John Cates was last seen on April 6, 2020, in Tucumcari, New Mexico. He was 36 at the time. The New Mexico State Police entered his case in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as MP69283 and took charge of the investigation.

John is described as a white male, five feet seven inches tall, about 160 pounds, with red or auburn hair and brown eyes. He had numerous distinctive tattoos including CATES across his upper back, an angel kneeling and holding a halo, a cross, and the words In Loving Memory of Bernice & Harmony on his shoulders, plus tribal tattoos on both arms, and a scar on his abdomen. Few specifics about the circumstances of his disappearance have been released and no significant leads are publicly reported.

If anyone in or around Tucumcari in April 2020 remembers seeing John or recognizes those tattoos, please share what you know with the New Mexico State Police.