Missing
Stanley Louis Chism Jr.
Chism, approximately 1988
Date and time person was reported missing : 02/05/1988
Missing location (approx) :
Orlando, Florida
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 07/14/1964 (57)
Age at the time of disappearance: 20 years old
Height / Weight : 5'2, 145 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A purple plaid buttoned shirt and new Levi's blue jeans.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Red hair, blue eyes. Chism wears prescription eyeglasses.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Chism was last seen in Orlando, Florida on February 5, 1988. He left his home in the 7900 block of Albania Avenue and went to the Altamonte Mall, where he used the mall's phone to call his parents and girlfriend. His parents lived in Dayton, Ohio at the time; his girlfriend was in Irvine, Kentucky. He never arrived home and has never been heard from again.
Harold Suggs was subsequently charged with stealing Chism's car, a blue Pontiac Grand Prix with the Ohio license plate number 823NON. He was seen in Starke, Florida, 130 miles northwest of Orlando, on the day after Chism's disappearance, driving a car matching the description of Chism's and wearing a jacket similar to one that belonged to Chism.
Three weeks after Chism went missing, police found his car with Suggs inside it, and he tried to run when he saw them. Chism's eyeglasses, books and jacket were inside the car, and there was blood in the backseat.
A radio, cassette player, citizen's band radio and radar detector were Missing location (approx) : the vehicle, and it had been driven about 2,000 miles since Chism had disappeared.
Nearby, in a dumpster, were Chism's bloodstained shirt and other clothes, as well as a bloodstained crowbar. His girlfriend's phone number and a bank deposit slip were in the shirt pocket, and DNA testing proved the blood was his.
When questioned, Suggs at first claimed he lived with Chism and that Chism had let him borrow the car, but he was unable to provide an accurate address. He changed his story and said he'd met Chism at a bar in Orlando and they'd decided to get an apartment together.
Suggs had no permanent address at the time of his arrest and he has used numerous aliases in the past. Police believe he murdered Chism, but he has never been charged in connection with his disappearance, and the auto theft charge was dropped after a key witness was unable to testify.
Chism played piano in a local gospel group called Loretta Carter and the Sounds of Praise at the time of his disappearance. He was planning to leave Orlando in March 1988 and move back to Ohio to work with his father in a ministry. Foul play is suspected in his case, which remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Orange County Sheriff's Office
407-254-7012
407-836-4357
September 2021 updates and sources
The Orlando Sentinel
The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
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.
CrimeWatchers.net
October 12, 2004. July 13, 2018; picture added, Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
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