Sheriff's Office website and clicking on 'Crime Stoppers Tip.'
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Wilson County's David Riemens missing in 2012, remains later found
