Gary Lynn Mullinax was a 21-year-old man who disappeared from Little Rock, Arkansas, on Mother's Day, May 9, 1976. On that day, he visited with his parents and also spent time with his infant daughter, Amy. He was separated from his wife at the time. Before he left his family, he mentioned that he was going to meet someone and would be back in about an hour, but he was never seen or heard from again. The family has stated that it was out of character for him to leave without any warning. A few days following his disappearance, his green 1970 AMC Javelin was discovered parked on Lewis Street off Asher Avenue in Little Rock. Inside the vehicle were his personal belongings, including his wallet and keys. The location of the car was noted to be near a shop building owned by his brother-in-law.
At the time of his disappearance, Gary Mullinax was described as a white male, standing between 5'4' and 5'9' tall and weighing between 130 and 160 pounds.
He had brown hair, which at the time was shoulder-length, and brown eyes. He sometimes wore a full beard or a mustache. Distinctive physical characteristics included a previously fractured left hip from a fall out of a tree and a jaw that had been broken on both sides in a car accident. His family also noted that he wore a size 8 shoe. It is unknown what clothing he was wearing on the day he went missing, but he was known to often wear dressy attire. Due to the passage of time, the original missing persons report filed with the Benton Police Department has been lost as they did not retain records from before 1981.
There has been much speculation surrounding the circumstances of Gary Mullinax's disappearance. Rumors circulated that he may have been involved in the local drug trade, possibly working as a driver for a dealer. It has been suggested that he was trying to leave this lifestyle behind for the sake of his daughter and may have become an informant for the FBI. His sister recalled an incident where an FBI agent came to her home with Gary to retrieve a stolen gun her husband had purchased from him, and the agent confirmed that Gary was assisting them with some drug cases. Another theory is that he may have witnessed a serious crime, such as a murder, and was placed in the Witness Protection Program. The lack of concrete evidence and the loss of the original police records have made it difficult to substantiate any of these theories. The case remains a painful mystery for his family, particularly his daughter who has grown up without knowing what happened to her father.Last Seen: May 9, 1976
