OR OR - Howard Kley, 53, Coos Bay, 26 Jan 1966

[ernestasnoop]

The Dunes Motel is now Motel 6. You can get a perspective of where The Dunes was in relation to The Skyroom. The 2 or 2:30 room light is problematic. I’d like to know if LE found drinking glasses with lipstick on them or any indication of anyone else in the room. fWIW, Seattle is about a 7 hours’ drive from CB if you don’t stop.

 

[alb1on]

I’ll never understand why his colleagues continued on to Seattle & left him to find his own transportation, either flying out of North Bend or taking a Greyhound bus.

Recalling the behaviour of managers and salesmen when on trips or conferences in the 80s (in finance rather than oil) I can understand them going on and just assuming he was enjoying himself. I still recall having to write mitigation letters to court hearings for managers who had gone too far when out of the office!

 

[CountSnap]

The Dunes Motel is now Motel 6. You can get a perspective of where The Dunes was in relation to The Skyroom. The 2 or 2:30 room light is problematic. I’d like to know if LE found drinking glasses with lipstick on them or any indication of anyone else in the room. fWIW, Seattle is about a 7 hours’ drive from CB if you don’t stop.

Nothing like that found in his room that we are aware of. Only his belongings: including his hat and overcoat. Those are red flags that he didn't exactly leave on his own, but was likely there.

 

[CountSnap]

Recalling the behaviour of managers and salesmen when on trips or conferences in the 80s (in finance rather than oil) I can understand them going on and just assuming he was enjoying himself. I still recall having to write mitigation letters to court hearings for managers who had gone too far when out of the office!

Interesting insight. Thank you very much.

 

[Maat99]

Were any of the women he was seen talking with tracked down and identified? If not, that is very odd. You would think if they were locals, someone might know one of them or they would come forward. If they were visitors, a hotel would have a record of their stay. No credit card receipts etc..?

 

[CountSnap]

Were any of the women he was seen talking with tracked down and identified? If not, that is very odd. You would think if they were locals, someone might know one of them or they would come forward. If they were visitors, a hotel would have a record of their stay. No credit card receipts etc..?

I do not know for certain if they were or not though I am roughly 80% certain they were. Including whoever dropped him off at the Dunes.

 

[heartanium]

Clearer photos of him:

 

[MadMcGoo]

Howard Frederick Kley 1966 OR

Clipping found in The World published in Coos Bay, Oregon on 2/1/1966. Howard Frederick Kley 1966 OR

www.newspapers.com

Howard Frederick Kley 1966 OR

Clipping found in The World published in Coos Bay, Oregon on 2/9/1966. Howard Frederick Kley 1966 OR

www.newspapers.com

Howard Frederick Kley 1966 OR

Clipping found in The World published in Coos Bay, Oregon on 2/3/1966. Howard Frederick Kley 1966 OR

www.newspapers.com

Howard Frederick Kley 1966 OR

Clipping found in The World published in Coos Bay, Oregon on 2/10/1966. Howard Frederick Kley 1966 OR

www.newspapers.com

 

[CountSnap]

Thank you very much for the postings. Going to need to pull out all the stops for this one.
Reaching deep here.

 

[Caring1]

1 Unidentified Person Exclusion

 

[TRUTHSEEKER85!!]

Demographics
Missing Age53 Years
Current Age106 Years
First Name Howard
Middle NameFrederick
Last NameKley
Nickname/Alias--

SexMale
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian
Height5' 6" - 5' 8" (66 - 68 Inches)
Weight170 - 180 lbs
Circumstances
Date of Last ContactJanuary 26, 1966
NamUs Case CreatedSeptember 5, 2018
Last Known Location Map
LocationCoos Bay, Oregon
CountyCoos County
Circumstances of DisappearanceHoward Kley, a resident of San Francisco, CA, was in Coos Bay, OR for business when he was last seen. He had dinner with work associates and was supposed to meet up with them again the next morning but never arrived. He was last seen in the Starlight room in the Chandler Hotel in Coos Bay around midnight on Wednesday, January 26, 1966, early morning hours of Thursday, January 27th. In the hotel where he was staying, his luggage was in the room but the bed was never slept in.
Physical Description
Hair ColorBrown
Head Hair DescriptionFull head of dark brown hair, turning salt/pepper gray, fringing gray at the temples
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye ColorBlue
Right Eye ColorBlue
Eye DescriptionWore reading glasses when needed for reading
Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Scar/mark
Severe scar on left thumb running into the hand

Scar/mark
Black spot on lower lip, off center but unknown which side

Scar/mark
Skin lesions on his face that had been burned off, on temple and just below the bridge of his nose where the eyeglasses sit, unknown which side

Other distinctive physical characteristic
Previous broken left index finger - injury healed but left a divot where his knuckle had been


Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Accessories
Smoked short Chesterfields, occasionally L&M cigarettes

Jewelry
Wore a wrist watch on his left wrist, it was his 25 year anniversary watch from Shell Oil corporation and may have been inscribed with his name, Shell Oil, and dated 1958; it may have been gold in color with a white/ivory face.

Missing Person Case

wow is this an active case or did this case go cold why is there no answers it just makes me so mad im new this. and this my first-time hearing or seeing anything about this case.

 

[TRUTHSEEKER85!!]

1 Unidentified Person Exclusion
View attachment 500530

is there any other information on him he still has not had any answers to this case. is this an active case or is this cold case. or where could I find any information?

 

[CountSnap]

is there any other information on him he still has not had any answers to this case. is this an active case or is this cold case. or where could I find any information?

