SC SC - Brian Keith Awalt, 29, Spartanburg, 12 July 1991

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This missing person's case from 1991 was just added to NamUs.


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Missing Person / NamUs #MP123863
Brian Keith Awalt
Male, White / Caucasian
Date of Last Contact: July 12, 1991
Missing From: Spartanburg, South Carolina
Missing Age: 29 Years
Current Age: 62 Years
Height: 5' 11" (71 Inches)
Weight: 160 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue

Circumstances of Disappearance:
Left his apartment and got in a van with an unknown subject. He has not been seen since.
 
This article from GoUpstate provides a lot more information. I bolded what I think is most important.

Family fears missing dad in trouble​


Staff Writer
Herald-Journal
Published 11:01 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 1992 | Updated 11:00 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 1992

The family of Brian Keith Awalt is sure something bad has happened to him since he disappeared nearly six months ago, because, they say, the Spartanburg man has everything to come home for. His mother and common-law wife Awalt
describe Awalt as a hard-working breadwinner who provided for his family, loved special occasions and cherished his baby girl, who was 3 months old when her father disappeared July 12.

Since he was last seen, Awalt has turned 30, the holiday season has come and gone, and his only daughter has started walking. Those closest to him can't imagine him not calling home if he had anyway to reach a phone. "I feel positive something isn't right," said his mother, Nan Penketh. "If he was well and everything was all right, he would definitely have called home by now."

Awalt and his common-law wife, Teresa K. Longshore, 37, lived at B-2 Woodside Apartments on Fernwood-Glendale Road. They've been together for five years and have a 9-month-old daughter, Jessica Breanne Awalt. Breanne is a feminine form of Brian that Awalt invented, Ms. Longshore said.

Awalt was reported missing to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office on Aug. 15, sheriff's spokesman Mike Little said. Awalt was last seen about 2 p.m. on July 12. That day, he sold plasma at a local plasma center, then left his house with a strange man, Little said. "We don't have anything to go on as far as foul play is concerned, but because of the length of time he's been missing, there is a possibility that foul play might be involved," the sheriff's spokesman said.

The last person who saw Awalt was 17-year-old Brian Bryson. Bryson lived in Woodside Apartments at that time. He said he had never seen the man whom Awalt left with that day. "He was real scraggly-looking and unkempt," Bryson said. "He had long hair and looked like a hippie. But Brian didn't seem like anything was wrong. He was jovial and seemed happy. He got in the man's car and they drove off."

Ms. Longshore said Awalt didn't take any clothes with him when he left, and he didn't have any money other than the money he made selling plasma that day. He had just been laid off from his job at Metal Builders and was working odd jobs to support the family. "He idolized our baby," Ms. Longshore said. "He begged for her for three years. He desperately wanted a girl. He wouldn't even leave her with his own mother because he couldn't bear to be away from her. "His birthday is on Oct. 17, and mine is Oct. 15. We always celebrated them together. It's always been a joyous time. We even thought about getting married on Oct. 16, so all the dates would be together," Ms. Longshore said.

Awalt is 5 feet 11, and at the time of his disappearance he weighed about 160 pounds and had a moustache. He has blue eyes and light-brown hair. He has a two-inch scar on his upper left arm and a scar on the right side of his face under his eye. Anyone with information about Awalt is asked to call the sheriff's office.
 
There are a few "John Does" I wonder about. I have only looked at South Carolina (in case someone has time to look at nearby states). Not perfect matches but worth a consideration, IMO.

PMI is 1994 at the absolute earliest, but could it be wrong? There is a sketch...

There is not enough information to go on. Maybe if they could compare DNA?

Height and age don't quite match:
 
Impressed that you found an article from 1992.
Thank you!! I can't believe I found it either!
Too bad there isn't more -- description of the vehicle, for example. He had to have known the man he left with somehow, perhaps from a previous social circle or job?
I tend to agree but I concede that maybe Brian didn't know him at all.

According to the article, Brian recently got laid off and was working odd jobs to make ends meet. Someone on one of those odd jobs could've suggested that man to Brian for work. So Brian left with the man "jovial" and "happy," not because he knew him, but because he thought he'd found another odd job.

Alternatively, Brian could've found the man through a newspaper ad. In this scenario, though, we would unfortunately have no way of backtracking this if Brian didn't tell anyone he was looking through the classifieds for more work.
 
SEP 4, 2024
[...]

According to the sheriff’s office, Brian Keith Awalt, also known as Sunshine, was last seen getting into a car with a unknown person at an apartment on Fernwood Glendale Road. ...

... At the time of his disappearance, Awalt was living with a woman and her 16-year-old son. The son was the last person to see Awalt.

Brian Keith Awalt

Brian Keith Awalt(Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office)

[...]

The sheriff’s office mentioned that Awalt was working for Associated Contractors at the time of his disappearance and liked to hang out in bars in the Clifton, Glendale, and Hillcrest areas of Spartanburg County.

The former girlfriend’s son was able to give such a detailed description of the man he saw Awalt leaving the apartment complex with that the sheriff’s office said they asked him to sit down with a forensic artist to complete a sketch:

Age progression sketch of man last seen with Awalt

Age progression sketch of man last seen with Awalt(Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office)

[...]
 

Brian Keith Awalt​

awalt_brian.jpg
awalt_brian2.jpg
awalt_brian3.jpg

awalt_brian_sketch.jpg
awalt_brian_sketch2.jpg

Awalt, circa 1991
  • Missing Since 07/12/1991
  • Missing From Spartanburg, South Carolina
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 10/17/1961 (62)
  • Age 29 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'11, 160 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Light brown hair, blue eyes. Awalt's nickname is Sunshine. He has a two-inch scar on his upper left arm and a scar on the right side of his face below his eye. He had a blond mustache at the time of his disappearance, and his hair was long.

Details of Disappearance​

Awalt was last seen in Spartanburg, South Carolina at 2:00 p.m. on July 12, 1991, at the apartment complex where he lived in the 1600 block of Fernwood Glendale Road. He got into a car with an unidentified white man and has never been heard from again. He was reported missing on August 15.

A sketch of the man he was last seen with, and an age-progression of that sketch, is posted with this case summary. He has never been identified and is considered a person of interest in Awalt's case. He had an unkempt appearance and long hair.

Awalt did not take any clothes with him when he left, and he didn't have any cash on him other than what he had made selling plasma earlier on the day of his disappearance. He had recently been laid off from his job and was working odd jobs to help support his family.

At the time of his disappearance, Awalt lived with his common-law wife and her teenage son; the son was the last person to see him. Awalt and his wife had been together for five years and she had recently given birth to his daughter. He frequented bars in the Clifton, Glendale and Hillcrest areas. Although there is no direct evidence of foul play in his case, authorities think it's possible due to the length of time he's been missing.

Last updated September 5, 2024; casefile added.​

 

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