Added: 02/12/2016; Last Updated: 04/05/2024 - By: mc
4887DMME - Reeves K. Johnson
Right:Unidentified Man at Post Office
Name: Reeves K. Johnson
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: February 2, 1983
Location Last Seen: Kittery, York County, Maine
Physical Description
Date of Birth: circa 1952
Age: 31 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown, past shoulder length
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Wears eyeglasses; sideburns were connected to a moustache in nearly a full beard with only his chin shaven; suffered from hypoglycemia
Identifiers
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Sample available - Not yet submitted
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Circumstances of Disappearance
Reeves was last seen at his job as a welder at Donnelly Manufacturing in Exeter, New Hampshire. At the end of the workday, he left to drive home. He didn't return to work or call in sick the following day. Furthermore, he didn't make his customary weekly phone call to his family the following Sunday.
Case notes indicate Reeves' boss said he quit, but the notes don't specify if Reeves actually said this to his boss, either by phone or in person, or if his not showing up was simply interpreted as quitting. Reeves' family had no knowledge of him quitting his job.
Within a 10-day period following Reeves' disappearance, his bank account was emptied, groceries were bought at a store in Stratham, New Hampshire, along with expensive thermal underwear at an outdoors supply store in that same area, and car stereo equipment at a local Radio Shack, all with checks written on the empty bank account. Reeves' family have described him as financially responsible. These purchases and behavior are not characteristic of him. Nor would he have bought groceries from a supermarket miles from his home.
Shortly after February 15, 1983, someone claiming to be Reeves called Donnelly Manufacturing to ask that his final paycheck be mailed to the Kittery-based post office box where Reeves got his mail. The police couldn't spare the manpower at the time to stake out the post office, so Reeves' parents volunteered, sitting in the post office's lobby in shifts. One day, Reeves' mother saw a man walk right up to her son's post office box, open it with a key, and throw away all the mail inside except for the envelope with the check. His mother confronted the man and asked where her son was. The man, who did not give his name, said Reeves was staying with him in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and took off running. She snapped a photo of him, but he held up his hand in front of the lens (see photo). She described him as a white male, young, wearing green coveralls and a red hat. He stood about 5'10" and had long reddish-blond hair and a neat clean appearance.
Reeves had picked up a hitchhiker on December 26, 1982, while he was on the way home from visiting family. The hitchhiker said his name was Richard and was headed for Detroit or Ontario, the opposite direction Reeves was driving. Richard rode with Reeves anyway and Reeves took Richard all the way back to his cabin in Kittery. He let the man stay there for more than a week, even giving him food and money for cigarettes, until Richard arranged to have someone he knew from Massachusetts come pick him up during the day, while Reeves was at work, on January 7, 1983. Unfortunately, a description of Richard was never given.
Johnson went missing from Kittery sometime between February 4, 1983 and February 21, 1983. The exact details of his case are hard to pin down as witnesses reported seeing him but often could not say for sure what the dates were. Reeves car was towed into the Elwin Park Exxon in Portsmouth, NH for repairs, the mechanic on duty identified Reeves from a photo and said that Reeves wanted “quick” repairs because he was heading south.''
