Donald Curtis Rexroth was 23 and a U.S. Air Force Sergeant when he vanished from K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base on the evening of May 3, 1979. He had been at the quarters with his wife and another couple, and after an argument he walked away on foot in near-freezing temperatures wearing only a white thermal top, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. He was reported missing the next day.

Initial base activity included a major cleaning in the days after his disappearance; the Air Force declared him a deserter in June 1979, a classification that his parents did not learn about until the following year. Family and friends always maintained he would not have left without saying goodbye, and his mother raised concerns about his work handling highly classified bomber navigation information.

Human remains found by hunters near the former base in Skandia Township in fall 2017 were confirmed by DNA in July 2019 to be Rexroth’s. A multi-agency search of the find site recovered additional remains and personal items. Investigators suspect foul play and the case remains active. Does anyone have information about Rexroth’s movements on May 3, 1979, or about activity near K.I. Sawyer that night?