Murder of Paul Joseph Olsen

On June 24, 1973, 20-year-old Paul Olsen was found wrapped in blankets, (a news article described them as sleeping bags) lying in a stream near Route 113 in Madison, New Hampshire. He had tape covering his mouth. His cause of death was asphyxia from obstruction of the mouth and nose.

SOURCES:

New Hampshire Department of Justice

Uncovered

Find a Grave

The Portsmouth Herald June 27, 1973

Disappearance of Mary Patricia Fiano

In 1973, 22-year-old Mary Fiano was living in Fairmount or Morgantown, West Virginia. She would go missing sometime in June. There is little information in this case. 

Mary is a white female and was 22 years old at the time. She was 5'5" and 100 to 200 lbs. She has shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Charley Project

Disappearance of Darrel B. Nichols

On April 1, 1973, 19-year-old Darrel Nichols was last seen in Park City, Utah. He may have gone into the hills with some unknown friends that day.

Darrel is a white male and was 19 years old at the time. He's 5'9" and 160 to 165 lbs. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing horned-rimmed glasses. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Charley Project

Aliens: Pascagoula Creature

On the night of October 11, 1973, 19-year-old Calvin Parker and 42-year-old Charles Hickson went fishing on the west bank of the Pascagoula River in Pascagoula, Mississippi. It was a peaceful night until dusk and a strange sound of whirring and flashing blue lights was coming from the water. They looked up to see an oval-shaped object approximately 30 to 40 ft across and 8 to 10 ft high. 

Three creatures would glide out of the craft and move in a mechanical-like way. The creatures were humanoid in figure and stood around 6 ft. Their skin was pale grey and wrinkled much like an elephant. They had no visible eyes but did have slits for mouths there were carrot-shaped "growths" that seemed to be where a human's nose and ears would be. There was no neck, just the head connected to the shoulders, and only one leg that looked like two fused together and ended with an elephant-like foot.

The men would freeze and be completely paralyzed, but conscious. The creatures would bring them on board and seemed to be subjected to a medical exam by a giant robotic eye. Just like that, they were returned to shore and the ship sped away into the sky. 

The men were scared and reported the incident to  Keesler AFB and the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. In an audio recording that was taken secretly, the men seemed to be traumatized. They worried for their families and didn't want to be thought of as deceiving anyone. 

Two more people claimed to have seen the lights over the river that night and thought it was a helicopter or plane. They also claimed to have seen someone in the water at one point, but did not get a good look at the person. 

SOURCES:

Hinds Community College

Urban Legendpedia

Disappearance of Shirley Magee

On July 26, 1973, 12-year-old Shirley Magee was last seen walking to the Harlan High School in Chicago, Illinois. Her family assumed she went to stay with family members, but she was never seen again. There is little information on this case.

Shirley is a black girl and was 12-years-old at the time. She was 5'0" to 5'3" and 80 to 110 lbs at the time. She has black hair and brown eyes. 

SOURCES:
NamUs
Doe Network
Charley Project

Our Black Girls

Disappearance of Solomon M. Aki

On July 19, 1973 69-year-old, Solomon Aki was last seen at his home on Kamehameha Highway in Punaluu, Hawaii. It's believed that he may have been on his 10-acre farmland like usual, but was not found there. His family searched for him, but he was never seen again.

Solomon is a bricial Pacific Islander and Asian r man and was 69-year-old at the time. He's 5'6" and 160 lbs. He has grey or greying hair and a dark complexion. He was wearing a tan shirt, brown hat, dark trousers, and possibly a black tabis.

SOURCES:
NamUs

Honolulu Star-Bulletin 

Murder of Susan Rae Perron

On June 13, 1971, 14-year-old Susan Perron left her home to walk to Lorenzi Park in Las Vegas. She had planned to swim and it's unknown if she made it there. This was the last time anyone had seen her. No one would know what had happened to her for almost 2 years. 

On April 16, 1973, her skeletal remains were found in a desert area about 5 miles west of U.S. Highway off of Lone Mountain Rd. It was determined that her cause of death was blunt trauma to her head. 

SOURCES:

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

Find a Grave

August 13, 1973 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Doe

 On August 13, 1973, skeletal remains were found inside an abandoned house that was going to soon be demolished in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The home was reported as vacant in the mid-1950s and the person possibly died between 1955 to 1970. It's likely he died in the 1950s as some of the items on the person were from that time. 

