Gerald Eugene Layne, 32, disappeared after leaving Reno on January 6, 1961. He was acting general manager of the Riverside Hotel and Casino and said he was driving to a high-stakes poker game in Placerville, California. He reportedly left Reno in a white 1960 American-made sedan owned by his uncle, wearing a brown suit and white shirt and carrying about $15,000 in cash plus a 1 1/4 carat diamond ring and jade cuff links.

Weeks later the car was found locked and abandoned in Harrah’s Casino parking lot at Lake Tahoe; the trunk’s rubber mat was new. There were no obvious signs of a struggle, but Layne and his money and jewelry were missing. Searches by local police, the sheriff’s office and Stead Air Force Base turned up nothing along the route toward Placerville.

Investigators later noted Layne had prior arrests, including a 1959 Tulsa arrest for possession of loaded dice and marked cards and an unclear 1960 Reno arrest. Glen Lucas, a Las Vegas promoter and regular poker partner, was reportedly the last person to see Layne and said Layne never reached the game; Lucas faced a pending bad-check case in Placerville and reportedly traveled to Mexico soon after. No trace of Layne has been found and he is presumed deceased.

Did anyone who knew Layne, his poker circle, or who worked at the casinos around Lake Tahoe in 1961 hear anything that might explain his disappearance?