The Disappearance of Mark Wendell Wilson, November 1967

Mark Wendell Wilson was born on October 4, 1954; if alive today, he would be 70 years old. According to Ancestry, Mark was born in San Diego County, and his mother's maiden name was Comstock; his middle name is alternatively spelled "Wendall" on the site. Mark's mother is named Betty, and his father is named Richard James Wilson. Mark was an eighth grade student at Quincy Junior-Senior High School at the time. His nickname is Wilson.

Shortly after 2 pm on Saturday, November 4, 1967, Mark, 13, left his home in Meadow Valley, Plumas County, CA on foot. He told his parents that he was going to hitchhike to Quincy, Plumas County, CA — 7mi away — to go see the matinee show of a movie. According to Project Jason, Mark "asked his mother for some money out of his small saving account which she refused, so it is thought that he only had a few dollars with him." Mark never returned and has not been seen or heard from since.

On all databases Mark is listed as missing from Quincy. Furthermore, the Nov. 9 1967 edition of the Feather River Bulletin (FRB) states that, according to Sheriff W.C. Abernethy, "Craig Mikesell, attendant at a service station in Quincy, reported he saw Mark walking along the south side of Main Street at about 3 pm Saturday." At the time of that clipping, "Officers ha[d] been unable to confirm if the youngster went to the theater."

According to the Nov. 16 1967 edition of the FRB, Mark never arrived at the theater. Two weeks later, FRB further stated that, "He was reportedly seen in Quincy but did not arrive at the local theatre."

Authorities stated that speaking with Mark's parents and friends didn't reveal any leads or reasons why Mark would leave home. By November 9th, an all-points bulletin was issued from the PC Sheriff's office to LE agencies throughout the area. According to the Nov. 30 1967 edition of FRB, on the weekend of Nov. 25, "Scout search and rescue units and the Plumas County Sheriff's Posse walked and rode through several areas near Quincy and Meadow Valley [...] in a futile attempt to locate [...] Mark Wilson." According to Sheriff W.C. Abernethy, "the searches were made on the off-chance the boy may still be in the area." That same clipping also states that, "There are still no concrete clues indicating if the boy ran away or if foul play is involved."

Photo from NamUs.

According to one user on WebSleuths, "I found out that LE interviewed people at the theater, to which Mark said he was going, but no one saw him there, and it is assumed that he tragically may have gotten a "bad ride."" According to several users on WS, the theater that Mark was headed to was the Town Hall Theatre in Quincy. Further research supports this conclusion, as it was apparently the only cinema in town. As of 2024, the Town Hall Theatre is still the only movie theater in Quincy.

I was unable to find much about the Town Hall Theatre or what movies it was showing on Newspapers.com, as advertisements for showings didn't really start to be published in FRB until partway through 1968. The owner of the Town Hall Theatre at the time was a man named Gary Pattan (b. Maynard Garner Pattan in 1921). According to the theater's website, it is located at 469 Main St in Quincy, CA.

On Thursday, Nov. 16 1967, Mark's parents posted a $500 reward in the Feather River Bulletin for anyone with information regarding Mark's disappearance. Alongside the FRB, the Sacramento Bee posted a few clippings in November and December 1967 to bring attention to Mark's disappearance; he was not posted in the Bee's Secret Witness program, however, as the program was not set up until about 1971.

According to all databases, at the time of his disappearance, Mark, a 13-year-old white male, was 5'2 and 110 lbs; contemporary newspaper clippings put him at 5'1 and about 110 lbs, and one specifically states that he was "slightly built." He has blue eyes and a slight dimple on one of his ear lobes. While NamUs states that his hair was blond/strawberry in coloring, Charley Project states that his hair was, "dark blond to brown." Doe Network and contemporary newspaper clippings simply state that he was blonde, while CA DOJ says his hair was brown.

Mark was wearing a retainer in his mouth at the time of his disappearance. He was also wearing dark pants, a white jacket, a dark sweatshirt, and sneakers/tennis shoes. According to the archived Project Jason site, the white jacket that Mark was wearing was specifically a "white nylon windbreaker jacket." According to Doe Network, he was not wearing any jewelry or had any other additional personal items on him at the time. The Nov. 8 1967 Sac Bee clipping states that, "[Mark] was wearing black trousers, a blue sweatshirt, and a white nylon jacket." The Nov. 9 1967 FRB clippings says, "He was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt and white parka-type jacket and black trousers. He was wearing tennis shoes. [Mark's father] Richard Wilson said the boy may have had tan trousers." The same FRB article also says that Mark, "was believed to have had only about $1 in his possession when he left home Saturday."

According to the page dedicated to Mark on the archived Project Jason site — which may have been created in collaboration with/using sources from Mark's family — Mark had no medical conditions, but he did have "an allergy to Mercurocrome [sic] (mercury)."

Mark's parents, Betty and Richard, divorced less than four years after Mark's disappearance, in June 1971 in Plumas County. According to Richard's Ancestry page, Mark may have had two older sisters. Richard, who was from Alberta, Canada, passed away in 2002.

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According to a 2017 article from the Plumas News, for years there had been rumors that Mark, "had ended up at the bottom of an old well on [the] Meadow Valley property" of a couple named Larry and Glory (last names withheld by press for privacy). Starting in fall 2013 — though primarily throughout 2014 — the area around the well was searched by law enforcement. Cadaver dogs were brought out to the property, and all three separately alerted at the old well.

Beginning in September 2014, the Plumas County Sheriff's Office excavated debris from the old well; no bones were found, though dirt from the well was saved to test for bone fragments, DNA, etc. Excavations stopped in October 2014 due to the cold, as well as water coming in.

In April 2016 data was collected from the well to run DNA tests. According to Plumas News, "the test results came back 'inconclusive.' Wharton said that meant that 'no testable DNA' was found in the samples." There have been no further updates on the case that I could find.

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Progression to age 59 (c. 2014). Photo from NCMEC.

According to the Charley Project, "Few details are available in Mark's case," and "he is missing under unknown circumstances." Mark is listed as Endangered Missing on the Charley Project and Doe Network. His NamUs case was created on April 15, 2010, and last updated on January 9, 2024. The Plumas County Sheriff's Office is investigating his case.

According to Doe Network and CA DOJ, Mark's DNA and dental x-rays are available for comparison, while his fingerprints are not. An age progression to 59 years (c.2013) from NCMEC is available; this progression was uploaded to NamUs on April 8, 2014. Mark has thirty-eight exclusions on NamUs, including Daly City John Doe 1969 and Baker John Doe 1974.

Anyone with any information regarding Mark's disappearance should contact Detective Kris Frazier of the Plumas County Sheriff's Office at (530) 283-6375. The agency case number is 673583.