Francis Xavier Schmidt was 36 when he disappeared after midnight on Friday, September 14, 1979. A self-employed electronics designer from Neptune, New Jersey, he was a husband and father of four who commuted to South Plainfield for work. Known to family as Frank or Buddy, he had light brown balding hair and hazel eyes.

That evening he had dinner with a friend in South Plainfield and was seen shortly after midnight driving his white 1978 Buick Regal, New Jersey plate 794IXA, headed toward Route 46 South. He told the friend he planned to stop at his office to drop off work; the papers were later found at the office. When he failed to return home his wife reported him missing the next day. A New Jersey State Police helicopter searched the Garden State Parkway and investigators found no activity on his bank or credit accounts in the weeks afterward.

The car and Schmidt were never found and the case went cold, leaving his family without closure. If anyone has information about Francis Schmidt, his movements on September 14–15, 1979, or the white 1978 Buick Regal, please come forward.