Michael Van Gist was 50 when he left his Collinsville, Illinois, home on a December day in 2010 and told his live-in girlfriend he’d be back in five minutes. He walked out wearing a black skull cap, a black jacket, and jeans and has not been seen or heard from since. His girlfriend did not report him missing for three weeks, and the exact date of his disappearance is unclear.

Gist is described as a Black man with black hair in dreadlocks and brown eyes, standing between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 11 inches and weighing 170 to 180 pounds. Distinguishing marks include a scar on his abdomen and another scar above either his left or right eye. The Collinsville Police Department is handling the investigation, which remains open and cold; his case is listed in national missing-persons databases.

Few details are known about his state of mind or reasons for leaving, and those gaps are a central part of the mystery. Can anyone who knew Michael or saw him in Collinsville in December 2010 share information?