He had been traveling with a religious music group called the Whitey Gleason Trio and was staying at a motel with the group when he vanished. He left a note saying he intended to travel on his own and would be in touch, but he never made contact again.

Douglass had significant medical issues: brain damage from polio, meningitis and encephalitis. Those conditions left him reliant on canes or a wheelchair, blind in his left eye and with an enlarged head. His mother and family worked with authorities in Missouri, Texas and Kansas searching for him, but no substantial leads have emerged and the case remains open and unsolved.

Did anyone who knew the Whitey Gleason Trio or stayed at that motel in early March 1983 see Ronald Douglass or recall details about his intended travel plans?