Farren Wade Stanberry was 18 when he vanished in the spring of 1980. From John Day, Oregon, he had spent the year after his eighteenth birthday traveling and kept in regular contact with family. The last confirmed contact came in May or June 1980, when he called from San Francisco, saying he was staying at a hotel with other young men and that he had just lost his job and was short on money.

Weeks later the family learned from the hotel that Farren had left suddenly, leaving personal belongings and an unpaid bill—behavior his relatives say was out of character. The initial missing-person report was filed in John Day, but it appears that information was not promptly shared with San Francisco authorities, which the family believes may have hindered early inquiries.

If anyone who knew Farren in San Francisco in 1980 or remembers seeing him in the weeks after that call can help, please come forward with what you recall.