CA CA - Farren Stanberry, 18, San Francisco, 24 Apr 1980

[Ciriii57]

Just found this which I hadn't seen before. It is an advert for Farren to call his grandma (heartbreaking!) placed in 1996. What intrigued me is that it was placed in the Bay Area Reporter, a paper targeted at the LGBTQ community. I wonder if his family had concluded at this point that Farren was indeed gay? It is unfortunate that the ad falls right in the middle of "less wholesome" adverts to put it mildly!

Bay Area Reporter, Volume 26, Number 6, 8 February 1996 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

archive.org

(only sharing the snippet of the ad as the rest of the page has some rather racy images! You have been warned!

 

[Satch]

Just found this which I hadn't seen before. It is an advert for Farren to call his grandma (heartbreaking!) placed in 1996. What intrigued me is that it was placed in the Bay Area Reporter, a paper targeted at the LGBTQ community. I wonder if his family had concluded at this point that Farren was indeed gay? It is unfortunate that the ad falls right in the middle of "less wholesome" adverts to put it mildly!

Bay Area Reporter, Volume 26, Number 6, 8 February 1996 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

archive.org

View attachment 430869
(only sharing the snippet of the ad as the rest of the page has some rather racy images! You have been warned!

This is heartbreaking!

It are ads like these that really hurt the gay community, where true love and empathy is for what they strive in a real relationship. The horror is that any one of those ads could have led Farren to a horrible, horrible, place, where he could have been exploited, leading to his demise.

More heartbreaking is that this is a 1996 article, which shows that Farren's Aunt, and especially his Grandmother, never, ever stopped, trying to find him. It is tragic that an ad for such a gentle, kind, and funny, soul had to wind up in this place. I think the family knew that Farren was gay by this time.

This is tragic!

Satch

 

[Ciriii57]

I had a quick flick through the issue and as well as ads for random hook ups there are also quite a few job offers in there (modelling, photography and other less wholesome things (let your imagination run wild!)) but basically you would just contact and meet up with some random man, probably at his home. If things were similar in 1980 to 1996 then I think we should seriously consider the possibility that Farren found work from one of these ads and met someone bad.

 

[Satch]

This is heartbreaking!

It are ads like these that really hurt the gay community, where true love and empathy is for what they strive in a real relationship. The horror is that any one of those ads could have led Farren to a horrible, horrible, place, where he could have been exploited, leading to his demise.

More heartbreaking is that this is a 1996 article, which shows that Farren's Aunt, and especially his Grandmother, never, ever stopped, trying to find him. It is tragic that an ad for such a gentle, kind, and funny, soul had to wind up in this place. I think the family knew that Farren was gay by this time.

This is tragic!

Satch

Have to add Farren's Uncle Richard, who never knew Farren, but went all out to find him! Thank you to Sergent Rand whom @Ciriii57 has said has been so helpful with information whom like all of us want this case solved! Thank you to everyone involved!

Satch

 

[Satch]

This is heartbreaking!

It are ads like these that really hurt the gay community, where true love and empathy is for what they strive in a real relationship. The horror is that any one of those ads could have led Farren to a horrible, horrible, place, where he could have been exploited, leading to his demise.

More heartbreaking is that this is a 1996 article, which shows that Farren's Aunt, and especially his Grandmother, never, ever stopped, trying to find him. It is tragic that an ad for such a gentle, kind, and funny, soul had to wind up in this place. I think the family knew that Farren was gay by this time.

This is tragic!

Satch

Board got stuck when posting.

Satch

 

[Satch]

My feelings now:

I think Farren had at least two jobs before he disappeared. I think that the F. Stanberry from the Marriott Hotel is our Farren. Just a hunch. I think Farren lost his job that was legit, was nervous or apprehensive about owing debts that he could not pay. The job afterward was the set up, where he was lured into an "underground" ill repute situation, and died tragically as a result of this.

If Farren would have taken his grandmother's wish to come back home, I think it could have saved his life. Yes, suicide is still out there, but much less so, if Farren responded to those requests for "work?" like the kind of work in that newspaper. This makes me want to cry.

