Missing Since: 1973-04-16 Location: Miami, Florida
William, his son William Jr., and two other Black men, Minni or Benny Gaskins and DeWitt Lewis, left Miami, Florida in an eighteen-foot outboard boat on April 16, 1973. They were on an overnight fishing trip to Marco Island. They never returned to shore and none of them have ever been heard from again. The boat trailer was found at Captain’s Landing Marina in the 1000 block of Bald Eagle Drive, on Marco Island, alone with the men’s truck, a green 1969 Ford F100 with Florida license plates, but the boat itself was never located and neither were any of its passengers. Another vessel, a 14-foot boat which carried Robert Stone of Fort Myers, Florida, disappeared at the same time; it’s unclear whether it or Stone was ever located either. Photographs and vital statistics for Lewis and Gaskins are unavailable. The disappearances remain unsolved. Investigating Agency Miami-Dade Police Department 305-418-7284 Source Information NamUs The St. Petersburg Times Florida Department of Law Enforcement Florida Today Miami-Dade Police Department Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated February 10, 2019; details of disappearance updated.