VA VA- Larry Frank Basnight, 44, Norfolk, 15 Jun 1984

[Pennysmom1]

Missing Person / NamUs #MP125684

View NamUs missing persons case MP125684, for Larry Frank Basnight, missing from Norfolk, Virginia. Date of last contact: Jun 15, 1984. NCMEC case number: --.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

Missing Age 44 Years
Current Age 84 Years
First Name Larry
Middle Name Frank
Last Name Basnight
Nickname/Alias Frank, Frankie
Sex Male
Race / Ethnicity Black / African American, Other
Height 5'-9" - (69 - inches) --
Weight 160 - lbs --
Tribe Enrollment/Affiliation --
Associated Tribe(s) --​

Circumstances
Date of Last Contact June 15, 1984
NamUs Case Created July 12, 2024

Last Known Location (Map)
Location Norfolk, Virginia 23508
County Norfolk City

Missing From Tribal Land No
Primary Residence on Tribal Land --\

Circumstances of Disappearance LARRY WAS LAST SEEN IN JUNE, 1985. HE HAS A DENT IN HIS FOREHEAD.​

Physical Description
Hair Color Black
Head Hair Description Large Afro
Body Hair Description --
Facial Hair Description Thick Mustache
Left Eye Color Brown
Right Eye Color Brown
Eye Description

---

Distinctive Physical Features
Scar/mark Has scar/dent like mark on forehead​

 

[L.Clark]

Hello, I'm new here (ish).

The circumstances only list last date of contact and a physical descriptor and not much else. Is that common for older cold cases and is there anywhere in particular you might recommend looking to learn more?

EDIT: Just want to clarify that I did look into this online, I just don't see any mentions of Larry Frank Basnight's name. Basnight is a relatively rare name, in my experience, and Brave only returns 2 pages of results to the search - Larry Frank "Basnight" and none of them seem to directly mention Larry Frank.

 

[L.Clark]

There is a little information on the family tree if you choose to really look for it but there's no information beyond the description itself or what's available via NamUS.

Just putting these updates up for anyone interested or wants some context.

 

[Aurora90]

Hello, I'm new here (ish).

The circumstances only list last date of contact and a physical descriptor and not much else. Is that common for older cold cases and is there anywhere in particular you might recommend looking to learn more?

EDIT: Just want to clarify that I did look into this online, I just don't see any mentions of Larry Frank Basnight's name. Basnight is a relatively rare name, in my experience, and Brave only returns 2 pages of results to the search - Larry Frank "Basnight" and none of them seem to directly mention Larry Frank.

Unfortunately, many older cases and a lot of older POC cases have very little info...

 

[Aurora90]

Thanks for adding to the convo, your input will surely be helpful here!

 

[cenazoic]

Is that common for older cold cases and is there anywhere in particular you might recommend looking to learn more?

Very. You’ll get very familiar with the phrase ‘few details available.’

Other resources (for both missing persons and unidentified people):

Charley Project
DNA Doe Project
NamUs
Trans Doe Project
Local and state missing persons/UID clearinghouses
Newspapers.com
Newspaperarchive.com
Library of Congress Chronicling America
Royal Canadian Mounted Police resources
Ancestry
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin


Unfortunately there’s a ton of newspapers, in particular, which haven’t been digitized and depending on where you’re at, cases which might benefit from actually digging through microfilm, court records, etc.

I haven’t done it yet, but FOIA requests may be useful in getting case files ( if they still exist).

 

[Pennysmom1]

Well, when I find new missing people (even when they are old cases) if they are on NAMUS, I post them. I know they don't have much info, but I like to think someone with subscriptions to Newspapers, Ancestry, Classmates or other places will be able to find more pieces to the puzzle and add to a thread.

 

[cenazoic]

when I find new missing people (even when they are old cases) if they are on NAMUS, I post them. I know they don't have much info, but I like to think someone with subscriptions to Newspapers, Ancestry, Classmates or other places will be able to find more pieces to the puzzle and add to a thread.

Exactly! I know when I see one of these, it’s a challenge to see if I can dig anything up. I can’t always, but we all have different resources, ideas, and each tiny bit we can contribute adds to the pile.

 

[L.Clark]

Unfortunately, many older cases and a lot of older POC cases have very little info...

Yes, I figured that might play a part in the relatively little information I've found.

Very. You’ll get very familiar with the phrase ‘few details available.’

Yes, I've been seeing quite a bit of that on Charley Project.

I haven’t done it yet, but FOIA requests may be useful in getting case files ( if they still exist).

I'm curious what filing one is like. I'm in the cybersec industry and FOIA is something that gets brought up quite a bit across a few publications and I've always been curious exactly what it covers.

