Baltimore Police Seek Missing Man Last Seen Outside Fell's Point Bar

Branson Oduor, a 27-year-old Baltimore accountant, has been missing for five days after surveillance cameras captured him outside The Horse You Came In On Saloon at approximately 1 a.m. on April 4. As of Tuesday, his girlfriend and stepmom were canvassing Thames Street themselves, going door to door along the same waterfront strip where he was last seen.

Oduor, who works as an accountant for a commercial real estate developer, went out with friends Friday night and never came home. His girlfriend, Emily Costa, filed a wellness check with Baltimore Police after he failed to return, triggering a missing persons report. He is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing approximately 150 pounds, last seen wearing a white hat and a tan-colored shirt. Police and family say he had no known reason to disappear.

Costa and Oduor's stepmom, Millicent Obongo, have grown increasingly frustrated with the pace of the police response. "There's not cops out actively looking like we want," Costa told FOX45 News. "It feels like we're doing this ourselves." Obongo was direct: "They don't think it's urgent."

The location adds a layer of urgency that the family knows well. Thames Street runs directly along the Baltimore waterfront, and the block where Oduor was last seen sits within walking distance of the Inner Harbor. In April 2024, 27-year-old Romain Mpoko disappeared from near the same waterfront after leaving his shift at the Sagamore Pendry hotel. One week after he was reported missing, his body was recovered from the Inner Harbor. Mpoko was the same age as Oduor.

The Horse You Came In On, at 1626 Thames Street, is among Fell's Point's most recognizable institutions. Established in 1775, it is the only licensed establishment in Maryland to have operated before, during, and after Prohibition, and draws a steady crowd with live music every night of the week.

Anyone who was at The Horse or nearby on Thames Street in the early hours of April 4 and has not yet spoken with police should do so immediately. Surveillance footage from bar security cameras, neighboring businesses, and rideshare pickup corridors along that stretch represents some of the most critical evidence available and, depending on the recording system, can be automatically overwritten within days. Bar staff and business owners along the 1600 block of Thames Street who have not reviewed their recordings from the 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. window on April 3 to 4 should do so now and preserve anything relevant before it is lost.

The family's frustration reflects a documented resource gap inside BPD. The department's missing persons unit runs on just two detectives and one supervisor, actively prioritizing roughly 400 of the most critical cases each year out of more than 3,000 annual reports. Baltimore averages approximately 13 new missing persons reports per day. Families navigating that gap have increasingly turned to the Facebook group "Missing in Baltimore City," which has grown to nearly 39,000 members and receives dozens of new posts each week.

Anyone with information on Branson Oduor's whereabouts should contact the Baltimore Police Department. Tips can also be submitted through the "Missing in Baltimore City" Facebook group.