James Charles Stanford was 16 when he disappeared from his family home in Overland, Missouri, in the spring of 1971. The last reported contact was on or around May 1, 1971. He was tall and slender, about 6 feet 3 inches and 125 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes.

Before he vanished, James told family he wanted to travel to Texas or California to join a convent. That statement is the last clear indication of his intentions; no confirmed sightings or contact have been reported since. His disappearance was filed with the Overland Police Department and the case is listed in national missing-person databases, with age-progressed images produced to aid identification.

Did anyone in Texas or California ever encounter a young man matching James Stanford’s description in 1971 or afterward?