CA CA - Douglas Lakin, 52, Corona, April 1981

25 Years Ago:

---------------------------------
Douglas D. Lakin
Missing since April 1981 from Corona, Riverside County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: November 20, 1928
Age at Time of Disappearance: 52 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 6'0"; 200 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown eyes; black hair.
Marks, Scars: scar on abdomen.
Medical Conditions: Lakin may be suffering from an undetermined mental illness.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Lakin was traveling around the United States in 1980. He often called his relatives and let them know his location. Lakin was in Corona, California near the Mexican border during Easter weekend in April, 1981. He phoned his family in Michigan and asked them to wire money so he could return home. Lakin has never been seen or heard from again.

One of Lakin's daughters actively searched for her father until 2000, when she decided to initiate the process of declaring him legally deceased. There has been no activity on Lakin's Social Security number since 1981. There were no objections to the process from other relatives and Lakin was declared deceased in Nebraska in September 2001.

Lakin's daughter believes that her father suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness and that with treatment, he would have recovered and not disappeared. His daughter was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder some time ago.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Riverside County Sheriff's Office 402-444-7998

NCIC Number: M-462521233
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
The Omaha World Herald
The Doe Network: Case File 372DMCA

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/372dmca.html

Possible match?

http://www.co.adams.co.us/elected_officials/coroner/unidentified/all_unidentified.html#84-165

or this man...
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/473umnv.html

Mr. E said:

Possible match?

http://www.co.adams.co.us/elected_officials/coroner/unidentified/all_unidentified.html#84-165

or this man...
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/473umnv.html

Click to expand...

There is a height discrepancy of 3 inches with one and 4 inches with the other, but it is possible that one or the other could be him.

The summary stated that he often called his relatives to let them know his wherabouts, and these two possible matches are each about three years off from his last contact. My gut feeling is that he crossed into Tijuana, Mexico and met with foul play south of the US border.

This year marks 30 years since Douglas Lakin went missing.

It must have been such a hard decision for his daughter in 2000 to have him declared legally deceased. I wonder if he did have a bipolar disorder since his daughter was later diagnosed.

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: November 20, 1928
Age at Time of Disappearance: 52 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 6'0"; 200 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown eyes; black hair.
Marks, Scars: scar on abdomen.
Medical Conditions: Lakin may be suffering from an undetermined mental illness.
Dentals: Not available.




http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/lakin_douglas.html

http://doenetwork.org/cases/372dmca.html

Circumstances of Disappearance

Lakin was traveling around the United States in 1980. He often called his relatives and let them know his location.

Lakin was in Corona, California near the Mexican border during Easter weekend in April, 1981. He phoned his family in Michigan and asked them to wire money so he could return home. Lakin has never been seen or heard from again.

One of Lakin's daughters actively searched for her father until 2000, when she decided to initiate the process of declaring him legally deceased. There has been no activity on Lakin's Social Security number since 1981. Lakin was declared deceased in Nebraska in September 2001.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/372dmca.html

NAMUS: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)


Circumstances of Disappearance
Lakin was traveling around the United States. He often called his relatives and let them know his location. He was in Corona, California near during Easter weekend in April, 1981 when he phoned his family in Michigan and asked them to wire money so he could return home. He has never been seen or heard from again.

Doug was my great uncle. I’ve heard many stories about him. He used to like to work with migrant workers on farms. He also had a geiger counter that he would take out into the deserts or mountains in search for uranium. When he went missing in 1981 I wonder if he was found by cartel members or even tried to start a new life with the people he loved to spend time with in Mexico. His daughter would be correct in saying that he most likely had an undiagnosed mental health condition. He was Treated with electroshock therapy by the Catholic Church. He would oftenbe found in Portland Michigan at the Catholic Church sleeping in a pew. At one point he had a footlocker that he carried from his home and his dog and was found sleeping in the church. I would love to find out what happened to him on behalf of my grandfather who was very close to Doug and I’m sure still wonders whatever happened to him. Though I don’t believe him to be still alive if he were to be my guess would be he was living in Mexico.