Michael Ray Askren was 17 when he vanished from Rosemead, California on August 6, 1981, two days after his birthday. He lived with his grandparents after his parents separated. On the evening he disappeared he left home at 6:00 p.m. with a friend; that friend later said he dropped Michael back at home, but Michael was never seen again.

Michael took no belongings except $30 in cash and left clothes and items packed for the upcoming school year, prompting family concern. Authorities at first considered a runaway but noted he had no history of running away and family said he would have called if he planned to be late. The case was later reclassified and investigators have said foul play is now the primary theory, though no definitive evidence of a homicide has been reported.

He is described with brown hair and brown eyes, a pierced left ear, a scar from a hernia operation and an old left-elbow injury that caused the arm to bow. The case remains open and classified as endangered; anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.