A Late Photographer’s Archive of One Million Images Has Connected Him to Seven Missing Women

Erotic photographer R.C. Horsch in 1999 | Image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

An archive of more than one million photos and videos found at the home of an erotic photographer, who passed away last year, has connected him to seven missing women — five of whom police believe are dead.

R.C. Horsch — born Raymond Charles Hoersch in 1943 — was an American erotic photographer filmmaker based in Philadelphia. He became well-known in erotic art circles, publishing more than a dozen photo books, with his work also featured in anthologies about the subject.

Horsch died in May 2025 at the age of 82. However, the discovery of his vast photo archive has since placed his former home at the center of a sprawling criminal investigation into multiple missing women.

Horsch’s home at 417 West Chew Avenue in Philadelphia’s Olney section, which he shared with his son Eugene, is now being searched by Philadelphia police and federal investigators, who are reviewing more than one million photos and videos recovered from the property.

Investigators say they have identified 58 people in the digital material. Seven women seen in the images have been linked to missing person cases spanning more than a decade, while police believe five of the women are dead. Images appear to show the five women unconscious, lifeless or injured, but no bodies have been recovered and the investigation remains ongoing.

The five women believed to be dead are Blair Tonzelli, 35, who disappeared in 2023; Amy McHale, who disappeared in June 2016; Nicole Fusaro, 27, who disappeared in 2018; Maribel Fresses, 27, who disappeared in 2018; and Gabrielle Amarando, 22, who disappeared in 2012. McHale had previously been married to Horsch.

Hundreds of Thousands of Photos to be Examined by Cops

According to NBC News Philadelphia, investigators have only reviewed about 30% of the digital evidence, leaving hundreds of thousands of photos and videos Horch’s home to be examined.

NBC News Philadelphia reports that the case began with an apparently unrelated encounter in June, when a federal park ranger approached an illegally parked BMW near Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. Inside were Horsch’s 44-year-old son, Eugene, and a woman carrying identification belonging to Blair Tonzelli, who had been missing since 2023.

The ranger also found two handguns, about $8,000 worth of illegal drugs and fraudulent federal law enforcement credentials identifying Eugene as an officer. Eugene was arrested and a subsequent search of the Horsch home in Philadelphia led to the recovery of one million photographs as well as the discovery of five urns containing cremated remains.

Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of FBI Philadelphia tells CBS News that agents will be back at the house on West Chew Avenue with more search warrants later this month.

“The objective here is thoroughness, not simply speed,” Jacobs says. “We need to ensure that we do not overlook something that could help identify a victim, establish what occurred, provide an answer to a family that has been looking for one.”