The Disappearance of Steven Lewis Ericson, June 1972

Steven Ericson was born on April 3, 1954 in Los Angeles County, CA. His mother's maiden name is Roeder. Very little could be found about him or his family.

1972 Woodrow Wilson High School senior yearbook photo.

Steven attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, LA County, CA starting in at least 1970; he graduated in 1972. The high school yearbook lists him as "Steve Ericson." His junior and senior yearbook photos are available on this post, as well as on sites below; they were originally sourced from Ancestry.

Steven was last seen on Thursday, June 1, 1972 in Grass Valley, Nevada County, CA. It is unclear why he was in Northern California, as he was from Long Beach.

Very few details are available in Steven's case. He is listed among deceased alumni on his high school class's website, linked below. He is classified as Endangered Missing on the Doe Network, while the Charley Project simply lists him as Missing.

Steven is a white male with blonde hair and hazel eyes. At the time of his disappearance he was 18 years old, 5'10, and 170 lbs. No information regarding what he was last seen wearing has been made publicly available, if it is known at all. If alive today he would be 71 years old.

1971 WWHS junior yearbook photo.

Given the lack of details in Steven's case, it is possible that he was not reported missing for some years, and that June 1st is a placeholder date of last contact. If this is the case, then based on the agency case number — which often begins or ends with the last two digits of the reporting year — it seems he could have been reported missing in either 1985 or 2011. However, this is just speculation on my part.

Steven's dental records — specifically his dental x-rays — as well as his DNA are available for comparison, while the status of his fingerprints is unknown. His NamUs case, #MP50743, was created on June 23, 2018 and last updated July 23, 2025.

There are five UID exclusions listed on Steven's NamUs, all of whom were found in western states in the 1970s: Josephine County John Doe 1978, Wilmington John Doe April 1973, Solano County John Doe 1979, and two who have since been identified, Michael Ray Schlicht and Hacienda Heights John Doe 1972 (whose name has not been released). It should be noted that both Wilmington John Doe April 1973 and Michael Ray Schlicht are believed to be victims of serial killer Randy Kraft, who preyed on young white males in Southern California, especially around Long Beach, where Steven was from.

Anyone with information in Steven's case is urged to contact Bob Jakobs, Captain of the Administrative Support Services of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, at (530) 265-1471 (according to NamUs) or (530) 265-7880 (according to CA DOJ). The agency case number is 11800985.