The gender and race are unknown but the person was between 20 to 70-years-old. They were 5'3". They were wearing a shirt, tie, brown trousers, leather belt, and brown socks. They had a full pack of Pall Mall cigarettes in their shirt pocket, an illegible ID card from 1955, and a 3C liberty stamp issued in 1954 until 1958. There were a pair of reading glasses made by American Optical Co. ~45 years of age at the initial report date. They have a slight plus Rx and are assumed to be used by an older person for reading.

SOURCES:

NamUs

Unidentified Wiki

Disappearance of Stephen "Steve" Mysick

On October 27, 1973, between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. 61-year-old Stephen "Steve" Mysick packed his suitcase and left where he was staying in Rapid City, Manitoba, Canada. He would be seen at the CP train station in Brandon. It's believed that since he had ties to and formerly lived in Winnipeg that he was traveling there. There was no indication that he actually boarded the train to Winnipeg.

He had been living with friends for the last 2.5 years before his disappearance after getting out of a mental hospital. He had very limited funds at the time. Foul play is not suspected in this case.

Stephen is a white male and was 61-years-old at the time. He's 5'6" (167 cm) and 137 lbs (62kg). He has white hair and a light complexion. There was visible decay on his teeth. He was wearing a green windbreaker, a plaid shirt that was buttoned at the neck, a brown overcoat, a brown fedora, and green pants. 

SOURCES:
Canada's Missing
The Doe Network

Aliens: The Metal Man

On October 17, 1973 in Falkville, Alabama Police Chief, Jeff Greenhaw, would receive a call from a frantic anonymous caller. They stated that a UFO was in a field just outside of town. The police chief believed that they were simply dealing with an idiot initially and went to the call.

When he arrived he was staring at a figure that was slightly taller than 6ft. The figure was wearing reflective metal like aluminum foil. It looked like his head and neck were kind of made together, and was bright, something like rubbing mercury or Nickle, and was smooth as glass. He stated different angel were giving different lightening. When the figure moved it was not natural or human-like. He described it as moving like the robot in Lost in Space. It was like it had springs on its feet, but was able to run away quickly. 

After taking four polaroid's of the strange being he tried to talk to it. He said something along the lines of "Howdy Stranger". He then turned the top lights of the patrol car to get a better look. When he looked back the thing was quickly running away. He got into the patrol car and chased the figure. It exceeded 35mph and he could not catch up to it in the field. 

He would lose sight of the being and soon crashed his vehicle. The figure would then disappear in the darkness leaving the police chief stunned. If it wasn't for the four polaroids that he took he would have not believed what he saw that night.  His time as a police chief for Falkville was short as he was hired in January and left a few weeks after this event. He felt that he was never the same ever since that night and his sanity was shaken.

He would then keep the four photos in a safe place before they, his service revolver and a shotgun were stolen in 1983 during a break-in.

SOURCES:

Cryptid Wiki

Montgomery Advertiser October 19, 1973

Cullman Tribune July 10, 2021

Disappearance of Mitchell Joseph Teevan

 

In 1965 Mitchell Teevan moved to Nome, Alaska, and would regularly send letters to family up until 1973. There is little information in this case. His missing date is listed as Jan. 1, 1974, and is approximate.

Mitchell is a white male and was 38-years-old at the time. He's 5'8" to 6'0" and around 165 to 195 lbs. He has brown hair and hazel eyes. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

January 6, 1973 Marin County, California Jane Doe

 On January 6, 1973, the skeletal remains of a woman were found by hikers on Mt. Talmapais in Marin County, California. She may have been dead up to 3 years. 

She's a white female between 15 to 25-years-old. She's 5'8" to 6'0".

SOURCES:

NamUs

Doe Network

Murder of James Teta

On August 23, 1973 15-year-old James Teta was reported missing from his home at 167 Suffolk Ave in Revere, Massachusetts. Two days later James's body would be found an hour and 1/2 in the woods off of Route 119 in Rindge, New Hampshire. It was found that he had been raped and strangled to death.

It's possible that Nathaniel Bar-Jonah was responsible for James's death.

SOURCES:
New Hampshire Department of Justice
Unidentified Wiki
Uncovered
Courant

Murder of Mary Jo Shelleby

On November 9, 1973, 19-year-old Mary Jo Shelleby left her parent's home around 8:30 p.m. in Sarasota, Florida. She told her parents she would be right back. The next morning at about 2:30 a.m. by a police officer who accidentally ran over her body on McIntosh Road just south of Clark Road. She was already dead when the police officer ran her over. She was partially nude and had been beaten to death. Investigation indicates that more than one person may have been involved in her death.

At the time Mary Jo was attending Manatee Junior College. She was a known hitchhike. 

