MN ND/MN - Kenneth Edward Tank, 27, Fargo–Moorhead, 1970/1971

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]Kenneth Edward Tank[/h]

• 

Tank, circa 1970

• Missing Since 12/02/1970
• Missing From Moorhead, Minnesota
• Classification Missing
• Date of Birth 09/21/1943 (74)
• Age 27 years old
• Height and Weight 6'0, 165 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes.

[h=3]Details of Disappearance[/h] Tank was last seen in the vicinity of Ralph's Corner Bar in downtown Moorhead, Minnesota on December 2, 1970. He has never been heard from again. Few details are available in his case.

Tank lived in North Dakota his entire life. At the time of his disappearance he lived in Fargo, a thirteen-minute drive from Ralph's Corner Bar, and Fargo authorities are investigating his case. He was married and had two children. After his disappearance, he was declared legally dead.

http://charleyproject.org/case/kenneth-edward-tank

NAMUS lists Kenneth as missing from Fargo, Cass County, ND and gives his missing date as 2 Dec 1971.

Kenneth was last seen leaving Ralph's Corner Bar in Moorehead, which has since been demolished.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/23462/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargo–Moorhead

 

[Coffee56]

Kenneth is mentioned in the following article. Missing date given here of Dec 2, 1970. I wonder which it is?

https://www.inforum.com/news/crime-...sons-cases-always-room-hope-after-ohio-rescue










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[Coffee56]

2005

MONDAY, June 5

Bones dont match

The bones found a year ago near the Ayr exit and I-94 do not match a man reported missing to the Fargo Police Department in 1971.

Kenneth Tank is the man in question. However, the Cass County Sheriffs Office received confirmation from the FBI Lab that the bones are not a match.

http://www.westfargopioneer.com/news/429609-police-beat




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[Gardener1850]

Kenneth is mentioned in the following article. Missing date given here of Dec 2, 1970. I wonder which it is?

https://www.inforum.com/news/crime-...sons-cases-always-room-hope-after-ohio-rescue

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Thanks Coffee, not much more info there but here's what was said about Kenneth:

Kenneth Tank, of Fargo, was reported missing Dec. 2, 1970. He was last seen at about 11 that night in the vicinity of Ralph's Corner Bar in downtown Moorhead, which has since been demolished.The Cass County Sheriff's Office hoped it had caught a break in Tank's case when human bones were found in late 2004 and early 2005 in a field near Ayr, about 40 miles northwest of Fargo. But DNA samples taken from one of Tank's relatives didn't match the bones when tested at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va.

"Nothing more has panned out on it. That information just kind of led us to a dead end," Chief Deputy Rick Majerus said.

I think Charley Project got its info and missing date from this article because they mention INforum Paper as a source. I'll have to see if I can find any historical articles from when he went missing.

 

[Gardener1850]

Kenneth has a Memorial on Findagrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/154514700

Date of birth: 21 Sept 1943

Date of death is given as Dec 2, 1971

There are Social Security Death records for him with the same dates.

This would seem to indicate the NAMUS date is correct if he was retroactively declared deceased after he went missing. JMO.

 

[Gardener1850]

Kenneth got married 17 Sept 1963 in Clay County, Minnesota: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNMS-16F

I also found birth records for his children (which I won't post here for their privacy). He had at least 2 young children when he went missing

 

[Gardener1850]

I found a yearbook picture:

Rugby High School 1957 Yearbook
Rugby, North Dakota
He was class of 1960
He would have been 14 or 15 years old here.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Kenneth Edward Tank – The Charley Project

 

[imstilla.grandma]

5725DMND - Kenneth Edward Tank​

Name: Kenneth Edward Tank
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: December 2, 1971
Location Last Seen: Fargo, Cass County, North Dakota

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: September 21, 1943
Age: 28 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 165 - 185 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Kenneth was last seen at around 11 p.m. leaving Ralph's Corner Bar in Moorehead, which has since been demolished. He has had no contact with family or friends since the time of his disappearance. Kenneth was declared dead in 1979.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Fargo Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Det. Matthew Ysteboe
Agency Phone Number: 701-235-4493
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 13-8511

Agency Name: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
Agency Contact Person: Jason Mielke
Agency Phone Number: 651-793-7000
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: N/A

NamUs Case Number: 23462

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
ND Presumptive Certificate of Death #71-005777

5725DMND - Kenneth Edward Tank

 

[vspin]

Before you come to any conclusions, please hear me out.

