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Missing

Paul Braxton Fugate










Missing Person Case September 2021



Missing Person Case September 2021


Fugate, approximately 1980




Date reported missing : 01/13/1980

Missing location (approx) :
Chiricahua National Monument Park, Arizona
Missing classification : Lost/Injured Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White


DOB : 09/02/1938 (82)
Age at the time of disappearance: 41 years old
Height / Weight : 5'5 - 5'10, 160 - 170 pounds
Medical conditions : A gray National Park Service uniform shirt with patches and a badge, a bright green National Park Service uniform jacket with red lining, jockey shorts, white socks and green work boots.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos : Caucasian male. Graying brown hair, blue eyes. Fugate's hair was long at the time of his disappearance, and he had a full beard and mustache and a pronounced widow's peak. He wears thick granny-style eyeglasses.





Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Fugate was last seen at the Chiricahua National Monument Park in Arizona on January 13, 1980. He worked as a ranger for the park. It was in the off season, and so that day he was the only permanent staff member on duty. The only other person was a seasonal employee who worked as a clerk.
At 2:00 p.m., Fugate left his office to do a foot patrol on a nature trail. He told the clerk to shut down the visitor's center alone if he didn't return by 4:30 p.m. He was last seen walking towards the park's entrance. He has never been heard from again. He left his radio behind and didn't take anything with him besides his keys.
An extensive search of the park turned up no sign of Fugate. The park covers 12,000 acres and the terrain is very rugged, with numerous canyons and arroyos. There were rumors that he had left voluntarily or that he had been killed after stumbling across an illegal drug or illegal immigrant smuggling operation in the park. Some park employees reportedly saw vehicle spinout tracks on a primitive road near the Faraway, and indications of a struggle in the dirt.
One park employee reportedly saw Fugate in a pickup truck at 4:00 p.m. on the day of his disappearance, slumped between two other men. The pickup was traveling away from the monument at a high rate of speed. The police put the witness under hypnosis in an effort to improve his memory, and he recalled that Fugate looked "sad and dejected" and that one of the men he was with was wearing a green jacket, and the other wore a red, black and white plaid shirt, had a Kenny Rogers type beard and appeared to be in his thirties.
In February 1981, the National Park Service (NPS) formally fired Fugate for abandoning his post, and demanded his wife return the $6,925 they'd paid her during the time they had him listed as missing. The NPS's regional chief detective told one reporter he believed Fugate was "living with a paramour somewhere, very healthy" and that finding him was not a priority. (He had had several affairs during his marriAge at the time of disappearance: , which his wife was aware of and had acquiesced to, and she stated none of his relationships with other women were serious.)
The NPS refused to have Fugate listed as deceased for six years, and so his wife was unable to collect her husband's survivor's benefits or pension. In 1986, however, an NPS investigator and an Arizona Department of Public Safety investigator, working together, examined the records of the search and investigation and concluded there was no reason to believe Fugate had left on his own and was still alive somewhere. His wife's application for benefits was then approved.
Fugate has never been located.


Other information and links : ncy

Cochise County Sheriff's Department
520-803-3280



September 2021 updates and sources

The Doe Network
The National Parks Traveler
The National Park Service
The Kingman Daily Miner
The Douglas Dispatch
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.
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October 12, 2004. May 1, 2021; picture added, Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.