In the autumn of 1981, 19-year-old Robert 'Bobby' Spurlock, a recent high school graduate from Louisville, Kentucky, embarked on a new chapter in his life by joining the United States Army. After completing basic training, he enjoyed a two-week vacation with his family before flying to Hawaii in November for his new assignment at Schofield Barracks at the Wheeler Army Air Field.
Shortly after arriving, on November 28, 1981, a troubled Robert telephoned his family, asking to speak with his mother. She was not home, and his stepfather, sensing his distress, advised him to speak with the Army chaplain about his problems before the call ended. That was the last time his family ever heard from him. Just a few days later, on December 2, Robert was last seen at approximately 6:30 a.m. at the airfield. He was wearing a brown checkered button-up shirt, blue jeans, and Nike athletic shoes, and he was carrying a camera.
The day after Robert was last seen, his captain contacted his mother to inform her that her son had disappeared from his quarters and was considered Absent Without Leave. There was initial confusion regarding his belongings; his mother was first told they were missing, but the Army later stated his possessions had been located in his quarters. According to Robert's mother, a formal missing person's report was not filed with civilian or military authorities until eight months after he vanished. The family was advised that he would not face severe consequences for the AWOL charge. Robert was described by those who knew him as quiet, introverted, and religious. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and distinctive freckles on his face and arms.
Over the years, the search for Robert Spurlock has been marked by few and uncorroborated leads. In 1983, a tip emerged that his Social Security number had been used by someone seeking a job in Akron, Ohio, but Robert had no known connections to the state. A more unusual lead surfaced in 2000, when Robert's mother received information that he may have been seen with a group of Hare Krishna devotees in Hawaii shortly after his disappearance in 1981. According to this tip, he was reportedly seen wearing the traditional devotional dress of the group's followers. His mother held onto the belief that her son might have tried to contact her over the years, possibly unaware that she had remarried and changed her name. The case of Robert Spurlock is a quiet and perplexing mystery, the story of a young, religious man at the start of his adult life who made a distressed phone call home and then vanished without a trace from a military installation, leaving behind his belongings and a family searching for answers for decades.Last Seen: Dec 2, 1981