Satch

 

[Ciriii57]

I think that the F. Stanberry from the Marriott Hotel is our Farren. Just a hunch.

Regarding this, I need to ask the question from @summergirl1 about Farren's social security. It has occurred to me that if Farrens social security number was never used then the Marriott Corporation paycheck is most unlikely to be his as I'm sure Marriott would do everything by the book. What do you guys think? If it is him then it should show on his records. I have a feeling his social security number wasn't ever used otherwise LE would have known where he was working. But I'll ask.

Anyone have any other questions at all for Sgt Rand?

IF Farren responded to an ad, I wonder if I can find a copy of the April/May/June version of this paper and see if anything stands out as suspect. Going through those ads will be a real ball....!

 

[Mfleish]

I wonder if I can find a copy of the April/May/June version of this paper

Here are all the issues for 1980! I sorted by date, I'll take a look through as well...for research purposes of course.

I recall very early in this thread a quote from his grandmother that said she wouldn't care if he was gay and the ad in the above paper indicates that she knew and just wanted to hear from him. I don't think he would have given up that relationship with his grandmother willingly.

I'm leaning mostly toward murder at this point. I do think his naivete led him to an unfortunate situation and the fact that he was only reported missing from John Day and not San Francisco meant that his potential murderer slipped through the cracks as there wasn't a timely investigation into his disappearance there.

 

[Ciriii57]

Here are all the issues for 1980! I sorted by date, I'll take a look through as well...for research purposes of course.

I recall very early in this thread a quote from his grandmother that said she wouldn't care if he was gay and the ad in the above paper indicates that she knew and just wanted to hear from him. I don't think he would have given up that relationship with his grandmother willingly.

I'm leaning mostly toward murder at this point. I do think his naivete led him to an unfortunate situation and the fact that he was only reported missing from John Day and not San Francisco meant that his potential murderer slipped through the cracks as there wasn't a timely investigation into his disappearance there.

You're a total star! I won't have chance to look until Monday (from work...that'll be interesting!) so if you find anything let us know! I'm not sure exactly what we're looking for mind you...but maybe a name or place or something might stand out.

Im in agreement about his family knowing he was gay, advertising in this paper seems to prove that and that they accepted it. And I agree, murder seems much more likely now, his family just seems so supportive and with SF being so open and jobs so readily available I just can't see a reason for suicide.

<modsnip: sleuthing random people>

 

[azure]

Not relevant to Farren's case, but per the Tenderloin Housing Clinic's website, the National Hotel is open again after the fire.

 

[Satch]

Not relevant to Farren's case, but per the Tenderloin Housing Clinic's website, the National Hotel is open again after the fire.

Oh man!

If we could only get those records from April 1980 to show any information as to the time that Farren was there in more detail and with whom he rooomed! Does the National Hotel have a new website? The link in the Google Search for it is not good. My browser says it is a security risk and says, go back is recommended.

Satch

 

[Satch]

Guys,

Found this online. It is a list of LGBTQ people known missing from May 2020. Don't know how accurate it is, but Farren is on the list. Unfortunately, his link goes to Charlie Project, which now has information we know is inaccurate:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/current-missing-34988326

Does NameUs still report Farren missing from John Day, instead of San Francisco? If so, I wonder if Sergent Rand would know why that was never corrected? I recall Uncle Richard saying that he had JDPD send Farren's records to SFPD. But they either lost his file, or never got his file. There's no question that this hurt the investigation in a big way!

I wonder if general users can send to NameUs updated information? We now have variation of what has been wrong with Farren's case for years. Even WS does not have the date he went missing as correct, and where the "International Hotel" came from is anybody's guess, as is that May 1, 1980 date that is incorrect as to when Farren went missing. Saturday April 26, 1980, was Farren's last phone call to family.

