CA CA - Mitchell Owens, 4, Menlo Park, 3 Feb 1983

[chaddylex]

And Then They Were Gone Podcast just released an episode about Mitchell's disappearance.

Episode 326: Mitchell Owens — And Then They Were Gone

On February 3, 1983, a young mother was brutally attacked by a stranger in her own home. Her three young sons were asleep in their beds, but her middle child, Mitchell, heard noises and came in to check on his mother. Ora Owens screamed at Mitchell to run away, and then everything went black. Ora aw

www.andthentheyweregone.com

​

EPISODE 326: MITCHELL OWENS​

Jul 28
On February 3, 1983, a young mother was brutally attacked by a stranger in her own home. Her three young sons were asleep in their beds, but her middle child, Mitchell, heard noises and came in to check on his mother. Ora Owens screamed at Mitchell to run away, and then everything went black. Ora awoke two days later in the hospital, only to find out that Mitchell was gone. Despite what was clearly a forcible abduction, and despite the fact that Mitchell was only four years old, Ora claims that Menlo Park Police delayed beginning an investigation into Mitchell’s disappearance, and initially classified him as a runaway. Nearly 40 years later, Ora is still trying to get justice for her son.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Mitchell Owens, please contact the Menlo Park Police Department at 650-330-6300. Tips can also be called into the Department of Public Safety at 617-754-3208 or 3209.
Si tiene alguna información sobre la desaparición de Mitchell Owens, comuníquese con el Departamento de Policía de Menlo Park al 650-330-6300. También se pueden llamar al Departamento de Seguridad Pública al 617-754-3208 o al 3209.
We are proud members of Spreaker Prime and The Darkcast Network.

• Find us everywhere
• Get episodes early and ad-free on Patreon
• Merch store
• For a full list of our sources, please visit our blog

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Mitchell Deon Owens – The Charley Project

 

[BethAnn777]

Ironic that she told her son to run away to protect him and the the police literally treated him like a runaway, a four year old. Even if the police literally just thought he was following his mom’s instructions to run, why didn’t they immediately look for him?

 

[spartanx]

Ironic that she told her son to run away to protect him and the the police literally treated him like a runaway, a four year old. Even if the police literally just thought he was following his mom’s instructions to run, why didn’t they immediately look for him?

It's incredible what the police do, but even more what they don't do... they think he's a fugitive and they don't look for him either... the terrible beating his mother suffered, the incessant guilt of not being able to do anything for your son... what a pain in it... Ora I hope that one day you will have closure...
rest in peace

 

[Aurora90]

Bumping for this boy and his family.

 

[Megsc]

Truly a tragic case as much for Mitchell as for his mother, that poor woman went through hell
The fact that she received threatening phone calls after the incident makes lt feel like something personal imo, not just a stranger attack

 

[Aurora90]

Every time I come to this thread I find myself disheartened all over again. I pray this family gets Justice.

 

[Aurora90]

She believes her attacker may have been a man she'd met the previous night at the Enlisted Men's Club at Moffett Field Naval Air Station in Mountain View, California. He offered to buy her a drink, but she declined and walked away. She thinks the man followed her home and then drove away when she reached her door.

Both possible suspects either have a link or impersonated someone in navy/law enforcement. this should have been looked into further.

Another possible suspect is a man who knocked on Ora's door just a few hours before the break-in. He identified himself as a police officer and was in uniform, and asked about a report she'd made about a stolen purse the month before. The Menlo Park Police Department has no record of any of their officers stopping by the Owens home on that date.

You’d think law enforcement would take imperesonating a police officer very seriously and work hard to catch the perpetrators.

Curious to know how many people knew about the police report prior to that man coming to her door.

 

[Caring1]

 

[mlhenn]

Mitchell Deon Owens – The Charley Project

Mitchell Deon Owens​

• 
• 

Mitchell, circa 1983; Age-progression to age 45

 

[beubeubeu]

Im sorry but stupidity has limits and I refuse to believe that literally ANY adult human being may be stupid enough to even consider a 4-5 years old child to be runaway. Its not possible. Like... come on. 80's or not. Ask any random person on the street what they think may be a reason for 4 years old child to go missing and they sure as hell wont say RUNNING AWAY, unless maybe someone misheards four as fourteen. With the circumstances involved here not one in a million would say that.