Police are unfortunately not quite able to do much work on it due to resources and crime rate in the area but there is a growing number of people taking a look at Mr. Kley's case.
It is still active though in that the Detective assigned is VERY happy to get any information presented.

 

[BunnyBooBoo]

Family still seeking answers about missing man

I did a internet search and found this news story from November 2023.

 

[DD Byrd]

I don't think Mr. Kley was talking to any women at the bar, and if he was, it was unrelated to his disappearance. "Some reports" can state anything, and always consider the information source. It sounds like he was killed for something work-related, my first guess would be a a thwarted whistleblowing. Was the Coos Bay man 'who didn't make the meeting' accounted for in those overnight hours? What became of him in the days following? And were the any significant changes in the dept of Shell Oil in the weeks/months following?

Less dramatic, perhaps he was in line for a promotion or choice assignment that he likely wouldn't get if he were dead. I don't find it unusual the colleagues would continue on their way without him, especially if there were other meetings to be had (and in a time when carousing would be given a pass, if not considered par for the course). But it doesn't preclude them from being involved or at least having an inkling of what happened. If they were involved, I think it a natural reaction to get away from the area asap, coupled with appearing as 'business as usual,' and a built-in question mark of any women he was seen with.

 

[ernestasnoop]

I was living in Coos Bay-North Bend at that time & If I remember correcly, the local businessman the group was to meet was never identified. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to figure it out. The towns were small & there were only 1 or 2 Shell distributorships.

I just found a Feb. 18, 1966 article in a Richmond CA newspaper stating Mr Kley “told acquaintances ‘he was going to Alaska for a few weeks’ —just two days before he disappeared…Sheriff Walter F. Young said…”

It went on to state a Du Pont executive & an associate spoke to him on Jan 31 at a Seattle hotel & he told them he was going to Alaska.

Interesting.

 

[lilyk]

That is the unfortunate reality. So many have passed from that time period. We' really hoping someone in the age range of 20-30 at the time may still be about and able to assist.
We are realistic though. Time is not on our side at all.
But I'm charging ahead.

Have you reached out to the booster club? They are still very active, no one seems to leave the group (my grand father was in it until he died in his 90s, my uncle still is in his mid 70's AFAIK). I grew up in coos bay but wasn't born in 1968. There are a lot of old timers there that would likely be happy to chat (please don't ask me to ask my uncle, his wife just died after a long battle - I'll see him (and several other old timers) in two weeks and if appropriate I'll try to ask if he remembers the case.) He's sharp, knows literally everyone in town and has opinions on everything. And from a previous question, I'd disagree - the bay has a huge tidal pull which extends WELL up Coos River. Yes there was a major (mostly timber) shipping industry there then, I think second only to SFO then - my dad was a longshoreman so quite familiar - but anything floating in Coos Bay could absolutely make it to the ocean eventually over the course of a tide change or two IMO. So long as it didn't get caught in the mudflats near Empire and Barview at low tide.

 

[cenazoic]

I kept thinking this sounded so familiar, but it turns out I was thinking of the Crater Lake murders, 1952. That case involved the murder of 2 out of state executives tooling around, also on their way to Seattle after a stop in Portland. So unrelated, but strangely similar. (Two men were convicted of those murders.)

The article @BunnyBooBoo posted mentions that:

“The detectives were able to trace Kley’s movements up until 1 a.m., and then nothing.”

It’d be interesting to know what they found.

Are you a relative, @CountSnap ? Have you requested the case file?

 

[CountSnap]

Have you reached out to the booster club? They are still very active, no one seems to leave the group (my grand father was in it until he died in his 90s, my uncle still is in his mid 70's AFAIK). I grew up in coos bay but wasn't born in 1968. There are a lot of old timers there that would likely be happy to chat (please don't ask me to ask my uncle, his wife just died after a long battle - I'll see him (and several other old timers) in two weeks and if appropriate I'll try to ask if he remembers the case.) He's sharp, knows literally everyone in town and has opinions on everything. And from a previous question, I'd disagree - the bay has a huge tidal pull which extends WELL up Coos River. Yes there was a major (mostly timber) shipping industry there then, I think second only to SFO then - my dad was a longshoreman so quite familiar - but anything floating in Coos Bay could absolutely make it to the ocean eventually over the course of a tide change or two IMO. So long as it didn't get caught in the mudflats near Empire and Barview at low tide.

Are you saying the Coos Bay Pirates are still active?
That would be very good to talk with someone from that organization if possible.
I was under the impression they were no longer active.
Thank you for your thoughts on the Bay. I always keep it in my mind that he could have been in the bay and made it out beyond being found.
But, I think something happened to him inland and then who knows what from there.
If you are able to find anyone willing to discuss the Pirates history that would be fantastic.

 

[CountSnap]

I kept thinking this sounded so familiar, but it turns out I was thinking of the Crater Lake murders, 1952. That case involved the murder of 2 out of state executives tooling around, also on their way to Seattle after a stop in Portland. So unrelated, but strangely similar. (Two men were convicted of those murders.)

The article @BunnyBooBoo posted mentions that:

“The detectives were able to trace Kley’s movements up until 1 a.m., and then nothing.”

It’d be interesting to know what they found.

Are you a relative, @CountSnap ? Have you requested the case file?

Oddly familiar, yes.

And as far as I know the police found nothing interesting in the hotel or afterwards anywhere.
Complete vanishing act.
And no, not related at all. Just incredibly curious about this case. It's a literal Hitchcock movie come to life.