Missing
Amanda Lee Fravel
Fravel, approximately 1986
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/13/1986
Missing location (approx) :
Las Vegas, Nevada
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 05/09/1966 (55)
Age at the time of disappearance: 20 years old
Height / Weight : 5'4 - 5'5, 110 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Fravel's nickname is Mandy. She bleached her hair blonde and she maintained good dental hygiene in 1986. She has a tattoo of a rose on her left hand.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Fravel in moved from her home state of California to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1985. She stayed with a friend and her friend's family at first, then moved into a place of her own, but found that too expensive and moved in with a roommate. She had a job at a Taco Bell restaurant.
In June 1986, her mother sent her money so she could come home to Rancho Cordova, California to visit. Fravel never arrived in California, however. She was last seen on June 13, 1986; her roommate, Lew Frank, said she left their apartment on south 3rd Street. She was planning to pick up her paycheck at Taco Bell and visit her ex-boyfriend.
Fravel had no vehicle and it's unclear what her means of transportation was that day; there are reports that she was a frequent hitchhiker, but a friend said she had stopped hitchhiking entirely by the time she disappeared after she had a bad experience. She never arrived at either of her destinations and has never been heard from again.
A few weeks after Fravel's disappearance, her mother and stepfather came to Las Vegas to investigate her case. They met with her ex-boyfriend and with her roommate. All of Fravel's things in the apartment were packed up, and her two kittens had reportedly not been fed or cared for since she went missing. Fravel is described as a caring pet owner who would not have willingly left her kittens without food.
Fravel's mother and stepfather and her friend were all suspicious of Frank. He appeared to be in his late forties in 1986, and many of the visitors to the apartment were much younger people. He stated he was from Georgia, although he spoke without any discernible accent, and said he had come to Nevada to open up a brothel.
There is no record of Frank in Nevada state records and it's possible the name "Lew Frank" was an alias. His current whereabouts are unknown and he has never been named as a suspect in Fravel's disappearance.
Fravel had had an unhappy home and family life and a chaotic upbringing in California, and although her mother had purchased her a plane ticket to go back there, her friend said she thought Fravel would have never returned home due to the unfortunate situation there. Fravel reportedly told her friend she wanted to go to Canada to meet a musician who lived there.
Foul play is suspected in Fravel's case. Her disappearance remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
800-492-6565
September 2021 updates and sources
The South Bend Tribune
The Doe Network
Las Vegas Now
Facebook pageheader for Amanda Fravel
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
