AK AK - Virgil Wade Tackett, 17, Pelican, 11 June 1986

Missing Since: June 11, 1986 from Pelican, Alaska
Classification: Lost/Injured Missing
Date Of Birth: December 26, 1968
Age: 17 years old
Height and Weight: 5'7, 140 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Tackett has a twelve-inch surgical scar on the left side of his body and a chicken pox scar on his forehead. His ears are square in shape and an audible noise is present in his throat when he breathes. Tackett may use the alias Wayne Wade or Wayne Tackett. He goes by his middle name, Wade.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A green or gray plaid flannel shirt and green rain gear.

Details of Disappearance




http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/tackett_virgil.html
http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

From above link, (thanks to SheWhoMustNotBeNamed)
Wondering if anyone from the area might remember someone who resembles Virgil Wade, perhaps from church, as that might be a place he would gravitate to..


There were several unconfirmed sightings of Tackett in the years following his disappearance. Witnesses may have spotted him in the Alaskan cities of Juneau, Hoona and Sitka. Tackett may also have been seen in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in March 1998, on Montreal Street and Charles Street. It is possible that Tackett may be suffering from total or partial amnesia. His case remains unsolved.

Bumping for Virgil, who is somewhere out there just waiting to be found!

Case Numbers
NCMEC Number601916
Demographics
Missing Age17 Years
Current Age50 Years
First NameVirgil
Middle NameWade
Last NameTackett
Nickname/Alias--

SexMale
Height5' 7" (67 Inches)
Weight140 lbs
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian

Circumstances
Date of Last ContactJune 11, 1986
NamUs Case CreatedApril 15, 2010
Last Known Location Map
LocationPelican, Alaska
CountySkagway Yakutat Angoon County

Circumstances of DisappearanceVirgil was last seen on a boat at Chichagof Island located across from Pelican, Alaska. The abandoned boat was discovered later, but Virgil has not been found. He has a chicken pox scar on his forehead and a 12-inch scar on the left side of his body.
Physical Description
Hair ColorBrown
Head Hair Description--
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye ColorBlue
Right Eye ColorBlue
Eye Description--
Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Scar/mark
Chicken pox scar on his forehead and a 12-inch scar on the left side of his body

Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Clothing
Green rain pants, multi-colored Hawaiian style hat, blue/gray plaid flannel shirt

R/O









The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

rbbm.
Strange Disappearance in Alaska
"Tackett wasn't wearing a life jacket, according to his mother, Mary Tackett. He'd been told that "life jackets are only good for finding bodies" and investigators believe he probably fell off the skiff and drowned.

His parents aren't so sure. "We don't believe he was ever in the water," says his mother. "With all those fishing boats, with all their gear in the water, they would have snagged him or at least found his hat." Plagued by unanswerable questions, the Tacketts haven't ruled out foul play and have been frustrated by what they see as an inadequate investigation. "We've had 20 years of no answers," she says.

The Tacketts posted fliers, hired a private detective, and appeared on a 1988 Oprah episode. "As the parent of a missing child, you will go to the gates of hell looking for answers," says Mary. Over the years, they've received a steady trickle of tips and unconfirmed sightings of their son. He was supposedly seen in the Alaskan cities of Juneau and Hoonah and a couple of places in Canada. Then there was the beautician in Sitka who said she'd cut Tackett's hair and the hotel worker who swore she'd seen him staring confusedly at a photo of himself on a missing-person flier. Wade's parents have looked into each credible sighting, finding no real answers but encountering a disturbing recurrent theme: that he's suffering from amnesia and does not know who he is or where he's from.

"If Wade were a different kind of kid, maybe it would be easier to accept," says Mary. "But he was golden, just golden, and whether he drowned or doesn't know who he is, the boy I raised is gone."

