Overview

Douglas Richard “Doug” Smith was a 23-year-old U.S. Navy officer stationed at Moffett Field near Mountain View, California, when he disappeared in November 1968. The most commonly cited date of last contact is November 25, 1968, although the California Department of Justice currently lists November 28, 1968. His 1967 Volkswagen Beetle, California license plate HXJ 292, disappeared with him and has not been publicly reported as recovered.

Last seen: Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California
Date: November 25, 1968, according to NamUs-derived records and The Charley Project; California DOJ lists November 28, 1968.
Age: 23
Circumstances: Smith was serving with the U.S. Navy and was expected to report for duty the following day. He failed to appear, was never heard from again, and his Volkswagen vanished at approximately the same time.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Douglas Richard Smith Missing Person Case: U.S. Navy Officer Vanished From Mountain View, California in 1968

Brief Case Summary

Douglas Richard “Doug” Smith was a 23-year-old U.S. Navy officer stationed at Moffett Field near Mountain View, California, when he disappeared in November 1968. The most commonly cited date of last contact is November 25, 1968, although the California Department of Justice currently lists November 28, 1968. His 1967 Volkswagen Beetle, California license plate HXJ 292, disappeared with him and has not been publicly reported as recovered.

Last seen: Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California
Date: November 25, 1968, according to NamUs-derived records and The Charley Project; California DOJ lists November 28, 1968.
Age: 23
Circumstances: Smith was serving with the U.S. Navy and was expected to report for duty the following day. He failed to appear, was never heard from again, and his Volkswagen vanished at approximately the same time.

The Disappearance of Douglas Richard Smith

Douglas Richard Smith was born February 21, 1945. Known as “Doug,” he was 23 years old when he vanished from Mountain View, California, during Thanksgiving week in 1968. Smith had brown hair, blue eyes and stood approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall. Records describe scars on his lower abdomen and chin as well as a mole on the left side of his chin.

At the time of his disappearance, Smith was a U.S. Navy officer stationed at Moffett Field, then a major naval aviation facility bordering Mountain View. Case summaries identify him as assigned to Patrol Squadron 19, commonly known as VP-19.

Smith Failed to Report for Duty

According to NamUs-derived case information, Smith was last seen on November 25, 1968. He was expected to report for Navy duty on November 26 but did not appear. No confirmed communication from Smith after his disappearance has been publicly documented.

The California Department of Justice currently gives a slightly different date. Its missing-person record lists Smith as missing since November 28, 1968 and states that his last contact was in Mountain View on that date. The reason for the three-day discrepancy is not explained in the publicly available record.

Because the older NamUs-derived narrative specifically describes Smith being last seen November 25 and failing to report the next day, November 25 is frequently used by missing-person databases and case researchers. The date discrepancy should remain noted unless investigators publicly clarify which date represents his final verified contact.

His Volkswagen Disappeared Too

One of the most significant circumstances in Smith’s disappearance is that his automobile apparently vanished along with him.

The vehicle is described in NamUs-derived records and The Charley Project as a 1967 Volkswagen 113 coupe, generally described as white, bearing California license plate HXJ 292. The California Department of Justice identifies it as a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle with the same plate number but currently lists its color as multicolor.

No publicly available source located for this article reports that the Volkswagen has ever been recovered.

The simultaneous disappearance of both Smith and his vehicle has prompted public speculation that the car could be important to determining what happened. Suggestions posted by members of missing-person communities have included the possibility of an undiscovered vehicle accident or a vehicle entering water, but those are theories rather than established findings by law enforcement.

Douglas Smith’s Navy Career

Public case databases provide only a short description of Smith’s military career, identifying him as an officer assigned to VP-19 at Moffett Field. More detailed information has emerged through recent historical research shared in the Websleuths discussion devoted to his disappearance.

Posts made in October 2025 describe Smith as a Naval Aviator who trained through the Naval Aviation Cadet program, received his wings and commission in 1967, trained on the Lockheed P-3 Orion at Moffett Field and later joined Patrol Squadron 19. The same research states that Smith had been promoted to lieutenant junior grade shortly before he disappeared.

Those military-history details have not all been reproduced on Smith’s California DOJ case page, so they should be regarded as supplemental historical research rather than a formal police account of the disappearance.

Latest Publicly Available Investigation Information

Douglas Richard Smith remains listed by the California Department of Justice as a missing person, with the Mountain View Police Department identified as the reporting agency. The current state listing gives case number 2100057 and a case contact number of 650-903-6728.

A noteworthy development appeared in the case’s Websleuths discussion in October 2025. A contributor researching Smith’s military background stated that the disappearance was an active cold case being investigated by the Mountain View Police Department and identified Mountain View Police Officer Kirsten Roberts as a point of contact. Because that statement appears in a public discussion forum rather than an official police case announcement, it should not be treated as confirmation of any particular investigative action, search, suspect or new evidence.

As of the most recently available public records reviewed for this article, no official announcement was located reporting that Smith had been found, that his Volkswagen had been recovered, that a suspect had been identified, or that investigators had determined whether his disappearance resulted from an accident, voluntary departure or criminal act. The California DOJ listing continues to classify him simply as a missing person.

Physical Description and Identifying Information

Smith was a white male with brown hair and blue eyes. The California Department of Justice lists him at 5 feet 9 inches tall and approximately 150 pounds. The Charley Project gives the same height but lists his weight as approximately 130 pounds, another discrepancy among public case records.

His identifying marks include a scar on the lower abdomen, a scar beneath or on his chin and a mole on the left side of his chin. The California DOJ says dental X-rays are not available.

Why the Case Remains Significant

Smith’s disappearance contains two especially important pieces of information that could still help investigators: his connection to the U.S. Navy and the disappearance of an identifiable automobile with a known California license plate.

Unlike cases in which a missing person’s vehicle is quickly located, Smith and his Volkswagen seemingly disappeared together. Determining what ultimately happened to vehicle HXJ 292 could therefore potentially answer questions about Smith’s fate as well.

More than five decades after Douglas Richard Smith disappeared from Mountain View, the publicly available record remains remarkably sparse. There is no confirmed destination, known final journey, publicly identified witness account explaining his disappearance or announced resolution.

Anyone with credible information should provide it directly to the Mountain View Police Department rather than attempting to investigate private individuals independently.