FL FL - John Clifton Ballenger, 20, Satellite Beach, 26 Jun 1977

[YaYa_521]

NamUs #MP21518
John Clifton Ballenger,
Male, White / Caucasian
Date of Last Contact June 26, 1977
NamUs Case Created August 19, 2013
Missing From Satellite Beach, Florida
County Brevard County
Missing Age 20 Years
Height 5' 10" - 5' 11" (70 - 71 Inches)
Weight 130 - 150 lbs
Hair Color Blond/Strawberry
Eye Color Green

Accessories - Approximately $15.00 in US currency
Clothing - Dark blue pants and light blue pullover shirt
Footwear - Beige suede shoes

Circumstances of Disappearance - Mr. Ballenger went to a movie theatre in Satellite Beach, along with three other friends. During the movie, Mr. Ballenger went to the bathroom, alone. He never returned to the movie.

John Clifton Ballenger

• Missing Since 06/26/1977
• Missing From Satellite Beach, Florida
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 06/26/1957 (63)
• Age 20 years old
• Height and Weight 5'10 - 5'11, 130 - 150 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description - A light blue pullover shirt, dark blue pants and beige suede shoes.
• Distinguishing Characteristics - Caucasian male. Blond hair, green eyes. Ballenger's nickname is Cliff.

Details of Disappearance
Ballenger was last seen in Satellite Beach, Florida on June 26, 1977, his twentieth birthday. That night he went on a double date to watch Star Wars. During the movie, Ballenger excused himself to go to the bathroom. He never came back and has never been heard from again. He was carrying about $15 in cash at the time of his disappearance.

At the time of his disappearance, Ballenger was dealing with some personal problems: he was unemployed and abusing alcohol and drugs. He had run away from home once when he was sixteen, but was located after three weeks. Although police stated there's no evidence he was abducted and they think he may have chosen to walk out of his life, foul play is a possibility in his case as well.

Two close male friends of Ballenger's were badly beaten shortly before he disappeared; they lived near his home and may have been involved in the local drug trade. It's unclear whether the assault had anything to do with his disappearance, which remains unsolved.

Ballenger is a graduate of Satellite Beach High School. He was declared legally dead twelve years after his disappearance.

 

[YaYa_521]

FOR MOM, 13 YEARS OF WONDERING, WAITING AND HURTING
24 Dec 1990
Snipped

The disappearance of the blond, 5-foot-11-inch, 130-pound graduate of Satellite Beach High School is the oldest unsolved missing-person case for the Brevard County Sheriff's Department. Agent Nell Gehrke, ...says Cliff's disappearance represents a frustrating series of dead ends on a trail that is cold and stale. Part of Gehrke's problem is that the sheriff's department did not investigate until two years after Cliff was gone. The case was simply labeled unfounded ...
#more at link

I'm curious whether John Ballenger is Delafield John Doe. Some things match up in the profiles, but others don't. Delafield Doe had a lighter inscribed with "To John Love Lauri." Would someone who's familiar with Classmates (or a similar site) search whether a young lady named Lauri graduated Satellite Beach High School around the time John might have attended, pls & tia? Timeline 1972-1980?

WI - WI - Delafield, WhtMale UP7632, 17-30, MVA, car stolen in Gurnee, IL, Sep'77

 

[John/Jane Doe]

John Clifton Ballenger – The Charley Project

 

[Diavola]

Bumping.
I wonder if he could still be in the building.

 

[Diane Redfern]

John Ballenger

John Clifton Ballenger, age 20, vanished from Satellite Beach, Florida on June 26, 1977. John, who was called Cliff by his family, had been on a double date at the Satellite Theater, watching Star …

whereaboutsstillunknown.wordpress.com

I think this is his mother:

Wilma "Charleen" Miller Ballenger ...

Wilma Charleen Ballenger died after a brief illness. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charlie B. Miller and Ollie Lavada Summers, both of whom were born and died in Collin County, Texas; two brothers, and one sister, all of Texas, also preceded her in death. She was also preceded in...

es.findagrave.com

Possible match:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

This UID had shoulder length, chesnut brown hair (observing John's photo, his eyebrows are dark, so maybe he had dyed his hair); other interesting detail about this UID is that his left arm displayed evidence of needle marks consistent with drug abuse.

 

[PayrollNerd]

View attachment 535574

John Ballenger

John Clifton Ballenger, age 20, vanished from Satellite Beach, Florida on June 26, 1977. John, who was called Cliff by his family, had been on a double date at the Satellite Theater, watching Star …

whereaboutsstillunknown.wordpress.com

I think this is his mother:

Wilma "Charleen" Miller Ballenger ...

Wilma Charleen Ballenger died after a brief illness. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charlie B. Miller and Ollie Lavada Summers, both of whom were born and died in Collin County, Texas; two brothers, and one sister, all of Texas, also preceded her in death. She was also preceded in...

es.findagrave.com

Possible match:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

This UID had shoulder length, chesnut brown hair (observing John's photo, his eyebrows are dark, so maybe he had dyed his hair); other interesting detail about this UID is that his left arm displayed evidence of needle marks consistent with drug abuse.

I'm not convinced he dyed his hair. The sun could have bleached it to some degree if he spent a lot of time outside.

As a child I was the same way, dark eyebrows, very light, almost blonde hair. It started to darken in my 30s. My daughters hair is the same way. Very light as a children but just now (late 20s early 30s) starting to darken.