I know they don't have much info, but I like to think someone with subscriptions to Newspapers, Ancestry, Classmates or other places will be able to find more pieces to the puzzle and add to a thread.

Well, we know there's still someone alive and wondering (someone claiming to be the family of the missing person), which is more than for a LOT of cases, I'm sure.

 

[cenazoic]

@L.Clark - looking at your tagline, we probably have many adjacent interests.

In re: FOIA, take a look at MuckRock if you haven’t yet - lots of resources there:

MuckRock

MuckRock is a collaborative news site that gives you the tools to hold the government accountable.

www.muckrock.com

And now, back to Mr Basnight - apologies for the derail.

 

[cenazoic]

The only thing I’ve been able to find is this AncientFaces page by his granddaughter. It says he was ‘taken’ and that his name is “Larry aka Frank”. (Not “Larry Frank”).

Can’t find anything on newspapers,newspaperarchive, or Ancestry.

 

[L.Clark]

The only thing I’ve been able to find is this AncientFaces page by his granddaughter. It says he was ‘taken’ and that his name is “Larry aka Frank”. (Not “Larry Frank”).

Yes, Frank is the nickname. I reverse image searched the portrait on the NamUS case and it returned the tracker/memorial website.

I found "taken" to be an odd choice of wording, but I figured it was just hyperbolic. As in "taken [from the writer/family]" by life or something.

looking at your tagline, we probably have many adjacent interests.

I like a lot of things. If there's a problem or puzzle, I like taking it on. Except Rubik's Cubes. I can't do that for the life of me.

Can’t find anything on newspapers,newspaperarchive, or Ancestry.

POC missing persons case in the 1980s is generally unlikely to be reported in the news of that era, I feel. If someone wants more information, I think it's probably going to need to be from a primary source or the actual case file. But if you have access to Ancestry, AncientFaces suggests there's a death record. Was he declared dead in absentia?

 

[cenazoic]

Well, the annoying thing about those AF document links is that I *HAVE* a paid sub to Ancestry, and they take me to a ‘subscribe’ page in Ancestry, and never take me to the alleged docs. I haven’t been able find anything for Larry or Lawrence Basnight that seems relavant to the MP (there are several other Larry Basnights in Ancestry.)

 

[L.Clark]

Well, the annoying thing about those AF document links is that I *HAVE* a paid sub to Ancestry, and they take me to a ‘subscribe’ page in Ancestry, and never take me to the alleged docs. I haven’t been able find anything for Larry or Lawrence Basnight that seems relavant to the MP (there are several other Larry Basnights in Ancestry.)

Is that an AncientFaces thing or an Ancestry thing?

And if there's content relevant only to other L. Basnight's or whatever, does that just mean misleading advertising on AncientFaces by Ancestry? (」°ロ°)

I've never dealt with Ancestry before. Never been a fan of the concept.

Also, regarding the FOIA to Norfolk PD - JustFOIA Public Portal

There's a team in the City of Norfolk office dedicated to that. (You might need boots on the ground there because it looks like you need state ID tacked onto your request)

 

[cenazoic]

Is that an AncientFaces thing or an Ancestry thing?

AF is owned by Ancestry, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Aurora90]

I actually rarely see black missing people declared deceased in absentia. Not sure why that is, just something I have noticed.

Curious as to the "taken" comment. Sounds like LE likely has more info than they are reporting..

Would that dent show up somehow on a skull post-mortem? Curious as to wether or not that is a thing to look for in John Does.

 

[L.Clark]

I actually rarely see black missing people declared deceased in absentia. Not sure why that is, just something I have noticed.

That's odd about the deceased in absentia thing for sure. I'd be interested to see if there's an article on those statistics.

Curious as to the "taken" comment. Sounds like LE likely has more info than they are reporting..

Certainly odd comment. I honestly took it as metaphorical, i.e. "The world took him from us" or "The night took him from us". If that was actually the case, I honestly don't know why it wouldn't be reported in the circumstances section.

Would that dent show up somehow on a skull post-mortem? Curious as to wether or not that is a thing to look for in John Does.

Honestly, every description highlights that as a mark to look out for, but none of the photos really show the dent clearly. I can't figure which side of the head it's on, much less the depth or severity of it. If we had a clearer view of the mark, we could grunt through known John Does with similar distinguishing features.

 

[Pennysmom1]

Take a look at this Facebook post. You can see his dent pretty clearly.

https://www.facebook.com/mark.eggeman/posts/520560513660815

 

[Pennysmom1]

 

[L.Clark]

@Pennysmom1 Oh yes, I see a bump clearly here. It's certainly a bit unique.

@Aurora90 I can't tell if it's a bone thing. Could be flesh/skin to be honest. I think it would be worth going through some of the John Does from the area if the dent's such a striking characteristic in the MP.

(Whoops, forgot to click "Post reply")