MI MI - John Lester Brown Jr, 29, Lansing, 26 Dec 1965

[Gardener1850]

John Lester Brown Jr. is a U.S. Army Veteran who was last seen by family in Lansing, Michigan the day after Christmas, December 26, 1965. According to his granddaughter, John Brown was constantly in and out of the life of his wife and three children for long periods of time, but they never saw or heard from him after he went missing in December, 1965. They are also aware of at least one other child of John’s. The mother of this child lived in the Lansing, Michigan area and would have been pregnant sometime between 1956 and 1959. John Lester Brown Jr. is 29 years old as of the date he went missing in December, 1965. John Brown is described as a white male standing 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 175 pounds. John Brown has brown hair and brown eyes. John Lester Brown Jr. Born was born April 29, 1936 in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you have any information about the whereabouts of John Lester Brown Jr., contact Sergeant Cynthia Johnson with the Michigan State Police at 517-322-1909 reference case #11-2428-17. (NamUs MP # 38779)

Read more: http://www.missingveterans.com/1965/john-lester-brown-jr/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/38779/

 

[glamourkitty1922]

His family is asking for people to share his missing poster

I wonder why he had the alias of John Kroepil?

 

[Gardener1850]

His family is asking for people to share his missing poster

I wonder why he had the alias of John Kroepil?

It sounds to me like he may have been living a double life with two families/two identities.

JMO.

 

[Coffee56]

Someone has posted an obituary from a newspaper online that states it’s John Lester Brown’s step father but nothing in the actual obit mentioning him. Not sure that it is but the last name was Kroepil.

 

[Coffee56]

The Search for John Lester Brown Jr.

 

[StarrChance]

There is a Ancestry family tree for him, seems to have two marriages, also a son born in 1956, although I can’t find his birth records. No luck finding John anywhere after 1965 though, the name Brown makes it so much harder and complicated!
Ancestry - Sign In

 

[Richard]

The photo of him would indicate that he served as an enlisted man in the US Army's 7th Infantry Division, and was stationed in Korea at some point. The wings indicate that he was a graduate of Army parachute jump school.

The poster and file on him show two separate views of him in an Army uniform.

If he disappeared when still on active duty in the Army, he would have been classified as a "deserter" and would still be carried on the deserter list.

 

[Richard]

John Lester Brown, Jr. is not currently listed as a deserter from the Army. So either he must have completed his enlistment and left the Army, or if missing from the Army while on active duty, his case was somehow resolved. See the current list of Army Deserters dating back to the 1940's at link below.

Link:
Army Most Wanted Fugitives

 

[Richard]

John Lester Brown, Jr.
Missing since 26 December 1965

 

[Richard]

PVT John Lester/Mark “Johnny” Brown Jr.
BIRTH 29 Apr 1936
Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee, USA
DEATH 3 Jul 1973 (aged 37)
Key Largo, Monroe County, Florida, USA
BURIAL
Palms Woodlawn Cemetery
Naranja, Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA
PLOT Grave 3, Lot # 203, Section 10.

From Find a Grave:

Johnny was the son of John Lester Brown Sr. & Madeline Louise "Dora" Turner. He had a half sister, Edith, through his Father & a half brother & sister, William "Bill" & Teresa "Terri" Kroepil, through his Mother. His Grandparents Otha Joshua "O.J." Brown & Bertie Ell Leatherwood had a great deal in raising him. After losing his Grandma Bertie in 1952, who he loved very much, he enlisted in the regular army May 12, 1953.

He was a PV2 (equal to an E-5 Sergeant) in the 7th Infantry Division & was in the Korean War where he was an MP for the Buffalo Police & a gunner but never saw combat. Later that year while on leave he met Clarice Eileen Kelley, daughter to Clarence Allen Kelley & Cora B. Bollinger. They married & had three sons...

Johnny went missing in 1965/1966 but through DNA we have found other children... & brought an end (somewhat) to this almost 55 year long mystery. We know there could be at least 2 other children (likely more) & he was married to a Doris Vansickle 17 days before he died in a 1973 scuba diving accident...

LINK:

PVT John Lester/Mark “Johnny” Brown Jr....

 

[CastlesBurning]

They have been missing in Michigan the longest: 12 people last seen before 1970

John Lester Brown was last seen on Dec. 26, 1965, in Lansing.

He saw his family the day after Christmas and was never seen again after that.

He has a tattoo on his upper left arm that says “Johnny Boy” with a black panther. He has a dagger tattoo on his other arm and possibly a spider.

Brown’s family believes he died in 1973 in a scuba diving incident, according to a Facebook group. He is still listed as a missing person in the national database.

John Lester Brown	Details
Missing Age	29
Current Age	86
Height	6′0′'
Weight	175 lbs
Hair	Brown
Eyes	Brown

Anyone with information should contact Michigan State Police at 517-322-1907.

 

[Richard]

This thread should probably be retitled as found, deceased since records indicate that he died on 3 July 1973 and is buried in Florida.

 

[Ghost_21]

Has anyone contacted / e-mailed the Investigating Agency or Case Contributor on his NAMUS page with this information?

 

[Richard]

Has anyone contacted / e-mailed the Investigating Agency or Case Contributor on his NAMUS page with this information?

Agree. Someone familiar with NAMUS reporting should contact them. Also, the thread here on Websleuths should be reclassified as Located.