The Disappearance of Sean Phelan, October 1981

Very little information is available online about Sean Kenneth Phelan. He was born on February 2, 1960, possibly in a state other than California, as I could not locate him in the CA Birth Index.

For his freshman (1974-1975) and junior years (1976-1977), Sean attended Newport Christian High School in Newport Beach, Orange County, CA. The 1975 yearbook misspelled his first name as "Sian." The 1975-1976 yearbook is not available on Ancestry, but it seems likely that Sean attended the same school his sophomore year. He is not present among seniors in the school's 1977-1978 yearbook; from this it seems that he likely either transferred to another school for that year, or dropped out entirely.

According to Ancestry, at an unknown time Sean lived at 22 Lewis in Irvine, Orange County, CA. Other sources also indicate that Sean was recently divorced at the time of his disappearance. I could not find any further information related to his marriage or divorce.

One of the photos of Sean made available on several of the sites below (including the OCSO Bulletin and the Charley Project) shows Sean wearing a Navy uniform (as specified by the initials "USN" on his cap). I could not find further information concerning Sean's time in the military, and whether he was still a member of the Navy at the time of his disappearance.

Disappearance

Sean Phelan was 21 years old when he was last seen checking out of the Six Pence Inn in Tustin, Orange County, CA. Sources differ regarding when he was last seen: for example, NamUs and the OCSO both list the date of last contact as Thurs., Oct. 1, 1981, while according to the CA DOJ it was Sun., Oct. 18, 1981. He has not been seen or heard from since.

Sean was known to hitchhike from Southern CA to Washington state. At the time of his disappearance he was depressed over a recent divorce and family issues. According to NamUs, he was reported missing on Feb. 15, 1983. Sources do not indicate who made the missing persons report. It is unknown what Sean was wearing when he was last seen.

According to several mentions in The Tustin News from 1981-1982 (two of which are clipped below), the Six Pence Inn was located at 1671 Laguna Road at the time; no such address currently exists. In October 1987 the inn's address was listed as 1611 El Camino Real. According to a clipping from November 1985, at the time of publication proceedings to change the name of Laguna Road to El Camino Real had begun. This shows that in 1987 the Six Pence Inn had in fact remained at the same physical location since at least 1981, and that the difference in information is due to the change in street names in the intervening years. It should also be noted that, based on the above quick search for the "Six Pence Inn" in The Tustin News, it seemed to have been the site of quite a few arrests as well as separate burglaries.

Physical Description & Case Info

At the time of his disappearance, Sean was a 21-year-old white male who was 5'10" tall and weighed 150 lbs. He had blue eyes and light brown hair. He had several scars: a 1" one over his left eye, a 2" one on his left index finger, and a 2" one on his left shin.

Sean would be 66 years old if still alive today. According to the CA DOJ, he may use the last name Getty.

Sean is classified as Endangered Missing on the Doe Network, and simply Missing on the Charley Project. His dental x-rays and DNA are available for comparison, while his fingerprints are not. He has 34 UID exclusions listed on his NamUs page.

Sean's NamUs case, #MP20204, was created on May 7, 2013 and last updated on March 3, 2026. The NCIC, FCN, and Doe Network case numbers are M-580773381, 3739221000034, and 1019DMCA, respectively.

Anyone who believes they may have information related to Sean Phelan or his disappearance is urged to contact the OC Sheriff's Department's Missing Persons Detail at (714) 647-7055 or (714) 626-7170. The agency case number is 685-211. Any little piece of information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is appreciated and may be the key to finding Sean.

Theories

At least one WebSleuths user has proposed Sean as being a possible victim of serial killer Randy Kraft. This does, in some ways, seem plausible: not only do the victim demographics, time period, and general location (SoCal, but especially specifically OC) fit, but so do a few other facts: that Sean was known to hitchhike, he was or at least had been in the Navy at the time of his disappearance, and that he was last seen at a location right off of a major highway (specifically I-5).

However, there are other possibilities behind Sean's disappearance that are just as (if not even more so) likely as him being a Kraft victim. At any time after he was last seen Sean may have died as the result of an accident or suicide, started a new life, or even ran into foul play at the hands of someone other than Kraft. Overall, the low level of information makes it difficult for any concrete theories to be formed.