The reports are that several weeks later, Farren's family called the hotel and was told "Farren left abruptly, without paying his bill." Several weeks later would probably be at least three weeks out from the phone call. Around May 16, 1980. We need to focus around the dates of May 16, 1980 to May 23, 1980, as the date range that Farren left for work,and never came back. Less than a month from Farren's last phone call, but not more than a month from his last call. May 16, 1980 was a Friday to May 23, 1980, somewhere around there was when the likely tragedy happened.

Satch

 

[Ciriii57]

Hey @Satch !

Does the National Hotel have a new website

It is no longer the National Hotel, but housing for homeless people. You would need to visit the Tenderloin Housing Clinics website. It's unlikely they would have any old records. <modsnip>

Does NameUs still report Farren missing from John Day, instead of San Francisco?

I believe so yes! Because that's where he was reported missing from. But it does say Francisco in his write up. Don't quote me on this but I'm not even sure that Farren comes up when you search California missing people. I might be wrong. As far as I am aware there was never, and still has never been, a missing report filed for Farren in SF. That's what I have been telling the coroners...basically they would not know to look for him! So frustrating. I am a supporter of LE and all they do, but I do think they dropped the ball on this case.

So much if his information was wrong for years, yes even the date here, can that be altered?

Regarding the dates @Satch I had always assumed that his grandma reported him missing straight away after she learned he had gone missing. I always thought she may have tried to call on the 15th June as that would be Father's Day and maybe they were expecting a call. (JMO).Then learnt he'd disappeared and reported him missing. Do you think she would have learnt he had disappeared in mid-May but waited til mid June to report him missing? I can't see anyway to narrow it down better than sometime between 26th April and 16th June, though I think he had probably paid for his room that week so in all probability he wouldn't owe the hotel money (which they stated he did) until at least the 2nd May. And he had already gone missing when his gran called so for me I'm thinking the most likely dates are anywhere from 2nd May to 9th June. But it could be before and after.

With the ad I posted that was placed in the Bay Area Reporter, are we all agreed that it is most likely that Farren was indeed gay and that his family probably knew. Or do you think that they just posted it there after finding out he'd visited a gay man on the off chance? I can't help but wonder how on earth his family, from small town Oregon, learnt about this SF paper and placed an ad in it before the days of the internet! They must have specifically searched for a gay newspaper. So I think they knew.

With this information I think it also sheds some light on the managers comment about Farren "visiting a gay man". That is quite possible now. I am wondering if Farren had gotten a regular modelling job (or something else??) and this was perhaps a regular thing? His old classmate gave me the impression Farren was confident, humorous and brash...I can see him doing this, especially if others had told him it was an easy way to get money. Unfortunately he was still a country boy at heart and may not have recognised any signs of danger.

One other thing that is bothering me. In some reports it says that his grandma was told that he "left abruptly without paying his bill" while Sgt Rand says that his roommates said that he "left for work one day and never returned". So which is it? Going to work doesn't sound like leaving abruptly, unless he was running late?
Any thoughts?

Sorry about the long post...i woke up with my head full of thoughts and had to get them out!

Ciriii

 

[Ciriii57]

These are the questions I shall be asking Sgt Rand (but phrased properly to him):

• Regarding his social security and if it revealed where he worked previous to his disappearance
• If his Wells Fargo account was ever checked to see where his money was coming from
• If he knows why his mother refused to send him his money. Did she just want him to return home or was she concerned about what he may spend it on (he may also reveal something about the mother)
• If it's known where he was travelling previous to SF and how long he was in SF
• And this one seems trivial and unrelated but it always bothered me so I'm going to ask- Apparently Farren decided to leave, hopped on a greyhound bus and headed East, does the Greyhound bus actually go through John Day? Where did he leave from? And also, do you know what made Farren want to leave or did he just lust after adventure? Did he have many friends in the area, did he say bye to them?

With this last one I am working on the remote possibility that Farren didn't go East but always went to SF. And also the possibility that he didn't just leave but it may have been prearranged beforehand. I know this has never been in the narrative at all but I just want to eliminate every possibility. Since so much is unknown I feel we have to almost start from the beginning and eliminate all possibilities. Maybe I'm wrong.

Anyone with any other questions at all for the sergeant?

