OR OR - Howard Kley, 53, Coos Bay, 26 Jan 1966

[Coffee56]

Demographics
Missing Age53 Years
Current Age106 Years
First Name Howard
Middle NameFrederick
Last NameKley
Nickname/Alias--

SexMale
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian
Height5' 6" - 5' 8" (66 - 68 Inches)
Weight170 - 180 lbs
Circumstances
Date of Last ContactJanuary 26, 1966
NamUs Case CreatedSeptember 5, 2018
Last Known Location Map
LocationCoos Bay, Oregon
CountyCoos County
Circumstances of DisappearanceHoward Kley, a resident of San Francisco, CA, was in Coos Bay, OR for business when he was last seen. He had dinner with work associates and was supposed to meet up with them again the next morning but never arrived. He was last seen in the Starlight room in the Chandler Hotel in Coos Bay around midnight on Wednesday, January 26, 1966, early morning hours of Thursday, January 27th. In the hotel where he was staying, his luggage was in the room but the bed was never slept in.
Physical Description
Hair ColorBrown
Head Hair DescriptionFull head of dark brown hair, turning salt/pepper gray, fringing gray at the temples
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye ColorBlue
Right Eye ColorBlue
Eye DescriptionWore reading glasses when needed for reading
Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Scar/mark
Severe scar on left thumb running into the hand

Scar/mark
Black spot on lower lip, off center but unknown which side

Scar/mark
Skin lesions on his face that had been burned off, on temple and just below the bridge of his nose where the eyeglasses sit, unknown which side

Other distinctive physical characteristic
Previous broken left index finger - injury healed but left a divot where his knuckle had been


Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Accessories
Smoked short Chesterfields, occasionally L&M cigarettes

Jewelry
Wore a wrist watch on his left wrist, it was his 25 year anniversary watch from Shell Oil corporation and may have been inscribed with his name, Shell Oil, and dated 1958; it may have been gold in color with a white/ivory face.

Missing Person Case

 

[ADKGemini]

Howard Frederick Kley – The Charley Project

Howard Frederick Kley

• 
• 
• 

Kley, circa 1966

• Missing Since01/26/1966
• Missing FromCoos Bay, Oregon
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• Age53 years old
• Height and Weight5'6 - 5'8, 170 - 180 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA gray suit, a blue and white striped shirt, and a gold watch with an ivory face on his left wrist. The watch is a 25th anniversary watch given to Kley by the Shell Oil Corporation and is engraved with Kley's name, the words "Shell Oil" and the year 1958.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian male. Graying brown hair, blue eyes. Kley has previously broken his left index finger; as a result, that finger is crooked and has a divot in the knuckle. He has a large scar on his left thumb running onto the hand and a black spot on his lower lip. He had skin lesions on his temple and the bridge of his nose, which were burned off prior to his disappearance. Kley smoked cigarettes at the time of his disappearance; he preferred short Chesterfields but sometimes smoked L&M ones.

Details of Disappearance
Kley, a senior engineer for Shell Oil, was on a business trip when he went missing on January 26, 1966. He and two business associates had stopped in Coos Bay, Oregon en route to Seattle, Washington.

Kley and three of his business associates checked into the Dunes Motel on Bayshore Drive, had dinner at the Skyroom Restaurant. When his coworkers were ready to go back to the motel, Kley told them he would be along later. He was last seen talking to several women.

He was supposed to meet his coworkers in the morning so they could drive to Seattle, but he never showed up. His luggage was left behind in his hotel room and the bed hadn't been slept in. His coworkers paid for his hotel room for another day and went to Seattle without him, figuring he would make his way there alone. He has never been heard from again.

At the time of his disappearance, Kley had two grown daughters and lived with his wife in the 1100 block of Upper Happy Valley Road in Lafayette, California. His family stated he had no history of mental illness. His case remains unsolved.

 

[Satch]

Kley and three of his business associates checked into the Dunes Motel on Bayshore Drive, had dinner at the Skyroom Restaurant. When his coworkers were ready to go back to the motel, Kley told them he would be along later. He was last seen talking to several women.

Just off the top of my head. Did Howard know these women? I am thinking that one of them could have invited him back her hotel room, or apartment and they had an affair. An angry husband/boyfriend finds out, maybe catches them in the act, Howard is beaten and killed. Body is washed away and disposed of, likely in water at night. Making Howard "Vanish without a trace." That's the first thing that comes to mind.

Satch

 

[Diane Redfern]

The Charley Project summary is a bit confusing: it mentions that Howard was travelling with two other associates, but later it saids: "Kley and three of his business associates checked into the Dunes Motel".
Apart from that, there are differences between Charley's and NamUs' review.
I have many questions: How many people travel with him? Did they get along well? Did they usually work or travel together? Did Howard carry a great sum of money with him? Who were the women? Did someone question these ladies?

Anyway, Satch explanation seems very likely.

 

[alb1on]

This case was certainly pursued at the time. A report at Oakland Tribune Newspaper Archives, Feb 10, 1966, p. 25 says that Shell retained Pinkertons to investigate and offered a reward for information (click on OCR and the text can be read). The inability of either the leading agency of the time or what would have been a significant reward to find anything does make me have a small doubt about the murder scenario. Probably still the most likely explanation but it makes me wonder.

