On a September evening in 1964, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, 11-year-old Terry Lee Westerfield and his younger brother, Alan, seemingly vanished. The boys' stepfather, an Army sergeant named Carl Bock, told authorities he dropped them off at the Broadway Theater on Hay Street to watch a movie. Terry, a Boy Scout with red hair and freckles, was last seen wearing short jeans and a striped shirt.
He had a scar on his abdomen from an appendectomy and was missing a permanent lower front tooth. The brothers were regular moviegoers, but accounts from theater employees on whether they were seen that day are conflicting. Their mother reported them missing in the early hours of the following morning, sparking an investigation that has now spanned decades and remains one of North Carolina's oldest unsolved missing persons cases.
The circumstances surrounding the boys' disappearance quickly raised questions for investigators. Their stepfather, who was separated from their mother at the time, claimed he waited outside the theater for them, but never went inside to check on them when they didn't come out. It was later reported that on the day the boys disappeared, their stepfather had sent their babysitter home early, which was not part of the original plan. A neighborhood friend of Terry's also came by the house to play and was told by the stepfather that Terry was being punished and couldn't come out. Heavy rains from Hurricane Dora hampered the initial search efforts, adding another layer of difficulty to the case.
Over the years, the investigation into the disappearance of Terry and Alan Westerfield has been marked by heartache and a lack of resolution. The boys' biological father, Thomas 'Mel' Westerfield, tirelessly searched for his sons for years before his death by suicide in 1978. Their mother, Margie, who divorced their stepfather, held out hope for their return for many years and passed away in 2003. The boys' stepfather remained the primary person of interest in the case, though he was never charged. Investigators believe he was involved in their disappearance and that the boys were likely killed shortly after they were last seen. In 2012, law enforcement offered him immunity in exchange for information about the boys' whereabouts, an offer he refused. He passed away in 2016, taking any potential answers with him. The case of the Westerfield brothers is a deeply sorrowful story of two young lives cut short, leaving a void in the hearts of their family and a lingering mystery in the community. Without any significant leads or the discovery of the boys, their case remains an open and unsolved investigation.Last Seen: Sep 12, 1964
