WI WI - Robert Christian, 18, Madison, 16 Sept 1977

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Even back then an AMC Hornet was not a really common car. But the tires and wheels from it could fit most other AMC vehicles. But they could also fit many Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth and Ford/Mercury vehicles. My guess is someone put the tires and wheels on some other kind of car and that's why the Hornet hubcaps were disposed of with the old tires because the thief kept the hubcaps that came with their car.

I hope the investigators checked the old abandoned wheels to see if the were also AMC wheels or Ford or Chrysler. Each manufacturer stamps their wheels with ID marks. It might be a clue if there was ever a suspect identified.
 
Robert Lewis Christian – The Charley Project

[....]
"because Christian was an adult, the police initially refused to take a missing persons report and suggested he had possibly gone to a party and not told anyone. After more time passed without anyone hearing from Christian, the police took a report and began looking for him."

[....]
"Christian's father and brother found the Hornet was parked in a driveway near the State Patrol relay antenna on Tower Road, southeast of the city, the day after Christian disappeared. Its wheels, tires and battery were gone.

Tracker dogs followed Christian's scent for a short distance from where his car was found, but lost the trail on Tower road. He is very familiar with the vicinity where his vehicle was found, having gone hunting, fishing and camping in the general area before."

Various web sites have him listed as Robert Lewis Christian.

Doe Network has him listed as Robert Louis Christian.

I am unsure at this time as to the correct spelling on his middle name.
 
Robert Lewis Christian
  • robert_lewis_christian_1.jpg
Christian, circa 1977

  • Missing Since 09/16/1977
  • Missing From Madison, Wisconsin
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 04/03/1959 (61)
  • Age 18 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'10, 210 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A flannel shirt and blue jeans.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair. Christian wears wire-framed eyeglasses with thick lenses, and he has a mustache. His nickname is Bob.
Details of Disappearance

Christian went missing during a trip from Madison, Wisconsin to Baraboo, Wisconsin on September 16, 1977. He had dinner with his parents and then left their home at 5:30 p.m. driving his Hornet station wagon. He had his bow hunting gear and a change of clothes with him.

<modsnip - snipped for copyright, please see link>

Investigating Agency
  • Sauk County Sheriff's Department
  • 608-356-4808
  • 800-377-1195
Source Information
 
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Article from 1986, interesting the lane was known as a “lovers lane”, could he have been meeting someone there?

<modsnip - screenshot of newspaper article is a copyright violation>
 
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It’s like a sewing circle in here.

There’s nothing odd about the fact that his car was found the very next day. It was found where he was planning to hunt with his friend randy which is completely logical, and it was found because he hadn’t shown up at Randys and therefore that was the logical place to look. And like any decent family, they went looking.

What begs the question is this - how odd it is that he is found parked outside the nun’s place and has NO reason to be there. I read that his family claimed he knew the area very well and would not get lost. So why was he there? That’s the real question.

It was supposed to take an hour from Madison to his friends place. He was spotted what was it 8 pm and 2 1/2 hours later outside the nuns place? I don’t remember the exact time frame.

IF that witness is indeed credible...but it does sound like she described him and the car. Who knows.

We know his friend Randy wasn’t there and it sounds to me like Robert may have been up to something.

I agree, it’s hokey to say ‘I’m supposed to meet a friend ... I must be in the wrong place’ and then leave. The guy knew where he was going according to what I was reading and how his family described him, he would not get lost.

Maybe he had other things planned and god intervened.

We may never know.

I think the car was ransacked possibly after his disappearance. Solely a coincidence. Someone needed tires and dropped the hub caps in a different location. That was a crime of opportunity.

His bag was still in his car. But the nursing kit and his hunting bow was gone? Did they ransack the bag?
 

​

Missing for over 45 years:

robert_lewis_christian_1.jpg

Robert Lewis "Bob" Christian, age 18
Missing since 16 September 1977

Robert Lewis Christian, age 18, went missing from Madison, Wisconsin on September 16, 1977.

Robert left his family home in Madison, Wisconsin at 5:30 pm, to travel to Baraboo, Wisconsin, where he’d planned to meet a friend, Randy Griffith at his home. They intended to go bow hunting the following morning.
<modsnip -snipped for copyright, see link>

LINK:

www.findagrave.com

Robert Lewis “Bob” Christian (1959-1977) - Find a...

Robert Lewis Christian, age 18, went missing from Madison, Wisconsin on September 16, 1977. Robert left his family home in Madison, Wisconsin at 5:30 pm, to travel to Baraboo, Wisconsin, where he’d planned to meet a friend, Randy Griffith at his home. They intended to go bow hunting the...
www.findagrave.com www.findagrave.com
 
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Robert Christian​

Updated: Jan 9, 2022

3a860b_031ff484b7ee4c1bb2c2614e95735ae8~mv2.png

<modsnip - screenshot and transcription of an article, copyright violation. Please use Newspapers.com link instead.

Just three years after Robert’s disappearance, Lewis and Carolynn Christian suffered another immense tragedy when their 22 year old daughter Catherine was killed in a tavern purposely set on fire by members of the Ghost Riders motorcycle gang. <modsnip - snipped for copyright, see link>

www.wimissing.org

Robert Christian

Missing Since September 16, 1977 Robert Christian was an 18 year old UW-Madison freshman in September, 1977, with hopes to eventually work in computer programming. He had spent the summer working for the city parks department to save up some money for school and he appeared excited about his...
www.wimissing.org www.wimissing.org
 
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robert_lewis_christian_1.jpg

Robert Lewis "Bob" Christian, age 18
Missing since 16 September 1977


American Motors Corporation (AMC) Hornet Station wagon, the make and model car driven by Robert Christian.
 
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