Aren Lee Washburn, 22 and a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, vanished from Niagara Falls, New York, in the autumn of 2008. On the evening of November 12 he left his apartment wearing black pants, a white shirt, a black jacket, a black hat, and black sneakers. At about 10:30 PM he called his mother, Valene Cook, told her he was sorry and that he loved her, and the call ended abruptly.

A pedestrian found Aren’s cell phone on the Rainbow Bridge in the early hours of November 13, prompting a Niagara Falls Police investigation. Bridge surveillance captured a male matching Aren’s description jumping from the bridge at 11:48 PM on November 12; the clothing matched what he had been seen wearing earlier. Searches of the Niagara River and surrounding areas did not recover a body. Aren was later declared legally deceased by the Social Security Administration with a date of death of November 12, 2008.

The evidence on the bridge and his final phone call point to a tragic end, but the absence of remains left his family without physical closure. Does anyone have information about Aren’s last known movements or memories to share with his family?