Missing
Steve Lewis Arrowood Jr.
Arrowood, approximately 1975; Age at the time of disappearance: -progression to an unknown Age at the time of disappearance:
Date and time person was reported missing : 04/03/1975
Missing location (approx) :
Gastonia, North Carolina
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 06/26/1956 (65)
Age at the time of disappearance: 18 years old
Height / Weight : 5'8 - 5'9, 145 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Arrowood has a small reddish birthmark on his chin and a small scar under his chin. He may go by his middle name, Lewis, or the first name Steven. He is right-handed.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Arrowood was last seen in Gastonia, North Carolina on April 3, 1975. He lived with his parents at in the 400 block of Chestnut Street. He has never been heard from again. He left behind an uncashed income tax refund check for $500.
Arrowood had previously left home without warning on March 9. He left a note for his parents but didn't say where he was going, and he withdrew $815 from his savings account. His parents got a letter from him on March 20 saying he was fine and had gotten a job. Arrowood had gone to Dallas, Texas to see a 30-year-old married woman he was having an affair with. The woman's husband, a long-distance truck driver, caught them on March 30 and threatened to kill him. The woman agreed to travel to New Orleans, Louisiana with her husband as long as he didn't kill Arrowood. Arrowood returned to Gastonia on March 31. His lover denied having ever seen him again after he left Texas. A letter addressed to Arrowood and postmarked New Orleans arrived in the mail on April 7, three days after his disappearance. The authorities opened it and read it, thinking it would provide clues to his whereabouts, but they said it didn't contain any valuable information.
In the days after his return home, Arrowood told his friends he thought the woman's husband was following him. On the day of his disappearance, he had dinner with his sister at Fern Forest Apartments and then went out with a friend. While he was with his friend, Arrowood said he saw his lover's husband's car with the man inside it. Arrowood's friend couldn't see the driver, but the car did follow them as they drove away. Arrowood dropped his friend off at home on east Third Street at 10:30 p.m., and this is the last time anyone saw him. Several hours later, his 1971 Toyota was found parked near the swimming pool at Fern Forest Apartments. The vehicle's door was open, Arrowood's belongings were inside it, the keys were in the ignition and a pair of men's underwear was lying on the ground behind the car.
Two weeks after Arrowood went missing, police located and questioned his lover's husband. He refused to take a polygraph test and they let him go. This individual has never been publicly identified and it's unclear whether he's considered a suspect in the case.
Arrowood's father died in 2008 and his mother died in 2012. In their obituary, it was noted that Arrowood predeceased them. His four sisters are still alive. Foul play is suspected in Arrowood's disappearance; it remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Gastonia Police Department
704-866-3300
September 2021 updates and sources
Porchlight International for the Missing and Unidentified
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 Gastonia Gazette
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.
Find a Grave
5 October 12, 2004. December 12, 2015; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
