Allen Briscoe, listed as Allen Briscoe Jr., was 16 when he vanished from Philadelphia on December 13, 1985. That Friday the family’s morning wake-up call went unanswered; his mother tried again at 3:30 p.m. with no response. She returned home late from work to find Allen’s sister locked out because Allen, who kept the house keys, was not there.

A friend last saw Allen getting off a bus on Woodland Avenue after they had reportedly ridden the subway around the city and then taken a bus back toward their neighborhood. He told the friend he planned to visit a nearby female friend before they parted. Allen was wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. He left behind his personal belongings and $50 recently given for his birthday, and family say he was close to them and had not indicated any intention to leave.

Allen was described as bowlegged with a lump on his left shoulder, a scar on his forehead, and a chipped front tooth. Investigators have noted challenges over the years locating friends and witnesses from 1985; authorities have also considered a possible connection to 16-year-old Christine Green, last seen on Woodland Avenue nine months earlier, but no definitive link has been made. Anyone with information about Allen’s disappearance is asked to come forward.