Dennis Frank Svoboda, 47, was last seen on January 21, 1996, after launching a 15-foot red and white Slickcraft runabout with a friend, Larry G. Mansur, on the Columbia River near Longview, Washington. Svoboda was described as Caucasian, with brown hair, blue eyes, a close-cropped beard and mustache, and glasses. He wore a tan coat, blue jeans, and work boots; the tip of his left middle finger and half of his left index finger were missing.

Mansur’s vehicle and boat trailer were found at the launch, and Mansur’s body was recovered from the river on June 9, 1996, about two miles downstream near Willow Grove Park. Svoboda and the Slickcraft, hull identification number C70021 and registration WN6776MD, have never been found. The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office classifies the case as lost or injured missing, and the leading theory is a fishing accident, but the exact events that day remain unknown.

If anyone saw that Slickcraft, knew the men, or has information about the launch area that day, please share what is known.