SOURCES:

Sarasota County

The Bradenton Herald November 12, 1973

Tampa Bay Times November 13, 1973

Tampa Bay Times November 16, 1973

The Tampa Tribune November 22, 1973

Disappearance of Richard Edward Strehle

On July 5, 1973, 26-year-old Richard Strehle was last seen by his landlady's husband near his studio apartment in the 1200 block of Judith Lane in South Lake Tahoe, California. He did not seem to take anything with him as he left behind his belongings and 3 of his vehicles.He was described as quiet, reliable, and a responsible employee.  At the time though he was mildly depressed because his girlfriend moved to Colorado. But his disappearance was out of place.

 In 1973  Richard was working as a realtor with Maloney Realty. He purchased a fixer-upper home on Zuni Lane shortly before his disappearance.

Richard is a white male and was 26-years-old at the time. He's 6'2" and 170 lbs.  He has brown hair and hazel eyes.

SOURCES:

Charley Project

NamUs

Doe Network

South Lake Tahoe

Lost Boy Larry

On August 7, 1973, a young boy would call out on the CB radio. A radio operator in California received the transmission of 7-year-old Larry calling out for help. He said he was lost in New Mexico and that he and his father had gone out rabbit hunting. His father would then collapse at the wheel, it may have been a heart attack, and the red and white truck crashed and landed upside down in a ditch. It was hard to tell what Larry was saying as he was sobbing heavily and the connection was poor, but he was able to tell the operator this much.

Over the next few days several CB operators in New Mexico, California, Wyoming, and Canada would talk to this supposed "Larry". His pleas were reported to the police, but there was no trace of him nor his father. The calls would stop 5 days later. It's believed that some of these "Larry's and one David" were hoaxes and possible the original was too.

If this was true and Larry and his father were trapped in a truck it's likely they were never found. There were no reports of a missing father and son and no reports of the accident. There were search helicopters out and one "David" talked to a rescue worker who said the boy claimed to see him airplane searchlights that had flown over the Manzano Mountains, south of Albuquerque.


SOURCES:
New Mexico
Medium

Disappearance of Rafael Gonzalez Romo

Rafael Romo was last seen at Delegacion Venustiano Carranza in Distrito Federal, Mexico sometime in 1973. He is a Hispanic male and was 52-years-old at the time. He's 165 cm and thin build. He has brown eyes and brown straight hair.

SOURCES:
Doe Network

April 8, 1973 Las Vegas, Nevada John Doe

On April 8, 1973, hikers found the body of a man in an open desert area of Sunrise Mountain. He was an Asian male between 25 to 60-years-old. He is 5'5" and 125 lbs. He had straight black hair of medium length. He was wearing a Gaberdine tan raincoat, a blue long-sleeved sweater, a blue suit with pinstripes, a pair of jockey shorts, and black shoes and socks. There was a key chain, pen and case (all with NY, NY on them) found nearby.

SOURCES:
NamUs

March 21, 1973 Baltimore, Maryland John Doe

On March 21, 1973, the body of a man was found in a vacant row house in Baltimore, Maryland. He may have been homeless and had been dead for weeks. He was a black male between 40 and 80-years-old. He was 5'6" and 118 lbs He had black greying hair and was sporting a beard. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt, tan shirt, blue undershirt, boxer shorts, long grey overcoat, socks, and brown shoes. He was also uncircumcised. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Disappearance of Norman Lamar Prater

On Jan. 14, 1973 around midnight 16-year-old Norman Prater went to the 24-hour coffee shop in Dallas, Texas. His mother worked there and he had a soft drink. He had gone with two teenage boys with shoulder-length hair and a Hispanic man. His mother didn't recognize any of them.

Norman told her he was going to be on his way home. He promised to help her move the next day but was never heard from again.

It's been looked at as a possibility that Norman was a victim of Dean Corll or the "Candy Man". He was a serial killer who targeted and sexually assaulted teenage boys and young men. He had at least 28 victims in Houston, Texas Between 1970 and 1973. He had been killed by Elmer Henley an accomplice of his crime.

Norman was living in Houston during the 1970-1971 school year. He lived in a neighborhood where many of Dean Corll's victims are from. He had currently lived in Dallas with his mother, but would regularly visit Houston on weekends.

It hasn't been proven that Norman was a victim of Dean Corll.

Norman is a white male and was 16 at the time. He was 5'8" and 130 lbs at the time. He has brown hair and blue eyes.

SOURCES:

NamUs

Doe Network

Charley Project

National Missing Person Directory 

Murderpedia