Overview

Last seen: December 22, 1973
Location: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
Age: 31
Also known as: Larry Jones
Circumstances: Jones disappeared under circumstances that remain largely undocumented publicly. His vehicle was later located abandoned, and he has never been heard from again. No publicly announced resolution, confirmed homicide finding, arrest, or identification of Jones’s remains was located during a review of currently available sources.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Gladys Jones Missing Person Case: Disappearance From Los Angeles, California in 1973

Gladys Jones, also known as Larry Jones, was 31 years old when he disappeared from Los Angeles County, California, on December 22, 1973. More than five decades later, his disappearance remains unresolved, with remarkably few details about what happened before or after he vanished.

Jones is classified as an endangered missing person. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department remains the law-enforcement agency associated with the case, and his record continues to appear in the California Department of Justice missing-person database.

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: December 22, 1973
Location: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
Age: 31
Also known as: Larry Jones
Circumstances: Jones disappeared under circumstances that remain largely undocumented publicly. His vehicle was later located abandoned, and he has never been heard from again. No publicly announced resolution, confirmed homicide finding, arrest, or identification of Jones’s remains was located during a review of currently available sources.

Who Was Gladys “Larry” Jones?

Gladys Jones was born May 2, 1942. Despite a first name commonly associated with women, official records identify Jones as male. He was Black, approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and 142 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Jones was reportedly wearing a red shirt and black pants when he disappeared. Public records also indicate that he may have gone by the first name Larry.

There is very little publicly available information about Jones’s personal life, relatives, employment, relationships, or what he may have been doing immediately before his disappearance. That absence of background information has made the case particularly difficult for members of the public to research.

The December 22, 1973 Disappearance

Jones was last known to be in Los Angeles County on December 22, 1973. Available public records do not provide a specific street address, business, residence, intersection, or neighborhood where he was last seen.

They also do not publicly identify the person who last saw him, what time he was last observed, where he was going, or whether anything unusual had happened before his disappearance.

What is known is that Jones vanished and was never heard from again. At some point afterward, investigators located his abandoned vehicle. Neither the California Department of Justice nor the Charley Project provides public details concerning where the vehicle was discovered, when it was recovered, what condition it was in, or whether investigators found evidence inside it.

The abandoned vehicle remains one of the most significant publicly known facts in the case.

Questions Surrounding the Abandoned Vehicle

Because so little information has been released, Jones’s vehicle raises several unanswered questions.

It is not publicly known whether the vehicle was abandoned near his last known location or somewhere considerably farther away. Available records do not say whether the doors were locked, whether Jones’s belongings were inside, whether the vehicle showed evidence of damage, or whether witnesses reported seeing another person with it.

There is likewise no public information indicating whether investigators believed Jones voluntarily left the vehicle or whether its discovery caused authorities to suspect foul play.

Without those details, it is impossible to determine from public records alone what significance investigators placed on the vehicle.

More Than 50 Years Without Answers

Jones’s case eventually became part of several national and state missing-person resources.

A Websleuths discussion citing an earlier NamUs record states that a NamUs case was created on February 20, 2016. The case has also been maintained by the Doe Network under identification number 1659DMCA.

The California Department of Justice continues to list Jones as missing and identifies the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as the reporting agency. Its public record gives case number 732408203 and the Sheriff’s Department contact number as 323-890-5500.

Latest Public Case Information

The most notable recent public activity located during this review was renewed awareness of Jones’s disappearance in February 2026, when the Doe Network community featured his case.

That February 2026 case feature identifies NamUs #32628, Doe Network case 1659DMCA, and a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department case reference formatted as 073-24082-0370-400. It continues to direct information to the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau/Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500.

The California Department of Justice’s active listing uses the shorter case number 732408203. These appear to be differently formatted references associated with the same disappearance rather than separate cases.

No public announcement located through September 2026 reports that Jones has been found, that remains have been identified as his, that a suspect has been named, or that anyone has been charged in connection with his disappearance.

One point should be treated cautiously: the California Department of Justice currently states that dental X-rays are not available, while the February 2026 Doe Network community feature reports that dental information, fingerprints and DNA are available. Because those public sources conflict, the status of Jones’s forensic identifiers should be confirmed directly with investigators rather than assumed from either secondary listing.

What Happened to Gladys Jones?

More than half a century after Gladys “Larry” Jones disappeared from Los Angeles, publicly available records still provide only the basic outline of his case: a 31-year-old man vanished on December 22, 1973, his vehicle was subsequently found abandoned, and he was never heard from again.

The lack of publicly documented circumstances leaves numerous possibilities open, but there is not enough verified evidence in the public record to responsibly state what happened to him.

Jones remains listed as missing. Anyone with information about his disappearance, the circumstances surrounding his abandoned vehicle, or his whereabouts after December 22, 1973 should contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at 323-890-5500.