Orben Dorrell Missing Person Case

On a cold winter day in Kansas City, Missouri, on January 18, 1978, a 52-year-old man named Orben 'Lee' Dorrell was seen for the last time. A retired police officer, Dorrell had served with the Kansas City Police Department for a quarter of a century before his retirement in 1974. Known by his middle name, Lee, he was a white male with graying hair and brown eyes, standing at 6 feet tall and weighing around 215 pounds. A distinguishing feature was a large scar on the left side of his beltline. The last confirmed sighting of him was at a boat shop in the southeastern part of the city, after which he seemingly vanished without a trace, leaving behind a life and a family who would be left with unanswered questions for decades to come.

The circumstances surrounding Orben Lee Dorrell's disappearance were anything but ordinary. At the time he went missing, he was the subject of a federal investigation into mail fraud. According to his daughter, Dorrell was fearful for his life in the period leading up to his disappearance, a fear she believes was directly connected to the fraud investigation. Not long after he was last seen, on February 10, 1978, his car was discovered abandoned near the Kansas City International Airport, adding another layer of mystery to the case. Three months after he vanished, the legal troubles he was facing came to a head when he was indicted on forty-eight counts of mail fraud. The federal investigation alleged that Dorrell and his co-defendants had operated two companies with the sole purpose of fraudulently declaring bankruptcy.

The investigation into Dorrell's disappearance has spanned many years, yet it remains one of Kansas City's enduring cold cases. His family holds the strong belief that he met with foul play as a result of his involvement in the fraudulent activities. Despite extensive efforts by law enforcement, including the FBI, no concrete evidence has ever surfaced to definitively explain what happened to him. The official classification of his case is that of an endangered missing person. The passage of time has not brought any resolution, and the lack of answers has left a void in the lives of his loved ones. The case of Orben Lee Dorrell is a complex story of a man who once upheld the law, only to find himself on the other side of it, culminating in a disappearance that continues to baffle investigators and his family.
Last Seen: Jan 18, 1978

Orben Lee Dorrell - The Charley Project

Missing Person / NamUs #MP36317