 

[Satch]

Guys,

Here is the Tenderloin Housing Clinic (THC) website:

Home - Tenderloin Housing Clinic

Celebrating 40+ Years Watch our 40th anniversary video How We Help Interested in joining the THC family? We’re always looking for motivated, passionate, and skilled individuals. We’d love to hear from you! Our Programs Permanent Housing Most permanent housing opportunities are available to...

www.thclinic.org

Go under "Properties" it says The National Hotel re-opened in December 2022. I can see all the hotels there, THC acquired the National Hotel in April 2017. Built in 1906. I can't find a Budget Inn. But yes, @Ciriii57 research shows that all of the properties are now a part of the THC, so you have to go to the THC website for information. After the fire at the National, case managers probably worked to re-locate National's residents to those other properties within the THC. Maybe the National Hotel was relocated a bit after the fire. Not sure. A Budget Inn, I don't think would have or have kept any old records from previous locations for tenants. But I agree with @Ciriii57:

1.) Websites from San Francisco's National Hotel are probably old.
2.) All hotels in that area, are now under the authority of the THC.
3.) <modsnip>

Satch

 

[Ciriii57]

Hey @Satch good work! Very interesting ! You won't find Budget Inn on that list as it's a list of hotels that the homeless charity now uses. The National hotel is no longer a hotel in the touristy sense.
Sometime in the 2010s I think it either rebranded as the Budget Inn or was bought by that company (not sure if it is a parent company or a franchise??) It then rebranded again as The National and was subsequently taken over by the housing clinic.

Worryingly you can Still book a room at the Budget Inn even though it no longer exists!! As per the below link...have a look if you want to read some really bad reviews! God I hope it wasn't like this when Farren was there:

Best San Francisco Hotels for 2023 from 29USD - Booked.net

Planning a vacation in California? Get the best deals among 340 San Francisco hotels. 42 guest reviews will help you find your perfect stay. Take advantage of our easy & secure reservation process and no hidden fees policy!

budget-inn-san-francisco.booked.net

It also gives some photos of rooms and halls...the very halls Farren walked and maybe his room! I found it quite haunting actually

<modsnip> But in reality these records are probably LONG gone and the best hope would be locate someone who was there.....any ideas how to go about this? My Facebook posts didn't bring anything useful in.

ETA about the photos of the rooms etc

 

[Mfleish]

I read through the April 10, April 24, and May 8, 1980 issues of the Bay Area Reporter. I didn't find anything that really stuck out to me. I did find an organization called Community United Against Violence. They were founded in 1979 and helped keep the community safe and helped them report assaults, get counseling, etc. They are still around so I sent them a message to see if they have any archives or documents from the 1980s.
The Bay Area Reporter is also still in business. Could we reach out to them to ask them to write an article about Farren?

 

[Ciriii57]

The Bay Area Reporter is also still in business. Could we reach out to them to ask them to write an article about Farren?

Yep, am already on it! Just getting the email to sound like something they'd want to run and take notice of!

Hope you get a response from Community United against Violence!

I'm also gonna have a look through those papers tomorrow, I'm hoping something from the ads might stick out...I don't know what though.

@Mfleish did you get an idea of what SF would have been like at that time? Did it strike you as somewhere particularly crime ridden? Somewhere a country boy could just ...get lost?

 

[Mfleish]

@Mfleish did you get an idea of what SF would have been like at that time? Did it strike you as somewhere particularly crime ridden? Somewhere a country boy could just ...get lost?

It seemed like a fun place with lots of things to see and do. There were political groups, theater, clubs and things to get involved in. There were brief mentions of assaults and violence, but not a lot. Most articles gave me a good sense of community and that people looked out for each other.

 

[Ciriii57]

It seemed like a fun place with lots of things to see and do. There were political groups, theater, clubs and things to get involved in. There were brief mentions of assaults and violence, but not a lot. Most articles gave me a good sense of community and that people looked out for each other.

Thanks. In a way it's heartwarming to know....and in another so sad that Farren may not have been able to enjoy these things for long.