Missing
Tai Yung Lau
Lau, approximately 1981
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/20/1981
Missing location (approx) :
Tampa, Florida
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
Asian
DOB : 06/06/1938 (83)
Age at the time of disappearance: 53 years old
Height / Weight : 5'4, 128 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Asian male. Black hair, black eyes. Lau is originally from China and he speaks poor English.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Lau was last seen in Tampa, Florida on June 19, 1981. He started walking to work that morning, but never arrived.
Lau had moved to the United States from China as a refugee in 1969. He had fled a Chinese forced labor camp two years earlier and swam for eight hours to safety in Hong Kong, where he bribed a man to get him a job on a ship. When it docked in New York two years later, he jumped ship and got a job in a Chinese restaurant.
Later, he got a work card, moved to Tampa and started working at restaurants there, hoping to bring his wife and their daughter over to the United States. He worked as a cook at a Chinese restaurant on Buffalo Avenue at the time of his disappearance. His boss, who reported him missing, stated he was a very reliable employee, never missed work and was never even late.
Lau has never been heard from again. He left all his belongings behind in his apartment. Some reports stated he didn't own a car and couldn't drive; others maintain he sold his car on the day of his disappearance and said something about returning to China. The circumstances of his disappearance are unclear.
Other information and links : ncy
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
800-873-8477
September 2021 updates and sources
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
The Tampa Bay Times
October 12, 2004. September 22, 2018; .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