You’d think law enforcement would take imperesonating a police officer very seriously and work hard to catch the perpetrators.

Was he impersonating a police officer?

Why any random burglar, stalker or murderer would even care if sucha a young child saw him or not? What were the chances that Mitchell's statements would be taken seriously? What were the chances that Mitchell would end up to be able to provide description good enough to make a sketch? Slim to none IMO.
UNLESS Mitchell knew who he is. UNLESS he saw him before. UNLESS there was a serious risk that Mitchell would see him during the investigation. Cause that is more serious risk. Child saying that "THIS IS the man that hurted mommy" would, to the very least cause someone to seriously look at him as a suspect.

Yes, its possible that murderer acted on an impulse, assumed that mom is dead and went to get rid of the whitness. But to have that AND that beyond ridiculous classification of such a tiny kid as runaway, AND also mysterious cop showing up in their home before?
Isnt that bit too much of these strange things happening at once?

IMO there was no impersonation, and that was real police officer who was responsible for that visit, for attempted murder of Mitchell's mom, for abduction and (almost certainly) Mitchell's murder for classifying a preschooler as a runaway and also for making damn sure that no other cop with half of sanity and five minutes of time to look at it wont look at it and think that it makes no sense.

 

[mlhenn]

Mitchell Deon Owens – The Charley Project

Last updated October 28, 2025; clothing/jewelry description added, details of disappearance updated.

Details of Disappearance​

An unidentified man broke into the Owens family's apartment on Pierce Road in eastern Menlo Park, California in the early morning hours of February 3, 1983. The intruder entered through a window at about 4:00 a.m. and attacked and severely beat Mitchell's mother, Ora Owens, who had fallen asleep watching television. Her three sons were at home with her at the time.

Two of the boys slept through the assault, but Ora's screams woke Mitchell, who walked into the room while the beating was taking place. Ora screamed at him to run away. The attacker than attempted to strangle Ora with a telephone cord and she passed out and was apparently left for dead.

Her landlord found her still unconscious on the floor in her apartment at 2:30 p.m. when he came to ask for the rent, and she was taken to the hospital. Ora had to spend weeks in the hospital recovering from her ordeal; she had injuries to her throat and neck, and one of her arms had been dislocated and the tendons and muscles damaged. Mitchell has never seen or been heard from again. Ora only caught a glimpse of her son's abductor.

She believes her attacker may have been a man she'd met the previous night at the Enlisted Men's Club at Moffett Field Naval Air Station in Mountain View, California. He offered to buy Ora a drink, but she declined and walked away. She thinks the man followed her home and then drove away when she reached her door. The man has never been identified. He is described as 6'0 tall with brown hair, blue eyes, a mustache and tattoos on his arms. He was approximately 25 years old in 1983.

Another possible suspect is a man who knocked on Ora's door just a few hours before the break-in. He identified himself as a police officer and was in uniform, and asked about a report she'd made about a stolen purse the month before. The Menlo Park Police Department has no record of any of their officers stopping by the Owens home on that date.

Ora receved telephone calls for years following his disappearance from an unidentified male. The caller repeatedly threatened to abduct her other two sons, who were seven years old and one year old at the time of Mitchell's abduction. It is not known if the calls are related to Mitchell's disappearance.

Authorities stated that they hoped current forensic technology which was unavailable in 1983 could help solve Mitchell's abduction and the assault on Ora. She has criticized the police investigation, stating investigators did not look hard enough for Mitchell because the family is African-American and poor. Inexplicably, the local police at first listed Mitchell as a runaway juvenile and refused to take action to find him.

Ora's attacker has never been identified and Mitchell has never been located.

• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA blue jacket, a brown shirt and red pants.

 

[Leprikawn]

A cold case squad needs to look at this case. I doubt this person stopped doing this and there may be other victims. They need to test all evidence they have for DNA. If you find the Perp you might find out what happened to the child.