Henry Louis Baltimore Jr. - Missing since May 30, 1973

[Mary]

http://www.charleyproject.org/images/b/baltimore_henry.jpg

Missing Since: May 30, 1973 from East Lansing, Michigan
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date of Birth: January 16, 1952
Age: 21 years old
Height and Weight: 6'2, 175 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A black turtleneck sweater, light gray slacks and black and gray shoes.


Details of DisappearanceBaltimore was last seen in East Lansing, Michigan on May 30, 1973. At the time of his disappearance, he was a junior at Michigan State University in Jackson; he studied social science and music. He was an honor student and was a drum major in the university marching band. His 1968 Buick was found at his home after his disappearance. He also left behind his car keys and other belongings. In May 1973, he lived with three roommates at an apartment in the 300 block of Oak Hill Avenue in East Lansing, and had a job at the university library. He has eight siblings; one sister was also a student at Michigan State in 1973.
In March 1973, Baltimore went to the police and reported that two male attackers had tied him up in his home, pistol-whipped him and stole $110 and some of his belongings. One suspect, Roy L. Davis, was subsequently arrested. Baltimore was fined $50 for failing to appear at Davis's prelimary exam to testify against him. He later testified at a rescheduled hearing. He told his sister that after his testimony, Davis threatened his life. Baltimore disappeared two days before Davis's arraignment. Neighbors stated they saw Davis knocking on Baltimore's front door on the day he went missing. Later that year, Davis pleaded guilty to felonious assault with intent to commit robbery. He has never been charged in connection with Baltimore's disappearance. Authorities initially believed Baltimore went into hiding so he would not have to testify against Davis, but the length of time that has passed since his disappearance makes this unlikely. His family never thought he had left voluntarily, as he kept in close contact with them prior to his disappearance, and they have not heard from him since 1973. Foul play is now suspected in his case, which remains unsolved.


Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
East Lansing Police Department
517-319-6811

Source Information
The Doe Network (http://www.doenetwork.org/)
The State News (http://www.statenews.com/)

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004.
Last updated September 2, 2006; casefile added. Charley Project Home (http://www.charleyproject.org/index.html)

[Mary]

Mysterious disappearance
Missing person's case remains open, family searches for closure
By Lindsey Poisson
The State News
Published: August 15, 2006


A 33-year-old question is still waiting to be answered.Henry Louis Baltimore, Jr. went missing without a trace in 1973, and subsequent investigations have not revealed what happened to the former social science and music honor student.

Police found only the MSU marching band drum major's 1968 Buick two days before an armed robbery suspect, who 21-year-old Baltimore had testified against, was scheduled to appear in court.

But in April, the East Lansing Police Department resumed the missing person's case and is attempting to discover what became of him.

On Sunday, Baltimore's family sat together in his brother's house, talking about the case and looking at faded photographs of Baltimore dressed up in uniform leading the MSU band. Old, yellowed articles from newspapers, including The State News, Lansing State Journal and Jackson Citizen Patriot, lay strewn over a coffee table, documenting the chronology of the case throughout the years.

Periodically, family members would shake their heads, not knowing what more to say about Baltimore's disappearance.

Thirty-three years later, and still nothing. His belongings, car keys and Buick were left behind at his apartment, but Baltimore simply vanished.

"Everything was in its place," Baltimore's sister, Lural Baltimore said. "If he was going to run away, why not take his car?" "It's hard for us to believe that he's been away all this time and has not contacted his family."

From the day her brother disappeared, Lural Baltimore said it was difficult to stay informed of everything the police were doing in their investigation. Her family even had to wait 48 hours after the time he disappeared before a missing person's report could be filed.

"I felt enough was not being done to look into the situation and the case," Lural Baltimore said. "It's very hard for me to say they weren't doing what they needed to do because they didn't give you a lot of information on 'this is what they're doing.'"

The case

Every story regarding the events leading up to the MSU student's disappearance is slightly different.

But the fact remains that on March 3, 1973, two men entered Henry Baltimore's 340 Oakhill Ave. apartment and threatened him with a revolver. The men tied Baltimore to his bedsprings, searched his apartment and took about $110 and personal items, such as golf clubs, clothing and a watch. The drum major also was allegedly pistol-whipped during that time.

Police arrested Flint resident Roy L. Davis and charged him in connection with the robbery. To make a case, Baltimore had to testify against Davis in court, and did so during a May 24, 1973, preliminary examination. After his testimony, Davis' case was bound for trial in circuit court.

After Baltimore's testimony, Davis allegedly threatened him. According to witnesses, Davis asked Baltimore not to pursue charges and said, "I should have killed you when I had the chance" and "You are messing with my life. If you testify like you did today, I don't have anything to lose, so I can pull out all the stops." Witnesses also said they saw Davis go to Baltimore's house after he testified and on the day he disappeared.

On May 30, 1973, Lural Baltimore went to get a final exam paper she agreed to type for her brother. His car was outside his apartment and his belongings were inside his apartment, but he was nowhere to be found.Police considered the possibility that he voluntarily went into hiding to avoid testifying again. But after 33 years and no sign of Henry Baltimore, police are now considering homicide as a possibility.

The investigation

East Lansing police Detective Steve Gonzalez said Baltimore is still classified as a missing person because no concrete evidence of a homicide or kidnapping has been found. "The best option would be to find Henry's body because all indications say he's probably dead," Gonzalez said. "He hasn't been seen in 33 years, and there has been no contact with his family for 33 years, and common sense says he was the victim of a homicide."

Now-retired detective Jim Kelly, who was in charge of Baltimore's case in 1973, suspects the drum major was kidnapped and killed."Not having him show up some place, whether alive or dead, is unusual," he said. "Because hunting season was coming up not too far, we were pretty sure his body would turn up somewhere between here and Flint. Pretty disappointing, I guess."

Kelly said the police have dental records for Baltimore, which will help police pursue leads. But the emergence of DNA technology, which was unavailable in 1973, might make a difference, he said.Gonzalez said Baltimore's family members' DNA has already been collected to create a DNA profile of Baltimore, which was entered into a national missing persons database. If there is an unknown individual or remains, DNA can be compared with the database, and there is the possibility of a match, he said.Gonzalez said he works on the case whenever more recent caseloads for the department are low. Ideally, police would like to find Baltimore. Gonzalez said his goal is to at least update the case, and he is following new leads. The last report regarding Baltimore was filed in 1980, he said.

Looking for answers

The oldest male out of eight siblings, Baltimore was active in the Jackson and MSU communities and devoted to the MSU Marching Band, Lural Baltimore said."As a student, he loved MSU because he loved the band," she said. "He was absolutely ecstatic and did what he could."

Henry Baltimore's mother, Doris Baltimore, said she remembers her son as the young paper delivery boy and Cub Scout who "just got along with everybody."

Before the armed robbery and court proceedings involving Davis, it seemed he had no enemies, Lural Baltimore said.

The family is following up whenever they can, especially when articles are written about the case, she said."We haven't had any closure," Lural Baltimore said.

"Anything anyone does keeps it out there so it doesn't get lost."

Source:

The State News, Michigan State University