 

[Cimatico]

Enhanced image from source Howard Frederick Kley – The Charley Project

 

[CountSnap]

Anyone from that area able to respond to this case?
Would it have been easy for him to stumble somewhat drunkenly from the diner to the bay and fall in?

 

[HopeRains]

Anyone from that area able to respond to this case?
Would it have been easy for him to stumble somewhat drunkenly from the diner to the bay and fall in?

GOOD GRAVY, please disregard below - I have no idea where I came up with the Chandler Hotel! That's' not even referenced anywhere. Will see what I can find on the Dunes Motel and Bayshore Drive.
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I'm not from that area, but from what I have been able to find, the hotel was bought in 2010 and later renovated Chandler Building , now called the Chandler Building/Apartments, located on 2nd street, within close proximity to water as shown below.

 

[HopeRains]

GOOD GRAVY, please disregard below - I have no idea where I came up with the Chandler Hotel! That's' not even referenced anywhere. Will see what I can find on the Dunes Motel and Bayshore Drive.
----------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not from that area, but from what I have been able to find, the hotel was bought in 2010 and later renovated Chandler Building , now called the Chandler Building/Apartments, located on 2nd street, within close proximity to water as shown below.

View attachment 349605

Nvm, I found The Chandler reference, in the article below from newspapers.com The Idaho Statesman, 5 Feb 66, pg 12, so perhaps this is just another oddity in reported info, but maybe not. This article states The Chandler Hotel Skyroom, and if true, then my post above with location/map is valid. Sorry for the multiple posts.

 

[CountSnap]

Nvm, I found The Chandler reference, in the article below from newspapers.com The Idaho Statesman, 5 Feb 66, pg 12, so perhaps this is just another oddity in reported info, but maybe not. This article states The Chandler Hotel Skyroom, and if true, then my post above with location/map is valid. Sorry for the multiple posts.

View attachment 349607

Ok. Looking at that now it appears if that is the case that the map is good, his walk to the ocean would be a bit longer and more difficult than I would have originally thought.
Yeah. Now I'm more curious about those women he was talking to.
Would Howard have called home to his wife late at night when back to the hotel, and did he not do it that night?
Probably no way of finding that out.

 

[ernestasnoop]

I was living in Coos Bay at that time. The Skyroom in the Chandler Hotel was a popular somewhat upscale watering hole for locals & travelers. It’s about 5 or so blocks from the bay & is now the Chandler Bldg. apartment rentals. He & his associates were staying at The Dunes motel on Bayshore Drive, 2 or so miles from the Chandler.

Questions: Who reportedly saw lights on in his room at 2:30 a.m.? A Nov 17, 2023 article in The World, a Coos Bay newspaper, states family is looking for anyone involved with the Coos Bay Pirates at the time. Why? The Pirates were a booster organization of socially-connected men who gathered there for drinks & socializing, but what’s the connection to Kley? Did they introduce him to the women?
Did he call his wife to let her know they’d arrived in CB safely?
Did his associates assume he’d take a Greyhound to Seattle?
Many questions and no answers.

 

[CountSnap]

Hello and thank you for replying here and asking questions.
Can answer some of those questions:
We do not know who it was that saw the lights on around that time, though we are assuming it was an overnight clerk, though possible it was someone staying at the hotel. We simply, unfortunately don't know.
Trying to figure out how much I should mention in regards to CBPirates. Do you happen to know any at all from the past? They are not suspects at all. I do want to make that clear.
No, he did not call his wife.
We do not know how his associates thought he might make it to Seattle. That is part of the mystery surrounding those associates.

 

[ernestasnoop]

7

Hello and thank you for replying here and asking questions.
Can answer some of those questions:
We do not know who it was that saw the lights on around that time, though we are assuming it was an overnight clerk, though possible it was someone staying at the hotel. We simply, unfortunately don't know.
Trying to figure out how much I should mention in regards to CBPirates. Do you happen to know any at all from the past? They are not suspects at all. I do want to make that clear.
No, he did not call his wife.
We do not know how his associates thought he might make it to Seattle. That is part of the mystery surrounding those associates.

Hello. The Pirates were a booster group of prominent businessmen known for some of their parade antics, but also for their community service. I think they & he were socializing & one of the Pirates ( likely connected to the local Shell distributor ship) had invited the group. I knew a couple of the Lady Pirates years later.
I lived in Coos Bay-North Bend (my home towns) for 60 years, btw. Someone earlier asked if he could have wandered, drunk, towards the bay & fallen in. No. Coos Bay (the waterway) was a major shipping port then & home base to a Coast Guard cutter. Maritime traffic was significant. His body would have been found.

 

[CountSnap]

7

Hello. The Pirates were a booster group of prominent businessmen known for some of their parade antics, but also for their community service. I think they & he were socializing & one of the Pirates ( likely connected to the local Shell distributor ship) had invited the group. I knew a couple of the Lady Pirates years later.
I lived in Coos Bay-North Bend (my home towns) for 60 years, btw. Someone earlier asked if he could have wandered, drunk, towards the bay & fallen in. No. Coos Bay (the waterway) was a major shipping port then & home base to a Coast Guard cutter. Maritime traffic was significant. His body would have been found.