From Outside Magazine, Nov 2006

246DMAK- Virgil Wade Tackett

Virgil Wade Tackett

Vanished in Alaska: Where is Virgil Wade Tackett? ~ True Crime Diva

"Cold Water, Cold Hearts - A Mother's Search for Her Son Missing in Alaska" written by R. W. Swartz and published March 2021.

Bump

Sorry but am i the only one who thinks he looks like Fred Savage when he was younger?

Hockeyfan158 said:

Sorry but am i the only one who thinks he looks like Fred Savage when he was younger?

Click to expand...

I totally see it!

Missing for over 36 years

I have the impression that he died the same day. I don't think he escaped to another place, although he was an experienced outdoor man... perhaps what really happened is already very difficult to know...
rest in peace

Interesting information, BBM

• 
  
  
  

Virgil, circa 1986; Age-progression to age 38 (circa 2006)

• Missing Since 06/11/1986
• Missing From Pelican, Alaska
• Classification Lost/Injured Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 12/26/1968 (55)
• Age 17 years old
• Height and Weight 5'7, 140 pounds
• 
  
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A green or gray plaid flannel shirt and green rain gear.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Skiff (accounted for)
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Virgil has a twelve-inch surgical scar on the left side of his body and a chicken pox scar on his forehead. His ears are square in shape and an audible noise is present in his throat when he breathes. Virgil may use the alias Wayne Wade or Wayne Virgil. He goes by his middle name, Wade.

Details of Disappearance​

Virgil was last seen in a fourteen-foot skiff near Chichagof Island near the Alaskan panhandle on June 11, 1986. He had departed from Pelican, Alaska earlier in the day with a dog and a friend, sixteen-year-old Nick Bevans, and a dog.


Nick stated they had been exploring nearby islands before Virgil departed, leaving him and the dog on a small island. When Virgil didn't return, Nick flagged down a passing boat.


Virgil's skiff was located a short time later near Chicago Island, run aground on a sandbar with its motor still in gear. There was a tie-up line tossed aside, and a radio, a high-powered rifle and two life jackets were present. The zipper pull to Virgil's vest was lying in the bottom of the boat. There was no sign of him at the scene and he has never been heard from again.


Investigators believe he may have fallen out of his skiff, possibly while trying to retrieve something he'd dropped in the water. He was not wearing a life jacket.


Virgil is an accomplished outdoorsman. He resided in Highland County, Ohio in 1986, and had left his home to spend the summer in Alaska. He had planned to get a job on a crab fishing boat, but the position had been taken so he went to work at a cannery instead.


He was a Boy Scout who was just three merit badges away from Eagle Scout rank. He was also a devout Mormon, and he planned to spend his work earnings on future church activities. He vanished three weeks into his trip.


Between October 1986 and January 1987, the CEO of Missing Children of America, a nonprofit missing children's organization, received three anonymous calls from a woman with a Tlingit accent who spoke about a boy named "Wade". The first two calls said Wade was alive and "well taken care of" and asked if anyone was looking for him. In the third and final call, however, the caller said he was "not doing well." These calls have never been traced and it's unclear whether they were legitimate.


There were several unconfirmed sightings of Virgil in the years following his disappearance. Witnesses may have spotted him in the Alaskan cities of Hoonah, Juneau, Pelican and Sitka. Virgil may also have been seen on Montreal Street and Charles Street in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in March 1998. It's possible he may be suffering from total or partial amnesia.


Author R.W. Swartz wrote a book about Virgil's disappearance, titled Cold Water Cold Hearts: A Mother’s Search for Her Son Missing in Alaska. Swartz concluded Virgil had most likely drowned on the day of his disappearance. His remains have never been located, however, and his case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

• Alaska State Troopers 907-465-4000

Source Information​

• Alaska Department of Public Safety
• Child Find Canada
• Patricia Mischell
• Our Missing Children
• Child CyberSearch
• Outside Magazine
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• The Cincinnati Enquirer
• The Times-Gazette
• Outdoor Life

Updated 7 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 3, 2022; details of disappearance updated.