My guess is that he's been dead in the woods since the night he disappeared, whether by his own hand or by Mother Nature's inexorable brutality.
Many would think a body would be found, but back in those days, especially when people reach legal age, LE would say, "It's their right to disappear." Many jurisdictions will run checks if they think it's not voluntary, such as foul play. But there's no evidence of foul play in this case.
I think I read somewhere that Perry had a conversation with the other driver who's car he bumped and busted the headlight,and there were no problems. But that was a long time ago. I think he took off for fear of going to court or jail over a bad driving record. He had some other misdemeanors as well. One was a breaking and entering charge. It sounds like he was someone who was heading down the wrong path, and his parents read hm "The Riot Act."
That phone call eighteen years later sends chills up my spine. Either that was a cruel prank, or Perry was alive at the time, but could not say if it was him, or where he was. Recall, that Perry and his brother Mike would mimic cartoon characters when they were kids. Mike answered the phone in 1992, and somebody on the other end of the line Mike thought was mimicking cartoon characters. "Perry? Perry is that you?!" Mike asked, the caller responded with "Perry Who?" and hung up the phone.
Prank calls were common back than. Today, they are replaced by spam calls and telemarketers. In any event, there have been no known whereabouts of Perry Corlew since March 15, 1974.
Satch