Missing Person Kenneth Edward Tank
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Unidentified White male going by the alias "Leroy"
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I've spent a lot of time over the years trying to figure out who "Leroy" may be, always coming up with very little, and so I began "grasping at straws." Kenneth Edward Tank is someone I've excluded many times because at first glance, they don't look alike, until I increased Kenneth's photo and put it next to Leroy's photo. Focusing your eyes on their chin, to the lips, to the nose and nostrils, and even the eyes (if you can overlook the distortion from the eye glass lenses, and Leroy's raised eyebrows). They look the same.

View attachment 347606


IMPORTANT NOTES

-Leroy's eyebrows are raised in the photo, and Kenneth's are not.

-A school picture of Kenneth shows that he had styled his hair overtop his forehead which may also be the case in his adult photo, to explain their hairlines. This hairstyle was very common in the 1970s. Here are some examples.

-Kenneth's photo may not have been taken near the time he went missing. At the time he went missing, he weighed as much as 185 pounds which would means he only needed to gain 35 pounds in ~2.5 years to be the same weight as Leroy.

-IF "Leroy" is Kenneth, it may suggest that Kenneth left the bar where he was last seen to pursue a new life, possibly with a female named "Rita," thus, abandoning his wife and two children.


WHAT MATCHES

-Both are close in height.

-Kenneth's age falls within Leroy's estimated age.

-Both have hazel eyes, and brown hair.

-Both are white males.


I've submitted these cases for review. I've also messaged Kenneth's family. If I hear back from them, I'll let you guys know.

 

[vspin]

A family member said the man going by "Leroy" is NOT Kenneth, and it's pretty clear he isn't, given another image of him I received from her. I've remastered the photo, but unfortunately, I'm not allowed to post it here until it's up on NameUs, but I can post the original.

Here's another photo of Kenneth Edward Tank (pretty handsome fellow):

 

[summergirl1]

Did his vehicle go missing with him too? It doesn't mention it, but if so, then maybe he drove into a body of water.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Not much has been made public about the former insurance adjuster from North Dakota who vanished into a cold winter night in 1971.

But a police report regarding the missing persons case of Kenneth Edward Tank, recently obtained by Forum News Service, sheds new light on the investigation, including theories that Tank became a target of disgruntled customers with ties to organized crime.

Tank was a 28-year-old husband and father to two children when he left Ralph's Corner Bar in Moorhead, Minnesota, on the evening of Dec. 2, 1971. His destination was assumed to be his home in nearby Fargo.

Ralph's Corner Bar is show in this undated file image.
Temperatures that night were recorded well below freezing, hovering around 17 degrees. Winds were gusting up to 20 mph across the prairie plains, calling into question the likelihood that he would have survived the blistering cold journey home on foot.

A North Dakota father of two walked out of bar into a wintry night and vanished, starting decades-old mystery

Forum News Service has obtained a police report on Kenneth Edward Tank which sheds new light on the investigation, including theories that Tank became a target of some with ties to organized crime.

www.grandforksherald.com

 

[summergirl1]

Undoubtedly the threatening calls were connected with his disappearence. But perhaps they could never prove who made them. As for him leaving the bar, who claimed he left there? At least that he left there alone. Why was he there that night? Just a visit to the bar? Or maybe he was trying to resolve something with someone? It's possible he never did leave the bar..alive..that is from the sounds of it.

 

[Deanna Boucher]

Did his vehicle go missing with him too? It doesn't mention it, but if so, then maybe he drove into a body of water.

He had left his car at my uncles place of employment at that time and rode with him to my other uncles house in Moorhead. They were going to look at the car my uncle was going to sell, he was not home yet so they went to Ralph’s Corner Bar to see if he was there- my uncle would stop there most every night after work. Kenneth is/was my father.

 

[Deanna Boucher]

Undoubtedly the threatening calls were connected with his disappearence. But perhaps they could never prove who made them. As for him leaving the bar, who claimed he left there? At least that he left there alone. Why was he there that night? Just a visit to the bar? Or maybe he was trying to resolve something with someone? It's possible he never did leave the bar..alive..that is from the sounds of it.

Please see my reply to summergirl1

 

[ProductiveOne]

I just got word from family that his body might be found in Fargo, ND, and that detective are still working case. I didn't find any unidentified people in Fargo, ND on NamUs, but I did find the one below (Page, ND) which is near the larger city. If it turns out to be Kenneth, we should all reassess these physical estimates.

Whatever the outcome, I hope it's what the family has been waiting for.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)