Robert James Wykel, 65, vanished from the Seattle area after telling friends on February 21, 1996 that he was on his way to buy a vintage Ford Thunderbird. A retired sheet metal worker who restored classic cars, Wykel preferred cash for transactions and had withdrawn $5,200 from his bank account days earlier. He was last seen wearing a large diamond ring he always kept on.

Concern grew when he did not return to his home or contact family in Illinois. On March 11, 1996 his 1989 Mercedes-Benz was found abandoned at a Park-N-Ride in Burien, Washington with his wallet inside. A friend reported him missing to the King County Sheriff’s Office on March 13. Investigators soon focused on acquaintance Myron Wynn, the last person known to have seen Wykel and the man who had told him about the Thunderbird; Wynn’s statements were described as inconsistent and he reportedly gave a large diamond to a then-girlfriend shortly after Wykel disappeared.

Wykel was declared legally dead in 2003. His body has never been found. Does anyone have information about Wykel, the Ford Thunderbird sale, or sightings in the Burien and Seattle area in February 1996?