Thank you very much for the information.
That is very possible. The Pirates did have a function going on that night in the same hotel. So, it is possible they saw or talked with him or may have seen something that could have been relevant that they didn't even know at the time.
And a detective said similar regarding his body being found. There was a man who did drown shortly after Mr. Kley vanished and his body was found in the process of a normal work day. Pretty much spot on to what the detective was saying.
So all in all it's likely we have a case of foul-play here as there are too many indications that he didn't leave of his own free will. Though I am keeping that on the back radar.

Do you still have ties to the area? Is there anyone at allllll that you may know who may know someone who may know someone.... who was a CBPirate during that time?
Thank you for your contributions.

 

[ernestasnoop]

Thank you very much for the information.
That is very possible. The Pirates did have a function going on that night in the same hotel. So, it is possible they saw or talked with him or may have seen something that could have been relevant that they didn't even know at the time.
And a detective said similar regarding his body being found. There was a man who did drown shortly after Mr. Kley vanished and his body was found in the process of a normal work day. Pretty much spot on to what the detective was saying.
So all in all it's likely we have a case of foul-play here as there are too many indications that he didn't leave of his own free will. Though I am keeping that on the back radar.

Do you still have ties to the area? Is there anyone at allllll that you may know who may know someone who may know someone.... who was a CBPirate during that time?
Thank you for your contributions.

Hi. Everyone I knew who had possible ties has died. I don’t remember when they disbanded, either. It doesn’t seem like he left on his own free will. it seems so unlikely that his disappearance will be solved after 6 decades. We can always hope, though.

 

[CountSnap]

Hi. Everyone I knew who had possible ties has died. I don’t remember when they disbanded, either. It doesn’t seem like he left on his own free will. it seems so unlikely that his disappearance will be solved after 6 decades. We can always hope, though.

That is the unfortunate reality. So many have passed from that time period. We' really hoping someone in the age range of 20-30 at the time may still be about and able to assist.
We are realistic though. Time is not on our side at all.
But I'm charging ahead.

 

[gliving]

Family still seeking answers about missing man

For more than 59 years, the family of Howard F. Kley has waited for answers. What happened to their father? where did he go? Will he ever be found?

theworldlink.com

• Nov 19, 2023

For more than 59 years, the family of Howard F. Kley has waited for answers. What happened to their father? where did he go? Will he ever be found?
All they have known and they know today is Kley disappeared without a trace on January 26, 1966, while in Coos Bay. Since that day, there has been no reported sightings, no body, nothing but silence.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While the family understands Kley is not alive, they are still hoping to find out what happened to their loved one. The family has been to Coos Bay and has hung up posters in local retirement homes and senior centers, hoping to jog anyone’s memory.
The family is looking for anyone who may have been at the Chandler Hotel, the Skyroom Bar or the Dunes Hotel on January 26, 1966. They are also looking for someone who might have been involved with the Coos Bay Pirates Club in the mid- to late ’60s.

 

[CountSnap]

Family still seeking answers about missing man

For more than 59 years, the family of Howard F. Kley has waited for answers. What happened to their father? where did he go? Will he ever be found?

theworldlink.com

• Nov 19, 2023

For more than 59 years, the family of Howard F. Kley has waited for answers. What happened to their father? where did he go? Will he ever be found?
All they have known and they know today is Kley disappeared without a trace on January 26, 1966, while in Coos Bay. Since that day, there has been no reported sightings, no body, nothing but silence.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While the family understands Kley is not alive, they are still hoping to find out what happened to their loved one. The family has been to Coos Bay and has hung up posters in local retirement homes and senior centers, hoping to jog anyone’s memory.
The family is looking for anyone who may have been at the Chandler Hotel, the Skyroom Bar or the Dunes Hotel on January 26, 1966. They are also looking for someone who might have been involved with the Coos Bay Pirates Club in the mid- to late ’60s.

Unfortunately. No one has come forward so far.

 

[ernestasnoop]

That is the unfortunate reality. So many have passed from that time period. We' really hoping someone in the age range of 20-30 at the time may still be about and able to assist.
We are realistic though. Time is not on our side at all.
But I'm charging ahead.

I’ll never understand why his colleagues continued on to Seattle & left him to find his own transportation, either flying out of North Bend or taking a Greyhound bus.

 

[CountSnap]

I’ll never understand why his colleagues continued on to Seattle & left him to find his own transportation, either flying out of North Bend or taking a Greyhound bus.

That right there has raised some eyebrows.
Though they are the ones who initiated the call to Coos Bay police. So I'm not entirely sure of anything nefarious?
Though it's possible 1 or 2 out of the 2/3 depending on the report had something going on but the other 1 or 2 called him in as missing.
It's just a strange note to everything that they left him behind.
A person could think that based on who he was last seen with they thought that he may have found, other accommodations, for the night and would make his way on his own.?
All in all I'm still very interested in who dropped him off at the Dunes and who saw his light on at 2:00ish.