Account
Jan 28, 2026
Jan 28, 2026
June
Lynn Howard
27
27
5'1 inches
90 lbs
White
Female
In the early summer of 1978, a young mother named June Lynn Howard was living in Kennewick, Washington, with her husband and children. At 27 years old, she was looking forward to celebrating her youngest son's second birthday. On June 16, 1978, after spending the afternoon running errands with a neighbor, June was home for the evening. According to her husband, Steve Howard, she walked to a nearby 7-Eleven between 8 and 9 p.m. to buy cigarettes and never came back. A mother of three, June's sudden disappearance was out of character, yet her husband did not report her missing to the Kennewick Police Department for eleven days. The investigation into June's disappearance was hampered from the start by the delay in reporting her missing. Steve Howard's account of the evening she vanished was inconsistent and raised suspicion among investigators. He gave conflicting stories to family, friends, and the police about what might have happened to his wife. He told some that June had packed her belongings and left, while suggesting to others that she may have been hitchhiking. Co-workers noted that he did not seem overly concerned about his wife's absence. Although he initially agreed to take a polygraph test, he never followed through and subsequently moved to Louisiana. Despite law enforcement's strong suspicions that Steve was responsible for June's disappearance, they lacked sufficient evidence to bring charges against him. For decades, the case of June Lynn Howard remained one of Kennewick's oldest missing person cases, leaving her children to grow up without their mother and without answers. Over the years, investigators continued to revisit the case, and in 2016, a retired detective took a fresh look at the evidence. After a thorough review and further investigation, authorities concluded that June had been murdered by her husband. This determination brought a sense of closure to her family and the police department, though it was a bittersweet resolution as Steve Howard had died in 2000 without ever being held accountable. One theory suggests her body may have been disposed of in a large, heated acid tank at her husband's auto repair shop, which would explain why no trace of her has ever been found. Though authorities consider the case effectively closed, June's name will remain in the national missing persons database in the hope that her remains might one day be discovered. The story of June Lynn Howard is a sad one of a young life cut short and a family left to grapple with the devastating consequences of domestic violence.
Jun 16, 1978
Kennewick
Washington
Kennewick
Kennewick Police Departmen
509-582-1313
05/31/2026
