Michael Richard Alfinito Jr., a 27-year-old instructor at the Jack LaLanne Health Spa in Manhattan and EMS student, was last seen in late March 1984—or, according to a later published account, in the early hours of March 25, 1985. Official reports place his last known location at his apartment on 201st Street in Bayside, Queens. An alternate timeline in Gone Missing In New York says he was at a friend named Louie’s home, left in the early morning and abandoned his car there; his sister last spoke with him on March 24 in that version.

The case suffers from limited and conflicting records; one claim says the NYPD lost the original missing-person report and dental charts. Alfinito is described as a white male with brown/red hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches and around 180 pounds. He was nearsighted and wore strong prescription aviator eyeglasses with metal rims, had several healed broken bones and a heart-shaped scar on a fingertip. He may have been wearing jeans, sneakers (possibly New Balance), a black leather jacket and a silver chain.

No contact has been made since he was last seen and the disappearance remains unsolved.