Robert Raymond Parks, known as Robbie, was 13 when he walked out of his family’s home in Mesa, Arizona, on April 11, 1974, and never returned. A seventh-grade student at Powell Junior High School, he had brown hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing bell-bottom pants with blue and purple cuffs. He left behind his wallet and other personal belongings, which investigators took as an indication he had not planned to run away.

From the start, authorities suspected foul play rather than a voluntary disappearance, but no concrete evidence of an abduction has ever emerged. The case went cold as leads dried up; age-progression images and outreach through organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have been used over the years to keep his story alive.

Robbie’s family continues to lack closure. If anyone knew Robbie, saw him around Mesa in April 1974, or has information that could help, please come forward.