Tom Starkel

Additional details from the official case record, provided for identification.

Date of Birth

July 15, 1960 CP AG

Clothing Last Seen Wearing

A tan sweater, brown corduroy pants, a gold watch, and sneakers, possibly size 7 1/2. CP

Vehicle

Dark green Pontiac Firebird with blue colored Nevada license plates. The car was recovered about two weeks after he disappeared and is accounted for. CP

Timeline, December 5, 1979

He was last seen at about 10:00 p.m. leaving his girlfriend's home in Palmdale, California. Authorities believe he arrived at his own apartment afterwards, but he has never been heard from again. CP

Police were not notified for three days, and another three days passed before they went to his apartment. In the meantime his mother had cleaned the apartment, erasing any evidence that might have been there. CP

About two weeks after he vanished, his Firebird was pulled over as it entered California from Nevada. A man named Craig Moore was driving it, and there was no sign of Starkel. Starkel's jacket was in the trunk, the car's pink slip had been signed over from Starkel to Moore, and a handgun that had been fired recently was found under the driver's seat. Moore was held for two weeks, gave several different stories, and was released for lack of evidence connecting him to the disappearance, but he remains the prime suspect. CP

He graduated from Palmdale High School and attended the First Assembly of God Church, where his grandfather was a pastor. CP

What Would Help Most

Anyone who knew Craig Moore in late 1979, or who saw a dark green Pontiac Firebird with blue Nevada plates traveling between California and Nevada in December 1979, could still hold the missing piece in this case.

Sources: The Charley Project · California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General