AZ AZ - John Mitchell Kinsora Jr., 19, Phoenix, 26 Feb 1982

[MadMcGoo]

John Mitchell Kinsora, Jr.

Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: February 26, 1982
Location Last Seen: Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona
Date of Birth: January 9, 1963
Age: 19 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7" - 5’9” (67 - 69 inches)
Weight: 135 - 145 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown, Wavy
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Burn marks on left forearm, scar approximately 1/4" long under right eye.

Clothing: Black and brown checkered flannel shirt, gray "Bob Seger" T-shirt with blue sleeves and light brown corduroy pants.

Circumstances of Disappearance: John was last seen at approximately 4:30am at a party in the vicinity of the 4200 block of 17th St. in Phoenix, AZ. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance.

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Phoenix Police Department
Detective Jared D'Addabbo: 602-534-2121
Detective Stuart Somershoe: 602-261-8065

Agency Case Number: 82032588/1982-82032588
NCIC Case Number: M371041517

Sources

• NamUs MP1058
• The Doe Network 2288DMAZ
• The Charley Project
• NCMEC 1212154
• Phoenix Police Department
• Unexplained Mysteries
• 411 GINA
• Arizona Missing Person Directory

 

[MadMcGoo]

64 Unidentified Person Exclusions

UP15702 04/22/1982 Maricopa AZ
UP9342 07/20/1982 Chesapeake VA
UP9399 01/09/1983 Caroline VA
UP9509 02/23/1983 Virginia Beach VA
UP95 08/15/1983 Allen KY
UP6105 10/18/1983 Newton IN
UP9340 11/19/1983 Chesapeake VA
UP6640 08/30/1984 New Kent VA
UP2104 11/18/1984 Washoe NV
UP6512 04/25/1985 Greensville VA
UP2099 02/02/1986 Washoe NV
UP6719 03/02/1986 Alleghany VA
UP6643 04/11/1987 Caroline VA
UP2100 07/11/1987 Washoe NV
UP1212 01/05/1988 Miami-Dade FL
UP6473 03/08/1988 Loudoun VA
UP7511 07/16/1988 White Pine NV
UP6301 11/10/1988 Caroline VA
UP6507 11/10/1988 Caroline VA

UP6513 01/01/1990 Brunswick VA
UP6474 05/12/1990 Prince William VA
UP6530 05/18/1990 Chesterfield VA
UP2626 02/01/1991 Virginia Beach VA
UP2230 08/19/1991 Richmond VA
UP8418 02/24/1992 Henrico VA
UP5532 04/07/1992 Newport News VA
UP2303 10/09/1992 Pinellas FL
UP6304 08/01/1993 Clarke VA
UP5313 11/03/1993 Miami-Dade FL
UP6095 06/26/1995 Greensville VA
UP12163 06/30/1995 Accomack VA
UP6762 10/08/1995 Richmond VA
UP6149 01/22/1996 Halifax VA
UP6303 01/26/1997 Warren VA
UP5207 04/22/1998 Will IL

UP6725 06/08/2000 Virginia Beach VA
UP7075 01/15/2001 Pima AZ
UP787 02/09/2002 Richmond VA
UP6305 07/30/2002 Prince William VA
UP2560 03/05/2003 Norfolk VA
UP763 12/16/2003 Hennepin MN
UP2020 02/11/2004 Maricopa AZ
UP6171 12/26/2005 Pittsylvania VA
UP824 12/28/2005 Maricopa AZ
UP6638 04/06/2006 Fairfax VA
UP6637 10/07/2006 Fairfax VA
UP6278 07/05/2007 Botetourt VA
UP6639 07/28/2007 Fairfax VA
UP819 08/02/2007 Maricopa AZ
UP5239 01/01/2008 Lynchburg VA
UP2672 04/05/2008 Prince Edward VA
UP2667 08/18/2008 Dinwiddie VA
UP6315 11/21/2009 Mecklenburg VA
UP6996 11/28/2009 Pima AZ

UP14518 04/03/2010 Shenandoah VA
UP7605 07/21/2010 Mecklenburg VA
UP11287 12/10/2010 San Diego CA
UP10226 04/01/2012 Carroll VA
UP11248 08/20/2012 Alexandria VA
UP10908 08/29/2012 Fairfax VA
UP12253 10/07/2013 Mohave AZ
UP12425 04/04/2014 Spotsylvania VA
UP13739 03/28/2015 Virginia Beach VA
UP14360 08/14/2015 Bland VA

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

Per this 1989 article, John had gone to an AC/DC concert with friends, when he met three other male friends, who invited him to a party after the show, "south of Indian School Road, near 12th Street," (other sources specifically say 4204 North 17th Street, #3). There, they smoked pot, drank, and listened to music. John and the other asked to stay overnight, as they were too drunk to get home. John was supposedly kicked out at 4:30 AM by a guy who thought that John was flirting with his girlfriend. The others said he was going to hitchhike home. His parents feel strongly that something happened at the party, a fight or something. I suppose it's also possible there were harder drugs than pot, or that he encountered an accident or foul play making his way somewhere while drunk or hitchhiking.

