Account
Jan 27, 2026
Jan 27, 2026
Earnest
Lee Franklin
57
57
5'6 inches
210 lbs
Black
Male
In the days following Christmas in 2003, the festive lights remained on at the Shreveport, Louisiana home of Earnest Lee Franklin, but the man who had switched them on was gone. There is some variation in the exact date he was last seen, with reports citing both December 25th and December 27th of that year. On the evening he vanished, around 11:45 p.m., Mr. Franklin, a 57-year-old retired forklift operator, spoke to his sister in California on the phone from his residence in the 1600 block of Audrey Lane. He told her he was on his way out to meet a friend. This was the last known communication anyone had with him. He left his home that night and was never seen or heard from again. Concern for Mr. Franklin's welfare grew when he failed to show up for a planned New Year's dinner with his siblings in Shreveport. This uncharacteristic absence was a red flag for the family, prompting them to report him missing in early January. Mr. Franklin was known to be a private and somewhat reclusive person, and the identity of the friend he was supposedly meeting remains a mystery. Adding to the enigma is the disappearance of his vehicle, a distinctive white four-door 1995 Cadillac DeVille with Louisiana license plate number IJG 528, which has also never been located. At the time of his disappearance, he was described as a Black male, standing five feet six inches tall and weighing around 210 pounds, with brown eyes and balding black hair. He wore a full set of dentures and used eyeglasses for reading. The investigation into Earnest Lee Franklin's disappearance has stretched on for years, yielding very few answers. A Shreveport police detective assigned to the case noted the complete lack of clues was unlike anything he had encountered in his career, leading him to suspect foul play. Investigators reviewed phone records but were unable to identify any suspects. There has been no activity on Mr. Franklin's bank accounts since he went missing. Over the years, his family has continued to search for answers, with his son actively involved in trying to find his father. In 2022, a volunteer sonar search team explored several bodies of water, including the Red River and Cross Lake, looking for his Cadillac, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The case of Earnest Lee Franklin is an enduring mystery, a story of a man who vanished into the night after a simple statement about meeting a friend, leaving behind only questions and a family waiting for a resolution that has never come.
Dec 27, 2003
Shreveport
Louisiana
Shreveport
Shreveport Police Departmen
318-673-7020
05/10/2026
