CA CA - Phillip Montoya, 14, Fremont, 29 March 1974

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Phillip Alfred Montoya (14) - Fremont CA, 1974

montoya_phillip.jpg

Missing Since: March 29, 1974 from Fremont, California
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date of Birth: October 10, 1959
Age: 14 years old
Height and Weight: 5'4, 110 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Hispanic male. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A white shirt, a green tanker jacket, blue corduroy pants, and a silver heart ring.

Details of Disappearance

Montoya was last seen at a school in Fremont, California. He has never been heard from again. Few details are available in Montoya's case, which remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Fremont Police Department

510-790-6722
Charley Project
NamUs​
 
Major thanks to ohthatkatgirl for the newspaper articles! It seems like he wasn't actually serious about running away, given the lack of items taken with him and apparently not having major problems in his life. $2 didn't get you really far, even in 1974. Even if it did, where would he be going? The article published closer to his disappearance mentioned that he lived with a mother & stepfather - could Phillip have been trying to go see his father? Or another family member he thought he could hitch a ride to? The sterling silver heart ring could be a useful identifier on a John Doe.

No resources and seemingly no plan makes me think Phillip just started hitch hiking, maybe encountering the wrong person along the way. I do hope that he somehow managed to start a new life, and that he's living it to the fullest. The hope that his family kept (for at least a year after he disappeared) is encouraging. This month will be 44 years since Phillip left for school and never came back. Fingers crossed for answers. [emoji169]
 
masquerading said:
Major thanks to ohthatkatgirl for the newspaper articles! It seems like he wasn't actually serious about running away, given the lack of items taken with him and apparently not having major problems in his life. $2 didn't get you really far, even in 1974. Even if it did, where would he be going? The article published closer to his disappearance mentioned that he lived with a mother & stepfather - could Phillip have been trying to go see his father? Or another family member he thought he could hitch a ride to? The sterling silver heart ring could be a useful identifier on a John Doe.

No resources and seemingly no plan makes me think Phillip just started hitch hiking, maybe encountering the wrong person along the way. I do hope that he somehow managed to start a new life, and that he's living it to the fullest. The hope that his family kept (for at least a year after he disappeared) is encouraging. This month will be 44 years since Phillip left for school and never came back. Fingers crossed for answers. [emoji169]
Click to expand...
Well after doing a search on FamilySearch, it seems Philip's mother and stepfather divorced in May 1974, which was two months after Phillip went missing. So he may not have been living with the stepfather. Also according to FamilySearch, the stepfather divorced somone with the same first name and middle initial as Phillip's mother, no surname is listed, in January 1979 so it's possible they remarried.

Phillip's parents divorced in June 1968. His mother married the stepfather in September, 1969 in Reno, Nevada

According to Wikipedia, BART started operating in 1972, with the entire system becoming available to passengers in 1974. Apparently the direct service from Daly City to Richmond and Fremont was not phased in till several years after the service commenced.
 
He looks like one of John Wayne Gacy's unidentified victims.....
 

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papijoe2002 said:
He looks like one of John Wayne Gacy's unidentified victims.....
Click to expand...

I think that, if he were met with foul play, it was probably at the hands of Patrick Kearney or one of the other highway killers who targeted young men in the Los Angeles area during the seventies and early eighties.
 
Phillip Alfred Montoya
  • phillip_alfred_montoya_1.jpg
Phillip, circa 1974

  • Missing Since03/29/1974
  • Missing FromFremont, California
  • ClassificationEndangered Missing
  • Date of Birth10/10/1959 (59)
  • Age14 years old
  • Height and Weight5'4, 110 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA white shirt, a green tanker jacket, blue corduroy pants, a maroon baseball cap and a silver heart ring.
  • Distinguishing CharacteristicsHispanic male. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance
Phillip was last seen after school in Fremont, California on March 29, 1974. He lived with his mother and stepfather in the 40600 block of Valero Drive.

On the day of his disappearance, he borrowed two dollars from a friend at Mission San Jose High School so he could ride the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train to the end of the line. The nearest BART station was over four miles from the high school, but Phillip didn't take his ten-speed bicycle; he left it chained to a pole at the school. He has never been heard from again.

Phillip told two classmates that he planned to run away, but he does not fit the profile of a typical runaway teen. He wasn't having any major problems in his life that would have led him to leave home and never contact his loved ones again. He didn't take any clothes, and the only money he had was the borrowed two dollars.

Some friends of Phillip's older brother reported seeing him in the Warm Springs, California area a few months after his disappearance. They didn't realize he was a missing person at the time and didn't report the sighting until they saw his picture published in the newspapers.

Phillip's father was stationed on a military base in Germany when his son disappeared. Phillip and his brother were scheduled to visit him in June 1974. Authorities stated they had no evidence of foul play in his disappearance, but it remains unsolved.
 
Phillip Alfred Montoya
PMontoya.jpg

Phillip Alfred Montoya

Name: Phillip Alfred Montoya
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: March 29, 1974
Location Last Seen: Fremont, Alameda County, California

Physical Description
Date of Birth: October 10, 1959
Age: 14 yrs old
Race: White/Hispanic
Gender: Male
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 110 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Slim build, Olive complexion

Identifiers
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Not Available

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Green tanker jacket, white shirt, blue corduroy pants and a maroon baseball cap.
Jewelry: Sterling silver heart ring
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance
Montoya was last seen after school on March 29, 1974 in Fremont, CA. His mother reported him missing when he failed to return from school.

He told two Mission San Jose High School friends that he was going to run away that day.

He disappeared without taking any clothes, left his bike behind at school and only had 2 dollar on him.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Fremont Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Julie Terry
Agency Phone Number: 510-790-6928
Agency E-Mail: Jterry@fremont.gov
Agency Case Number: 40329123
NCIC Case Number: M662601246
NamUs Case Number: 4543

Information Source(s)
NamUs
604DMCA - Phillip Alfred Montoya
 
BelMarduk said:
I think that, if he were met with foul play, it was probably at the hands of Patrick Kearney or one of the other highway killers who targeted young men in the Los Angeles area during the seventies and early eighties.
Click to expand...
In fact, we can say there are two possible serial killers to take into account:
Patrick Kearney - Wikipedia who was active between 1962 and 1977.
Randy Kraft - Wikipedia who was active between 1971 and 1983

However, Phillip appeared to have a plan; I think he wasn't running away, had a meeting with someone who had lured him and Phillip thought he would go home later.
It would be great to know which connection he had with San Francisco, if someone knew was in his life (probably someone older than him).
Other possibility is he never made it to the BART station, as the bike was left behind... The only thing that guide the investigation to San Francisco was his friend's testimony; I'm so sorry to ask, but were they on good terms? Did they have a recent disagreement?IMG_20220904_123145.jpg
 
@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for Phillip Montoya? I would greatly appreciate it.
 
Phillip's NamUs profile was modified on November 1, 2023.
Another exclusion was added total of 37
1698930989717.png

1698931077097.png
 
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