CA CA - Alan Soper, 22, Sacramento, 7 June 1974

[theshadow45]

Alan has been missing for 46 years today.

 

[Richard]

Alan Wayne Soper

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Soper, circa 1974; Age-progressions to an unknown age

• Missing Since 06/07/1974
• Missing From Sacramento, California
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 04/27/1952 (68)
• Age 22 years old
• Height and Weight 5'11, 160 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Soper has a scar on his wrist, a dimple in his left cheek, some freckles, and a cleft in his chin. He had a deviated septum which was surgically repaired. His shoe size is 10B.

Details of Disappearance
Soper last contacted his family on June 7, 1974. He said he was in Sacramento, California at the time. Following his graduation from college, he had been traveling around the country with truck drivers, offering to help load and unload cargo in exchange for rides. He has never been heard from again.

On June 8, 1977, three years later, Soper's clothing and wallet were found in Needles, California. Few details are available in his case, but foul play is suspected. Tulsa, Oklahoma police are assisting the investigation.
Investigating Agency

• Sacramento Department of Justice 916-227-3290
• Tulsa Police Department 918-596-9122

Source Information

• California Attorney General's Office
• The Doe Network
• Tulsa Police Department
• The Tulsa World
• NamUs
• Alan Wayne Soper – The Charley Project

 

[Shot tower17]

Is the “Linthicum John Doe” ruled out? See Websleuths link here:
MD - MD - Linthicum, WhtMale, 19-29, at Holiday Inn, Mar'75

Vital Statistics: - Estimated Age: 19-29 years old
- Height: 5'10"
- Weight: 156 lbs.
- Hair Color: Brown, 3 - 4" in length, with sideburns, 2 days' facial hair growth.
- Eye Color: Blue
- Clothing: White undershirt and jockey shorts.
- Distinguishing Marks/Features: 2" mole on right lower back.
which may be a deciding factor to rule him out.
- Clothing: White undershirt and jockey shorts.
- Date of Discovery: March 26, 1975 - DNA available

I hope both of these cases are solved in the future.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping.

 

[glamourkitty1922]

I wish we had more information on this case. I live in Needles California now and the fact his id was found here is chilling. In the 90s I came from Phoenix to Needles to visit my Mom and my dog wanted out. We pulled over on the 95 just outside the town to walk her. We found an empty wallet with drivers license, credit cards, photos, etc scattered around behind a Mesquite bush. We gathered it all up and dropped it off at the Needles PD. That was probably how the person who found Alan's wallet did. I wish I knew the name on the cards. I wonder where in Needles they found the wallet? Did we find the id drop off site of a serial killer? There is a lot of desert around the town. The 95 is desolate in long stretches.

 

[Atombudd]

JULY 26, 2017BY CRIMESQUID
The Disappearance of Alan Soper


A 43 Year Old Mystery

Alan Wayne Soper disappeared sometime after June 7, 1974. His family still has no answers as to what happened to him.
Alan graduated from Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and decided to hitch rides with truckers to California. He was never seen again. He advertised on bulletin boards that he would work for truckers for free rides. One such posting was found west of Oklahoma City, along Interstate 40. His family last heard from him by phone, when he told them he was in Sacramento.
Some of his clothing and his wallet was found three years later in Needles, California.
In 2016, a body was exhumed in Kansas in connection with Cecil Henry Floyd, a serial killer who was sent to prison in 2017 for killing eleven people. There was reporting that the unidentified person could possibly be Soper, but I haven’t found any confirmation and he’s still listed in NAMUS as missing.

There is also Randy Steven Kraft, a serial killer who often offered his victims a ride or alcohol, mostly in California. He was active in southern California during the same time period that Alan Soper went missing and is known to have killed at least 67 men before he was imprisoned at San Quentin on death row.
Randy Steven Kraft kept a “scorecard” (he was basically evil beyond belief, I can’t continue writing without saying that) of his victims using nicknames or aliases. There are three unaccounted for victims on his list between 1973 and November 1974: Marine Down (probably not Soper, as he was not a Marine, but who knows how cryptic his scorecard was), Van Driveway and 2 IN 1 MV TO PL. There is also 2 IN 1 HITCH, still unidentified, and since Soper was a hitchhiker, is also a possibility.
Unfortunately, the clothes and wallet belonging to Soper that were found in Needles were lost, and no DNA testing was ever done on them. That must be so infuriating to the family, I can’t even imagine.
There are also other truck driver serial killers who committed crimes in the California area. William Bonin had just been released from Prison in June 1974, though his first recorded murder was 1979.
The FBI has been focusing on long haul truck drivers in a number of unsolved murders and disappearances for the last decade, including the formation of a database called the Highway Serial Killers Initiative.
It may be correct to suspect a long haul truck driver in Alan Soper’s disappearance because, not only was he known to be travelling with truckers, but his belongings and work postings were both found along Interstate 40. If he made it to Sacramento, that would mean his killer, had he picked him up along Interstate 40, would have backtracked back along the same route. I.e., if that was the driver’s steady route, it would make sense that his belongings would be dumped in Needles, perhaps even at a later date.
Is Alan Soper Still Alive?
There is always the possibility that Alan Soper is still alive. I found this while looking around for information on Alan Soper:

This is from 1975, from the Santa Cruz Sentinel. There are other Alan Sopers currently living in California, so it is unknown if this is Alan Wayne Soper.
I have seen no indication that Alan Soper left Tulsa to start a new life. As far as anyone knew, he was interested in travelling just for the summer.
No Conclusions
Unfortunately, there are no current suspects in Alan Soper’s disappearance, though it is still an open case and from what I can tell, still be actively investigated. I truly hope his family will get answers soon.
The Disappearance of Alan Soper

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping for Alan, today is his birthday.

