Overview

Last seen: September 23, 1975, at approximately 3:00 p.m.
Location: A grocery-store/Raley’s parking lot in Susanville, Lassen County, California.

Main circumstances: Seventeen-year-old John Mitchell “Mitch” Carroll was driven to the parking lot by his sister for what he reportedly believed was a meeting concerning a Forest Service job. He left his cigarettes in her car because he expected to return shortly. His sister saw him enter a white van, which appeared unusual to her because the Forest Service vehicles she knew were green. The van left, and Carroll was never heard from again. His case remains active and officially classified as a missing-person investigation.

Detailed Case Breakdown

John Mitchell “Mitch” Carroll: The 1975 Susanville, California Disappearance

John Mitchell “Mitch” Carroll was 17 years old when he disappeared from Susanville, California, on September 23, 1975. Nearly five decades later, the circumstances surrounding his disappearance remain unresolved, and authorities continue to classify him as a missing person.

Carroll was reportedly last seen at approximately 3:00 p.m. in the parking lot of a local grocery store in Susanville. His sister had driven him there because he did not have a vehicle of his own. According to accounts preserved by missing-person organizations, Carroll believed he was meeting someone connected with the U.S. Forest Service concerning a job.

The Mysterious Meeting in Susanville

Because Carroll apparently expected the meeting to be brief, he left his cigarettes behind in his sister’s car. That small detail later became significant to the story: Carroll was a smoker, and leaving the cigarettes suggested he anticipated returning shortly.

Instead, his sister watched him get into a white van.

The color of the vehicle reportedly caught her attention because the Forest Service vehicles familiar to her at the time were green rather than white. The white van then drove away with Carroll inside. He did not return, and his family never heard from him again.

What John Mitchell Carroll Looked Like

Carroll was born January 17, 1958. At the time he disappeared, he was approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds. He had blond hair and blue eyes and wore eyeglasses.

He also had a birthmark on his temple; The Charley Project specifies that it was on his left temple. Carroll was reportedly wearing a white T-shirt, Levi’s pants and boots when he disappeared. Dental X-rays are available for comparison with unidentified-person cases.

Was the Forest Service Meeting Genuine?

One of the central unanswered questions is whether the person Carroll expected to meet actually represented the U.S. Forest Service.

Publicly available case records establish what Carroll and his sister reportedly believed was happening, but they do not establish that the occupant or occupants of the white van were legitimate Forest Service personnel.

That distinction is important. The white van has long been one of the most striking elements of the case, but publicly available law-enforcement records do not identify its driver, provide a license plate number or name a suspect.

The possibility that Carroll was deliberately lured to the parking lot has been discussed by people following the case, but no publicly released evidence proves that theory. Likewise, there is no publicly announced evidence establishing that Carroll voluntarily disappeared. He remains officially listed as missing.

A Case That Nearly Disappeared From Public View

For decades, very little information about Carroll’s case was readily available online.

That changed significantly in 2025.

In May 2025, Lassen News published an article after a reader, George Ott, sought information about Carroll’s disappearance. Ott said his interest began after his mother discovered information about the old case and became concerned that Carroll might have essentially been forgotten.

The newspaper contacted authorities and subsequently added an important update: the Susanville Police Department checked its files and confirmed that Carroll’s case was still active and that he continued to be listed as a missing person.

Renewed Attention in 2025

The case received substantially more online visibility during the months that followed.

On July 19, 2025, The Doe Network added John Mitchell Carroll to its missing-person database under reference 6781DMCA. Its case information identifies Susanville Police Department as the investigating agency and lists police case number 11588.

A Websleuths discussion dedicated to Carroll’s disappearance was created in August 2025, helping circulate the case among people who research unresolved disappearances. That discussion also highlighted the absence of a publicly verified NamUs entry at that time.

The Charley Project subsequently added a case file for Carroll, with its page showing an August 13, 2025 update. It classifies him as an endangered missing person and repeats the account of his sister watching him leave in the white van.

California’s Department of Justice also lists Carroll in its missing-person system. He appeared in the state’s July-September 2025 Missing Persons Quarterly Bulletin with Susanville Police Department case number 11588.

Latest Investigation Information

The most important recent official development remains the Susanville Police Department’s 2025 confirmation that the investigation is still active.

California Department of Justice records continue to list John Mitchell Carroll as missing and identify Susanville Police Department as the reporting agency. The available state record lists September 23, 1975 as his last-contact date and case number 11588.

No publicly available source located for this review announces an arrest, publicly identifies a suspect, reports the recovery of Carroll’s remains or states that authorities have determined exactly what happened to him.

More than 50 years after he entered the white van, the central questions remain the same: Who was driving it? Was the promised Forest Service opportunity genuine? Where was Carroll taken after leaving the parking lot? And did anyone else see the van or its occupants that afternoon?

Why the White Van Remains Important

The vehicle is potentially the strongest publicly known investigative clue.

Carroll’s sister was apparently the last known person to see him before he disappeared, and her account placed him entering a white van. Unfortunately, publicly available case summaries provide no license plate, make, model, driver’s description or other identifying information about the vehicle.

Someone who lived in Susanville or Lassen County in 1975 might nevertheless remember a person using a white van, someone claiming connections to Forest Service employment or conversations surrounding Carroll’s disappearance.

Even information that appeared insignificant decades ago could potentially have value when combined with surviving records.

More Than 50 Years Without Answers

John Mitchell Carroll would now be an older adult. His disappearance has outlived many of the people who originally knew the circumstances surrounding it, making preservation and circulation of the surviving information increasingly important.

His case illustrates another challenge faced by families of people who disappeared before modern national missing-person databases, digital records and DNA technology became commonplace. Cases could remain locally documented while receiving little attention beyond the community where the person disappeared.

Carroll’s case received a notable resurgence of public attention in 2025, but renewed awareness has not yet produced a publicly announced resolution.

The Susanville Police Department remains the investigating agency. Anyone with first-hand information about John Mitchell “Mitch” Carroll, the white van, the purported Forest Service meeting, or events surrounding his disappearance should provide that information directly to law enforcement.