Lewis Barrett Welch Jr., a poet linked to the Beat Generation, vanished from Nevada City, California on May 23, 1971. He had been staying at the home of fellow poet Gary Snyder when he left carrying a Smith & Wesson .22 caliber revolver taken from Snyder’s belongings. Welch was known to struggle with depression and alcoholism; he left a note expressing intent to take his own life and describing frustration with life and his inability to realize his artistic visions.

Welch had been active in the San Francisco literary scene in the 1960s and counted Jack Kerouac and Gary Snyder among his connections; Kerouac based a character on him in Big Sur. Although presumed to have died by suicide, no body or physical evidence has ever been found and his disappearance remains unresolved despite searches.

Did anyone who knew Welch or was in Nevada County around May 23, 1971, see or hear anything that might help explain what happened to him?