 

[carbuff]

Alan has 63 exclusions now, from all over the country. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Linthicum John Doe isn't one of them. Did anybody submit that possible match?

 

[theshadow45]

Alan has been missing for 47 years today.

 

[carbuff]

Alan has 63 exclusions now, from all over the country. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Linthicum John Doe isn't one of them. Did anybody submit that possible match?

Still 63 exclusions. Still no ruleout on Linthicum Doe The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

 

[Alleykins]

I'm thinking it's an auto rule out for Linthicum John Doe, because both he & Alan have DNA. Not sure if anyone submitted the possible match, though.

 

[carbuff]

I'm thinking it's an auto rule out for Linthicum John Doe, because both he & Alan have DNA. Not sure if anyone submitted the possible match, though.

I think that's most likely, but if LJD's is just mtDNA, as often happens with older bones, they might not be compared automatically.

 

[Alleykins]

I think that's most likely, but if LJD's is just mtDNA, as often happens with older bones, they might not be compared automatically.

Often wondered about that.

 

[Diane Redfern]

For unknown reasons, Alan Soper photograph has been connected to Randy Kraft, as if it is him in his twenties. Randy Kraft - One of American most deadly serial killers

 

[Tower]

For unknown reasons, Alan Soper photograph has been connected to Randy Kraft, as if it is him in his twenties. Randy Kraft - One of American most deadly serial killers

This kind of offends me! I contacted the website owner of “Murder Town” to inform them, but it’s difficult for me to determine the owner of RandyKraft.com.

 

[Diane Redfern]

This kind of offends me! I contacted the website owner of “Murder Town” to inform them, but it’s difficult for me to determine the owner of RandyKraft.com.

I also tried to contact them, you have to include a website to do so, and I wrote their own website, but I'm not sure if the administrator would solve this mistake.

 

[Starving PI]

I'd like to chime in and blow some dust off of this case. I think one of the most important questions in Alan's case is- where were his belongings found? Was it in the town of Needles? Was it along a road leading in to Needles? Was it on a road leaving Needles? These details play an important role in the case, as I'm sure you all know. I can find no mention of where the belongings were found, the condition of the belongings, nor specifically what clothing was found.

 

[TheHauntedOne]

I also tried to contact them, you have to include a website to do so, and I wrote their own website, but I'm not sure if the administrator would solve this mistake.

I just contacted them via Facebook messenger, hopefully they will correct it. Not only offensive but extremely sloppy research.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Alan Soper
Missing Person 03/01/1974


Alan Soper left Tulsa in 1974 to travel cross country by helping truck drivers. He last made contact with his parents by phone stating he was the state of California. Later only his clothes and wallet were found in Needles, California. No contact has been made since 1974. Foul play is suspected. Alan Soper is white male, 5'11" tall, 160 lbs., blue eyes, and his age last seen was 22.
TPD Unsolved Crimes

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Soper, circa 1974

Age Progression

Alan Wayne Soper, a recent Oklahoma State University graduate, decided he wanted to see the country. So after graduation he started hitchhiking with truckers. He would offer to help unload cargo in exchange for rides. He would call home to family to let them know he was ok, but June 7th 1974 was the last phone call anyone received from Alan. Sacramento, California was Alan’s last known location.

Three years and one day later on June 8th 1977, Alan’s clothes and wallet where found in Needles, California. Foul play is suspected, "Family meant a lot to him and home meant a lot to him," Juene Soper, Alan's mother said.

In 2016, DNA was taken from Alan’s family to compare to a body that was exhumed in Kansas. This was a victim of serial killer, Cecil Henry Floyd, who admitted that one of the 11 people that fell victim to him was a hitchhiker in Kansas.

There has not been any update to the DNA testing, which leaves Alan still listed as a missing person. He is the only missing person from Tulsa in 1974, that has not been found,

Alan is a white male, 5’11” tall and 160 pounds with shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes, at the time of his disappearance. Alan has a surgically repaired deviated septum, scar on one of his wrist, cleft chin freckles, and a dimple in his left cheek. Located on the left is an age progression photo, age is unknown.

If you have any information on missing Alan Wayne Soper please notify the Sacramento Department of Justice 916-227-3290, or the Tulsa Police Department 918-596-9122.

Information resource (s):

NamUs: #MP7770

Alan Wayne Soper – The Charley Project

Family of missing Tulsa man from 1974 hopes his remains were recently exhumed in Kansas (kjrh.com)

Alan Soper — Oklahoma Cold Cases