In the summer of 2000, 17-year-old Paul David Sanders moved from Missouri to Mesa, Arizona, to live with his father. An athletic young man, he played football and basketball at Globe High School and had dreams of attending college on a sports scholarship. On the evening of August 11, 2001, Paul had an argument with his father at their home on East Carol Circle.
In the late hours of that night or early the next morning, on August 12, 2001, Paul left the house in his father's silver Chevrolet pickup truck. He drove to Globe, Arizona, to visit his grandmother, and was last seen after leaving her home. At the time of his disappearance, Paul was described as a biracial male, 5'8' and weighing around 145-150 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a medium blue 'Billabong' t-shirt, dark denim shorts, and white K-Swiss shoes. A notable feature is a tattoo of the name 'Hernandez' across his back.
Two days after Paul was last seen, on August 14, his father's pickup truck was pulled over for a minor traffic violation in Tucson, Arizona. Before the officer could identify the driver, the truck sped off, initiating a high-speed chase. The pursuit was eventually called off due to dangerous weather conditions. The following morning, the Chevrolet pickup was discovered wrecked and abandoned on the side of a steep hill in a remote area of the Sierra Catalina Mountains. Inside the vehicle, authorities found Paul's wallet, driver's license, and cell phone under the seat, with the keys left on the console. The cash from his recently cashed paycheck was missing from his wallet. Paul's father has stated he does not believe Paul was the one driving the truck during the police chase, citing the level of skill the driver used to evade authorities.
The circumstances surrounding Paul's disappearance remain a painful mystery for his loved ones. His family, particularly his mother and sister in Missouri, with whom he maintained regular contact, do not believe he would have run away without ever getting in touch. Tragically, the emotional toll of her son's disappearance led his mother to take her own life in 2020. Some acquaintances have suggested that Paul may have fallen in with the wrong crowd in Arizona. Initially, law enforcement treated the case as a runaway, and as a result, a full forensic examination of the recovered truck was not conducted. The Mesa Police Department is the investigating agency for this case, which remains unsolved.Last Seen: Aug 12, 2001
