VA VA - Robert Preston Hall, 18, Arlington, Jan 14, 1976

[StarrChance]

There was a Robert Preston Hall involved in a lawsuit in Charlottesville, VA in 1981...
The Observer from Charlottesville, Virginia

Pretty sure that article is a different Robert born in 1945.

 

[AirForceVet24]

I did reach out to a friend of mine who works at Chaos Divers this morning and they are heading to Virginia this summer and they are aware of Robert's case and do plan on searching for him.

In my mind, you have an 18 year old with a muscle car and accidents are going to happen. For all we know he could have been showing off for someone or could have been street racing, or he could have been trying to do a burnout and lost control, the thoughts are endless.

For me, if I would have done a poster for him sooner, I probably would have stated "He was known to have been driving a 1960s ford with Virginia tags....." I am not going to go that far and say that the work was sloppy just because I do have deep respect for the Weeping Willow Project, but I would have worded it a little bit differently. I have attached my flyer for him.

 

[branmuffin]

I did reach out to a friend of mine who works at Chaos Divers this morning and they are heading to Virginia this summer and they are aware of Robert's case and do plan on searching for him.

In my mind, you have an 18 year old with a muscle car and accidents are going to happen. For all we know he could have been showing off for someone or could have been street racing, or he could have been trying to do a burnout and lost control, the thoughts are endless.

For me, if I would have done a poster for him sooner, I probably would have stated "He was known to have been driving a 1960s ford with Virginia tags....." I am not going to go that far and say that the work was sloppy just because I do have deep respect for the Weeping Willow Project, but I would have worded it a little bit differently. I have attached my flyer for him.

Is that accurate now? Him driving a 1970 Mustang? You are absolutely correct in regards to a teenager and a muscle car. Even a 6ft 4in teenager. The information is so old now. Fifty years old. We have no idea why his absence is couched in mysterious terms 'missing from home without explanation'. What does that even mean? Did he leave home in the middle of the night? Did his parents come home from work and he was not home and never returned? Was the Mustang his, or his parent's car? Was he experiencing trouble at school? Was he an only child? Could relatives flesh out more details?

 

[The4TierBridge]

Is that accurate now? Him driving a 1970 Mustang? You are absolutely correct in regards to a teenager and a muscle car. Even a 6ft 4in teenager. The information is so old now. Fifty years old. We have no idea why his absence is couched in mysterious terms 'missing from home without explanation'. What does that even mean? Did he leave home in the middle of the night? Did his parents come home from work and he was not home and never returned? Was the Mustang his, or his parent's car? Was he experiencing trouble at school? Was he an only child? Could relatives flesh out more details?

The problem here is you’re expecting a full deep-dive on a case from a NamUs profile, where half the entries were created solely for easier DNA testing or prints/dentals comparisons and every 5th page just says “circumstances unknown.”

The 1970 car model date is a more recent update made to the NamUs file and replaced the impossible 1960 car model date, so it it likely correct. The investigating agency probably just made a typo.

 

[AirForceVet24]

I had a thought and maybe I am way off. On Facebook there is a group for the 1975 class at Wakefield High School in Arlington Virginia. If he was apart of that high school perhaps someone might remember his name and could shed more light on who he was.

Back in the 70s, kids left home, they were outside having fun and they were on the move, so him leaving home randomly would have seemed common.

 

[branmuffin]

The problem here is you’re expecting a full deep-dive on a case from a NamUs profile, where half the entries were created solely for easier DNA testing or prints/dentals comparisons and every 5th page just says “circumstances unknown.”

The 1970 car model date is a more recent update made to the NamUs file and replaced the impossible 1960 car model date, so it it likely correct. The investigating agency probably just made a typo.

I agree it was a typo. My issue is, if you're going to provide information regarding the disappearance of a family member, be accurate as possible. So when I see this kind of namby pamby information that poses more problems it makes me wonder when the report was made. The kid may have been a giant but he was still a kid. It's not as if he was in his 20s and didn't live at home anymore and the family found out a week later he was missing. Then the vagueness makes sense. But an 18 year old? Did he have a fight with his parents? Was the car his? Did he steal it? Was he in a gang? It makes me think it's an 'after the fact' statement when almost any detail is unknown for whatever reason. I think he's in the water. Almost every young man who is on WS who was in a bar drinking and then went missing, if water entered the equation, then that's where he is. Doubly so, if he has a vehicle and lives near water.

 

[The4TierBridge]

I agree it was a typo. My issue is, if you're going to provide information regarding the disappearance of a family member, be accurate as possible. So when I see this kind of namby pamby information that poses more problems it makes me wonder when the report was made. The kid may have been a giant but he was still a kid. It's not as if he was in his 20s and didn't live at home anymore and the family found out a week later he was missing. Then the vagueness makes sense. But an 18 year old? Did he have a fight with his parents? Was the car his? Did he steal it? Was he in a gang? It makes me think it's an 'after the fact' statement when almost any detail is unknown for whatever reason. I think he's in the water. Almost every young man who is on WS who was in a bar drinking and then went missing, if water entered the equation, then that's where he is. Doubly so, if he has a vehicle and lives near water.

MP was reported missing to the Arlington County Police Department on January 15, 1976, as can be seen by expanding the case manager box under “Contacts.”

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[branmuffin]

MP was reported missing to the Arlington County Police Department on January 15, 1976, as can be seen by expanding the case manager box under “Contacts.”

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

So he was in contact with family members the day prior to his disappearance? That doesn't really provide much information, though, does it. I'm not expecting a full dive from Namus, they've only been around for 20 years. Namus was a collaborative effort among state police files, local police files and the FBI's NCIC. Canada and the US have a reciprocal agreement with the US for CPIC files. Namus is only as good as the information collected by the initial state or city police force files.

An 18 year old male going missing in 1976 probably was treated with skepticism as a young guy just having an adventure. That happened a lot. 'He's 18 he's got a great car, he's just out having fun. He'll be back soon, none the worse for wear. Don't worry.' I wonder how many mothers heard those words when their sons went missing.

Edited to add: don't forget back then there was a mandatory waiting period sometimes up to 72 hours before the police would file a missing persons report. Especially if the missing person was male, and legally an adult. So it could be that RPH had actually been reported missing several days prior to the actual date the police filed a formal missing person report.