Missing
Michael D. Mansfield
Mansfield, approximately 1975; Russell Smrekar, approximately 2006
Date and time person was reported missing : 12/31/1975
Missing location (approx) :
Rolling Meadows, Illinois
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
Age at the time of disappearance: 19 years old
Height / Weight : 5'10, 135 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A tan buckskin coat with a fleece collar, a brown print shirt, light brown pants or blue jeans, and white sneakers.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Mansfield has a scar on the bridge of his nose. At the time of his disappearance, his hair was shoulder-length and he had a mustache extending to the ends of his mouth.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Mansfield was last seen in Rolling Meadows, Illinois on December 31, 1975. He was a student at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois at the time of his disappearance, and was home for the Christmas holidays. He was staying with his parents in the 3900 block of Gull Court.
At 2:00 p.m. on the day of his disappearance, Mansfield got a phone call and left a short time later, saying he was going to visit a friend in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He left behind his wallet. He never returned and has never been heard from again.
Mansfield disappeared six days before he was scheduled to testify against Russell Smrekar, his former roommate. Smrekar had also been a student at Lincoln College. He was accused of stealing a guitar and 80 record albums from a girls' dormitory room and charged with burglary and petty theft.
Mansfield was a key witness against him in that case; he saw Smrekar bring the items into their room, guessed they were probably stolen, and hid them because he didn't want to be implicated. He had already testified against him before the college judicial board, which expelled Smrekar three weeks into his sophomore year, and was going to testify again in criminal court.
Mansfield had initially been charged in the burglary as well, but the state agreed to defer prosecution in his case in exchange for his testimony against Smrekar. After Mansfield's disappearance, the burglary charge against Smrekar was dropped for lack of evidence.
The following year, Smrekar was accused of stealing two steaks (worth $4) from a Kroger grocery store. A witness in that case, Ruth Martin, has disappeared as well.
Smrekar was subsequently convicted of murdering Jay and Robin Fry, and was sentenced to 200 to 600 years in prison. Jay was the store clerk who saw Smrekar try to steal the steaks and was going to testify against him at the trial. Robin, Jay's wife, was pregnant at the time of her death. Smrekar was also believed to be responsible for Mansfield and Martin's disappearances, but he was never charged in connection with them.
A photograph of Smrekar is posted with this case summary. In October 2011, shortly before he died in prison at the Age at the time of disappearance: of 56, he confessed to Mansfield and Martin's murders. No information has been provided about the location of Mansfield's body, but, investigators announced that, in light of Smrekar's confession, they were closing Martin and Mansfield's cases.
Mansfield is a 1974 graduate of Rolling Meadows High School. At the time of his disappearance, he frequented record stores at Woodfield Shopping Center and in Arlington Heights and Chicago, Illinois. He made good grades at college, He reportedly worked at the Lincoln College radio station and dreamed of a job as a radio station music director.
Three of Mansfield's siblings live in the Chicago area and his parents live in Florida. His family held a memorial service for him in about 1998. His body has never been found.
Other information and links : ncy
Rolling Meadows Police Department
847-255-2416
September 2021 updates and sources
HOI 19
The Doe Network
The Lincoln Courier
The Daily Herald
The Peoria Journal Star
The Chicago Sun-Times
The State Journal-Register
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
The Bloomington Pantagraph
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
