On March 13, 1972, Steven Chait, a 20-year-old male student at Columbia University, was last seen leaving his dorm room at Furnald Hall in Manhattan, New York. That day, his roommate reported that Steven had been lying in his bed listening to music before he got up, said goodbye, and left. He gave no indication that he would be gone for an extended period. Two days later, after missing classes and his shifts at Mama Joy's Delicatessen, his friends contacted his family. When he disappeared, Steven left behind all his personal belongings, including his books, passport, and uncashed paychecks. He was described as a serious and studious young man. His mother noted that he had become moody and seemed to feel he was letting everyone down after receiving a poor grade in an engineering course, which prompted him to change his major to art history.
Steven was a gifted and intelligent individual from a young age, reading The New York Times and U.S.
News & World Report by the age of nine and consistently earning high marks in school. He was also a talented athlete, running for the Columbia track team. His interests included architecture and paintings, and he was a member of the Sierra Club and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also regularly donated blood to the Red Cross. The weekend before he went missing, he had stayed with his family. His mother last saw him sleeping in his former bedroom before he returned to his university dorm.
For 25 years following his disappearance, Steven's mother received mysterious, silent phone calls two to three times a year, starting on Mother's Day in 1972. She believed the caller was her son and would speak to him, telling him she loved him and asking him to come home before the caller would hang up. These unsettling calls ceased in 1997. The initial police response to his disappearance was that as an adult, he was free to leave if he chose. His family, however, remained deeply concerned. His mother has expressed her belief that he may have taken his own life, though she holds out hope that he is still alive. In his memory, his sister established a track scholarship at Columbia University in his name. The case of Steven Chait's disappearance remains an unsolved and poignant story, marked by the abrupt departure of a promising young man and the years of unanswered questions that have followed for his loved ones.Last Seen: Mar 13, 1972
