In the autumn of 1987, a sense of unease began to settle over a family in Roanoke, Virginia, as they awaited word from 35-year-old David Robert Person. On October 6th, the white male with sandy, balding hair and hazel eyes was last seen getting on a bus. He was on his way to an outpatient day program at the VA hospital, a routine trip that tragically became the last time he was verifiably seen. While this date is the one officially noted, his family holds a different memory, believing the last confirmed day they saw him alive was nearly a month earlier, on September 8, 1987. At the time of his disappearance, David was described as being between 5'5' and 5'10' and weighing between 130 and 160 pounds. It was also noted that he sometimes wore a blond hairpiece and aviator-style eyeglasses.
The days turned into weeks, and then months, with no communication from David.
The lack of any contact was deeply concerning, and as time stretched on, the hope of his return began to fade, replaced by a persistent and painful uncertainty. The investigation into his disappearance yielded few answers, leaving his loved ones in a state of perpetual limbo. David traveled by bus, as he did not own a vehicle, a detail that only added to the mystery of how he could have vanished without a trace. His case was classified as an endangered missing person, and it was noted that he may have been in need of medical attention at the time he went missing.
Decades have now passed since David Robert Person was last seen. The world has changed in countless ways, yet the story of his disappearance remains frozen in time, a poignant and unresolved chapter in the lives of his family. The Roanoke Police Department has kept his case open, a silent testament to a life interrupted and a mystery that endures. The sparse details available paint a fragmented picture of his last known moments, leaving much to speculation. The discrepancy in the last seen date, between the official record and his family's recollection, adds another layer of complexity to an already baffling case. The overview of this case is one of sudden and unexplained absence. A man boards a bus for a routine appointment and is never heard from again, leaving behind a family to grapple with unanswered questions and the enduring pain of not knowing what became of their loved one.Last Seen: Oct 6, 1987
