Gerald Lee Foote, 34, was last seen by a friend in Milaca, Minnesota, on October 25, 1978. His parents had expected him to leave for Arizona on October 20, five days before that sighting, and the activities and movements between October 20 and October 25 are unclear, leaving a gap in the timeline.

Foote is described as a white male with blond hair and blue eyes, 6 feet 2 inches tall, about 220 pounds, with a scar on his right knee. On October 27, two days after the last confirmed sighting, people fishing on the Rum River northwest of Princeton and south of Milaca found some of his personal belongings near a bridge on a township road. Those items are the most tangible clue but have not resolved what happened to him.

The Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office continues to list the case as active. If anyone knew Gerald, saw him in late October 1978, or has information about the bridge area on the Rum River, please come forward.