CA CA - Daniel Shrock, 42, Bakersfield, 1 Jan 1979

[TheArtfulDetective]

Daniel Norman Shrock



Case Classification: Missing
Missing Since: January 1979 - exact date unknown
Location Last Seen: Bakersfield, Kern County, California

Description:

• Date of Birth: circa 1937
• Age: 42 years old
• Race: White/Caucasian
• Gender: Male
• Height: 5' 3" - 5' 4" / 63 - 64 inches
• Weight: 135 - 150 lbs
• Hair Color: Previously brown / bald.
• Eye Color: Blue
• Nickname/Alias: Dan. Danny.
• Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar on back of head in the shape of the state of Florida.
• Clothing & Personal Items: Unknown
• Identifiers: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance:
Shrock went missing in the 1970's while visiting a family in California. He apparently wandered off from that home and has never been seen since. Dogs tracked him to the freeway where the scent ended. Few details are available regarding Shrock's disappearance and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Investigators:

• Kern County Sheriff's Office: (661) 391-7593
  Reference Case#: SR11-23303

NamUs #MP2969

Daniel Norman Shrock - California Missing Person Directory
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[MadMcGoo]

I believe this is his mother: Mary Alice Metcalf Shrock (1914-2004) - Find a...

His sister’s obituary mentions him: Denali Mae Shrock Fox (1943-2021) - Find a Grave...

I think he was born a Capman and later took the surname of his stepfather. He’s listed on the 1940 census (Flagler County, Florida) as “Danny Capman” and the 1950 census (Wasilla, Alaska) as “Daniel N Shrock”.



That could explain the scar on his head.

 

[GravityHurts]

Last year, I called the Kern County sheriff's office to try and learn more information about Danny, since his physical description seemed similar to this John Doe from Texas in 1982: TX - TX - Jersey Village, WhtMale 30-40, UP733, hit by car, scars, clothes, cowboy boots, Nov'82

The woman told me that apparently, Danny Shrock was schizophrenic, and one of his family members had arranged for him to go to the Bakersfield person to seek help. I guess his disappearance date is imprecise, I don't know exactly why. She also told me that they didn't have a picture of Danny on file, although his nephew was apparently trying to find one. His head was apparently shaved the last time his family saw him, which is why the file says "was brown in 1972".

Based on the description of the police dog's finding, it reads to me like he walked away from the house and hitchhiked along the highway. I think it matches at least circumstantially with UP733, the TX John Doe linked above, as well as the physical descriptions. But without a clear picture of Danny it'll be hard to tell

 

[DannyRichard2006!]

Bumping up (closer view of the short man in the picture). I think it would help clear up confusion if we knew origins of the photo from the National Missing Persons Directory. It seems that NAMUS used it once, but it was removed. Why? Was it because there were too many subjects and Shrock wasn't in focus or is the shorter man not our Shrock but someone else with the same name and it was ripped off of Newspapers.com without verifying if it was actually him. According to a thread on the Teaneck John Doe found on November 15, 1978, in which Shrock is mentioned as a possible match, the photo was taken at Peewee Valley Academy in Kentucky. Knowing that Shrock did not have any children of his own, and that he is likely not a parent of a student. It would be interesting to know if he used to work as a teacher, or more specifically a music teacher based on the presence of children with trumpets in the photo. Looking at what we know about Shrock's background, he was all over the place, Florida, Alaska, California, and maybe Kentucy. If he was used to traveling to different states, Kentucky may not be the only place he was employed and he may had been a "Traveling Educator." I wonder if anyone can go on Newspapers.com and look through 60s and 70s articles for similar faces under Shrock's name or find mentions of him doing educational related work. This way we can look at what states, the articles were published in and have a good list of states he could've possibly hitchhiked to.