Samuel Byrd vanished from Hamden, Connecticut, in early summer 1977 just after graduating from Hamden High School. He was 17 or 18, about 5 feet 9 inches and 170 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. The last confirmed sighting came in June 1977 when he was reportedly seen in an airport limousine at Tweed New Haven Regional Airport; there were also reports he had expressed interest in going to Georgia or Texas.

No formal missing person report was filed until 2014, more than three decades after Samuel was last seen, which precluded an investigation during the critical early period. The New Haven Police Department later opened a case and released an age-progressed image showing what he might have looked like at 56. Authorities classified him as an endangered runaway, though a former classmate said Samuel was close to his family and found it hard to believe he would cut off all contact, leaving open questions about possible foul play.

Does anyone who knew Samuel, his family, or his classmates from Hamden in 1977 have information that could help clarify what happened?