Charles Gazzam Hurd, 32, vanished from Manhattan on February 18, 1937. He was manager of the real estate and mortgage department for Dows Estates, Inc., lived at the Kenmore Hall Hotel, and was separated from his wife. That evening he followed his usual routine, dined alone at a restaurant and nightclub on East 54th Street and cashed a small check. Around 9:00 p.m. he crashed his Ford convertible coupe (New Jersey plate I-E 65231) into a pillar of an elevated railway at 3rd Avenue and 37th Street. Although he appeared to have only minor injuries and drove away, neither he nor the car has been seen since.

Hurd was described as 5 feet 10 inches, 180 pounds, with brown hair and blue/grey eyes, last wearing a gray overcoat, gray fedora, and tan shoes. The case drew little press attention at the time and remains unsolved.