In the winter of 1984, a 26-year-old Army veteran named Howard Shizue Takanaka Jr. vanished from Superior, Wisconsin. The exact date of his disappearance is uncertain, with records only indicating he was last seen sometime in January of that year. At the time, it was rumored that he had intentions of leaving Wisconsin to seek employment elsewhere. Before he went missing, Howard had served his country for four years in the United States Army. He was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division and had been stationed at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii before receiving an honorable discharge. Since January 1984, he has not been seen or heard from again.
Howard is described as an Asian male with brown hair and hazel eyes. At the time he went missing, he stood between 5'9" and 6'0" tall and weighed between 125 and 140 pounds. A distinct tattoo was present on his left forearm, though details of its design are not widely available. The investigation into his disappearance has been handled by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Over the years, few details have emerged in his case, making the circumstances surrounding his vanishing particularly vague.
The case of Howard Takanaka Jr. remains an unsolved missing persons investigation with very limited information available to the public. The primary theory at the time was that he voluntarily left the area to find work, a belief that has persisted due to the lack of evidence suggesting foul play. An interesting but ultimately unfruitful lead occurred when a man with a nearly identical name was found living off the grid in Hawaii, a place Howard had ties to from his military service; however, when contacted, this individual confirmed he was not the missing man. Without further information, the narrative of his disappearance is stalled on the possibility that he simply moved away to start a new life, leaving behind a mystery that has now endured for decades.
Last Seen: Jan 01, 1984
