In the winter of 1970, a 23-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran named Richard Edward Duffy, known to his loved ones as Rich, vanished from the scenic landscape of Corrales, New Mexico. On December 18th of that year, the young man, who was staying at a local commune with his girlfriend, embarked on a hike to the banks of the Rio Grande. It was there, under the vast New Mexico sky, that the last known moments of his life unfolded.
According to his girlfriend, they ingested LSD, and she eventually fell asleep. When she awoke, Richard was gone, having disappeared without a sound or a trace. He has not been seen or heard from in the many decades that have since passed.
Richard's life before his disappearance was marked by significant change and personal challenges. Raised in a single-parent home in New Jersey with four younger siblings, he left high school to join the Marines in 1965. His military service included a tour in Vietnam. While he was serving overseas, his wife left him, and upon his return to the United States, those around him noticed a shift in his lifestyle. He adopted what was described as a 'hippie' lifestyle, and began to heavily use alcohol and drugs, including marijuana and hallucinogens. This new path is what led him to the commune in Corrales, the last place he was seen.
At the time he went missing, Richard was described as a white male, standing 5'10' and weighing approximately 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He had a beard and several distinguishing physical characteristics that his family hoped would aid in his identification. These included a noticeable gap between his two upper front teeth, scars on the backs of his hands from shrapnel wounds, and two tattoos: the word 'Mom' on his upper left arm and the name 'Linda' on his upper right arm. The Sandoval County Sheriff's Office has kept the investigation into his disappearance open, but the circumstances surrounding what happened that December day remain unclear. For over half a century, his family has been left without answers, holding onto the hope of one day understanding the fate of Richard Edward Duffy. The case is a quiet, lingering mystery, a story of a young man who went for a walk by the river and never came back.Last Seen: Dec 18, 1970
