John Stephen Kozma was 79 when he vanished from his Phoenix trailer in the autumn of 1996. He was last seen at home on November 20, 1996, near 27th Avenue and Osborn Road. Neighbors said he’d gone gold-panning with unknown people, and a handwritten note left in his trailer read Gold-panning trip, which prompted speculation he might have headed into the Superstition Mountains.

Kozma had no known living relatives at the time; his senior dancing group reported him missing. The Phoenix Police Department investigated but turned up no concrete evidence of his destination or the identities of those he was said to be with. With no further contact and few leads, the trail went cold.

Did anyone in the Phoenix area remember John, his routines, or anyone who might have gone gold-panning with him in late 1996?