Left and Center: Anthony circa, 1983
Right: Age Progressed to age 36
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: May 8, 1983
Missing From: Lemmon Valley, Washoe County, Nevada
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: August 15, 1972
Age: 10 years old
Height and Weight: 4’11” and 85 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Male, Brown hair, Brown eyes, Anthony has small birthmarks above his left eyebrow and on the right side of his neck, he has two light colored moles on his cheek and nose, a scar under his lower lip, Anthony had a slight gap between his upper front teeth in 1983, he may use the nickname “Tony”
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A Blue down hooded jacket, a red San Francisco 49ers t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and hiking boots
NCMEC Number: 601353
Details of Disappearance
Anthony was last seen on May 8th of 1983 in Lemmon Valley, Nevada. He was last seen as he walked to school during the morning. Anthony usually walked north of Fremont street but apparently went the other direction that morning.
A witness reported that they saw him taking to an unknown individual who was driving a rusted out vehicle. It may have been a Ford Pinto or a Camaro. This was the last sighting of him. He never arrived to his school and was never seen or heard from again.
The school didn’t notify Anthony’s family of his absence so he wasn’t discovered missing until later that day. He didn’t call his mother as he was supposed to everyday when he got home from school. She reported him missing when she got home from work as it was dark and Anthony hadn’t returned home.
Authorities initially believed that Anthony had run away. The previous month before his disappearance, Anthony ran away from home after he argued with his mother over a report card with poor grades. He took some food and dishes and also left a goodbye note. He went into the mountains but returned within hours and said he would never do it again and was crying.
Due to the assumption that he had runaway, authorities didn’t start to investigate other possibilities until several days passed after his disappearance. His mother was adamant that he did not runaway, he was a member of the 4-H club at the time of his disappearance and the day prior to his disappearance, he won a blue ribbon for showing his pet pony and two ribbons at a 4-H show.
Anthony had the ribbon with him on the morning of May 8th with the intentions of whining it to classmates. He was very happy that morning and made no indications that he wanted to runaway again.
Authorities believe that something else happened the Anthony that morning. His mother and stepfather were both subjected to polygraph testing and they were ruled as suspects early on.
In mid 2002, a defrocked priest, Stephen Kiesle, was named as a suspect in Anthony’s disappearance as well as the Nevada 1987 disappearance of Jennifer Martin, the California 1988 abduction of Amber Swartz-Garcia, and the California 1991 abduction of Jaycee Dugard.
Authorities searched his yard for evidence relating to Jennifer, Anthony, and Jaycees cases and the 1988 abduction of Amber Swartz-Garcia. They did not find anything substantial except for a bag of dirt and deteriorating clothing. The searches concluded in July of 2002. In 2009, Jaycee Dugard was found alive and her kidnappers were charged with her kidnapping.
Stephen has not been ruled out in Anthony’s disappearance but is considered unlikely. Authorities suspect that Anthony was abducted by a stranger and likely murdered but his mother holds hope that he is alive and well.
His disappearance remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Washoe County Sheriffs Office 775-328-3001
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Jaycee Lee Dugard – The Charley Project