Steve Lewis Arrowood was 18 when he disappeared from Gastonia, North Carolina, in early April 1975. He had returned to Gastonia on March 31 after a trip to Dallas where he’d been involved with a 30-year-old married woman. The woman’s husband, a long‑distance truck driver, allegedly discovered the affair on March 30 and reportedly threatened to kill Steve; Steve later told friends he felt he was being followed.

On the night he vanished Steve had dinner with his sister at the Fern Forest Apartments, went out with a friend, and reported seeing a car he believed belonged to the husband following them. After dropping his friend off on East Third Street at about 10:30 p.m., he drove away and was not definitively seen again. Several hours later his 1971 Toyota was found near the Fern Forest Apartments with the door ajar, keys in the ignition, personal items inside, and a pair of men’s underwear lying behind the car.

Investigators found an uncashed $500 income tax refund check among his belongings and received a letter addressed to Steve postmarked from New Orleans that reportedly contained no useful information. The husband was questioned about two weeks later, refused a polygraph, and was released. Foul play is strongly suspected; the case remains unsolved and Steve’s family never received answers.

If anyone knew Steve, his movements in early April 1975, or saw that 1971 Toyota around the Fern Forest Apartments, please share what is known.