Salvatore Rafala was 24 and newly arrived from Sicily when he disappeared from his family home on Spring Street in Middletown, Connecticut, in the autumn of 1966. He had been working at a local fashion shop, complained of severe headaches, and was due to see a doctor. Family members say he was homesick and had asked to return to Italy; his father had wanted to wait two months to save for a ticket.

Sometime in the early morning his parents woke to find Salvatore gone. He left without a jacket or shoes, wearing only a windbreaker, a white shirt, pants, and socks. Relatives described him as having been “a little slow” since a childhood fever and believe he may have left because he was frightened about the medical appointment. A week later a Boy Scout troop searched nearby woods and family members wondered about the Arrigoni Bridge, but no evidence was found.

The disappearance remains unsolved and the family has not had closure. Did anyone in Middletown in 1966 see a young man matching Salvatore’s description or recall activity near Spring Street or the river that night?