A Simple Walk to His Grandparents’ House
On July 27, 1988, Myron was walking through Phoenix, Arizona, with his mother. They were on their way to his grandparents’ home on East Pecan Road.
It was an ordinary trip, and Myron had a simple plan. He was carrying a plastic bag filled with dirty clothes because he intended to wash them at his grandparents’ house. He also wanted to use their telephone to call his brother, who was staying with relatives in California. His own family home did not have a phone.
At some point along the way, Myron stopped at OK Fish-N-Chips near 16th Street and Southern Avenue to buy a soft drink.
His mother continued walking ahead.
Myron stayed behind.
At approximately 6 p.m., he was reportedly seen outside the stand after purchasing his soda.
It was the last confirmed sighting of him.
The Boy Who Never Came Home
Myron had recently completed sixth grade at Sierra Vista Elementary School.
He enjoyed drawing and reading, and people who knew him described a young boy whose disappearance was completely out of character. He was not known to be involved with drugs or gangs, and he did not have a habit of staying out late.
Myron was also closely connected to his church. He regularly attended services at Southminster Presbyterian Church, went to Sunday School, sang in the church choir, and participated in the youth group.
For his family, there was no obvious reason why Myron would suddenly disappear without telling anyone.
But after that evening outside the restaurant, he was never heard from again.
The Man Investigators Focused On
One person eventually became the only publicly identified suspect in Myron’s disappearance: Gettus Leroy Mintz, who was dating Myron’s mother at the time.
Mintz was reportedly among the four people who saw Myron at OK Fish-N-Chips that evening.
According to Myron’s aunt, she noticed that one of Mintz’s arms was in a sling sometime after Myron disappeared. Mintz reportedly explained the injury by saying that a dog had bitten him.
Investigators also believed Mintz was involved in drug activity around the time Myron vanished.
Authorities developed a theory that Myron may have confronted Mintz after seeing him at the restaurant and that something could have happened to the boy shortly afterward.
But that theory has never been proven in court.
Mintz has never been convicted in connection with Myron’s disappearance, and he has refused to be interviewed about the case.
A Search for Where Myron Might Be
In 1991, investigators received an anonymous letter claiming that Myron had been buried on private property near 24th Street and Jones Avenue in Phoenix.
Authorities searched the location.
They found nothing that provided an answer.
Investigators have nevertheless continued to believe that Myron may have been killed and that his remains could have been concealed somewhere near the area where he was last seen.
Years later, Mintz was convicted in an unrelated case after stabbing his girlfriend and her mother in Peoria, Arizona, in 2009. His girlfriend died, and Mintz was ultimately convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated assault and sentenced to 42 years in prison.
Even while incarcerated, however, he has not provided answers about what happened to Myron.
A Mother Who Never Got Her Answer
Myron’s mother spent nearly fourteen years living with the uncertainty surrounding her son’s disappearance.
She died in March 2002 at only 45 years old.
She never learned what happened to Myron.
Today, the case remains unsolved.
The little boy who left home carrying dirty laundry and stopped for a soda was never seen again. Somewhere between that brief stop at OK Fish-N-Chips and his grandparents’ house, his trail disappeared.
Where did Myron go?
Who was responsible for his disappearance?
And where is he today?
More than three decades have passed, but his family has never had the chance to bring him home.
Myron was just a sixth-grade student with a love of reading, drawing, church, and his family.
He should have had a lifetime ahead of him.
May Myron be remembered, and may the answers his family has waited for finally be found.
This story is based on publicly available information and reported facts. It has been independently written and presented for informational purposes. Images, if any, belong to their respective owners.