John Kinsora 2/5/89 - Newspapers.com

 

[CastlesBurning]

Updated 8/8/20:

John Mitchell Kinsora Jr. – The Charley Project

 

[MadMcGoo]

From Charley Project:

Details of Disappearance
Kinsora was last seen between 3:00 and 4:30 a.m. on February 26, 1982, at a party at an apartment in the vicinity of the 4200 block of north 17th Street in Phoenix, Arizona. He and a friend had gone to a rock concert that evening and afterwards, three men that he knew invited him to go to the party, which was hosted by two women at their apartment.

According to the other guests, Kinsora and his friends asked if they could spend the night at the apartment, since they were all too drunk to drive. Most witnesses agreed that Kinsora made advances to one of the women and her boyfriend asked him to leave, so he decided to hitchhike home. He never arrived at the Tempe, Arizona home he shared with his parent and has never been heard from again.

Shortly before his disappearance, Kinsora had gotten a job at a phone company and was planning to move out of his parents' home. His parents stated he occasionally drank alcohol and smoked marijuana. He left behind his last paycheck.

Kinsora was born in Michigan. His father died in 1996, and in the obituary, Kinsora is noted as having survived him. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping up for John and his family.

 

[Savemecastiel]

Bump

 

[Sonny Crockett]

As with many of these cold cases, I just heard about this one. Sad & baffling. It's unfortunate that this happened 40 years ago & there's 0 info./leads on what happened to JMK Jr.

It's evident that he did not just willingly disappear & cut off all contact with his family, not tell his job where he was going/doing, etc. And, if that wasn't enough - his not picking up his paycheck from work is an immediate red flag that something bad happened to him.

He could have been the victim of foul play, an accident, etc. The way I see it, there are several possibilities here:

1.) Something occurred at the party. Possibly his flirting with the gf of one of the guys there resulted in a fight. And, maybe the fight resulted in his falling and hitting his head, etc. It may not have been intentional. However, if this is what happened, then obviously the people at the party conspired together to cover this up & agreed to "play dumb" when questioned about this.

2). He left the party (as the party-goes stated), and was confronted outside the apartment by a person/persons at the party who were upset with him. A fight/confrontation ensued, and the result was only known by 1-2 people (not all the party-goers).

However, IMHO this is equally likely:

3.) He left the party & was walking home on the side of the highway, and was accidentally hit by a vehicle. In a panic, the driver put his body in the car. Since it was early in the morning, it was probably dark outside & it's very possible this wasn't seen by anyone else. I.e., there may not have been much traffic then, etc.

4.) He did hitch-hike in order to get home & had the bad luck to be picked up by a sicko/killer. Even though he apparently wasn't seen hitch-hiking - that doesn't mean much. It was early in the morning & visibility would have been poor, etc.

The least likely explanation: He fell/got hurt when walking home & died as as result of his injuries and/or exposure. It was February, so may have been cold (that being said, I'm unfamiliar with AZ winters). However, if this occurred, you would think his body would have been eventually found.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Another possibility:

JMK Jr. OD'd at the party - possibly drugs, or alcohol poisoning - and, the party-goers didn't want to get in trouble. If this is what occurred - obviously the party-goers moved the body to a place where it still hasn't been found yet....and conspired to keep their mouths shut for 40+ years. I don't necessarily think this is that likely.....however:

This possibility reminds me of the much more well-known Kurt Sova case, also from the early 1980's. This was featured as a segment on the old Unsolved Mysteries series: KS went to a party at an apt., was drinking (and possibly doing other things) - and his body was found outside sometime later. The suspicion in this case is that he OD'd (possibly alcohol poisoning) and the party-goers - in a panic - moved his body outside the premises so that they wouldn't get in trouble. AFAIK, no one that was connected to that party ever disclosed what actually happened that night.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

His profile on NamUs:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov