Overview

Last seen: April 16, 1971
Location: Victorville, San Bernardino County, California
Age: 20
Intended destination: San Francisco, California
Circumstances: Michael told his family he was hitchhiking to San Francisco and expected to return within a few days. He never returned and has not been publicly confirmed as seen or heard from since.
Key identifier: Deformed right ear; blue eyes; strawberry-blond/blond hair; approximately 6’0″–6’1″ and 130–140 pounds.
Status: Missing; publicly available sources reviewed do not establish a homicide.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Michael Lee Pickering: The 1971 Disappearance of a 20-Year-Old Hitchhiker From Victorville, California

Michael Lee Pickering was 20 years old when he disappeared from Victorville, California, on April 16, 1971. More than five decades later, his whereabouts remain unknown, and publicly available missing-person databases continue to list his case. His disappearance is recorded in NamUs as MP26804 and by the Doe Network as 4939DMCA.

A Trip to San Francisco That Never Ended

On Friday, April 16, 1971, Michael told his family that he planned to hitchhike from Victorville to San Francisco. He expected the trip to be short and reportedly told his family he would return in a few days.

He never came home.

No confirmed public account has surfaced establishing that Michael reached San Francisco, identifying who may have given him a ride, or documenting a confirmed sighting after he left the Victorville area. His case therefore presents a particularly difficult investigative problem: the intended destination is known, but his actual route and how far he traveled remain uncertain.

Who Was Michael Lee Pickering?

Michael, who was also known by the nickname “Zappa,” was a white male with blue eyes and blond or strawberry-blond hair. Sources place him at approximately 6 feet to 6 feet 1 inch tall and 130 to 140 pounds when he disappeared. A particularly important identifying characteristic reported in secondary sources citing NamUs is a deformed right ear.

That distinctive ear could potentially be significant when comparing Michael with unidentified-person cases, particularly remains recovered before modern DNA identification became available.

Why Michael’s Hitchhiking Route Matters

Victorville is in San Bernardino County in Southern California, while Michael’s announced destination was San Francisco in Northern California. In 1971, a young traveler hitchhiking such a distance could have accepted rides from numerous strangers and changed vehicles several times.

Because the publicly available case information does not establish where Michael was last physically observed after announcing the trip, it would be speculative to assume that something happened to him in Victorville, along a particular highway, or in San Francisco.

His intended destination is therefore an investigative lead rather than proof of where he ultimately went.

A Little-Known Connection to a South Dakota Murder Trial

An unusual and potentially important part of Michael’s history predates his California disappearance.

Court records from South Dakota identify a Michael Pickering as the younger brother of Patrick Pickering and the prosecution’s principal witness in Patrick’s trial for the death of Lila Mae Scott. According to the South Dakota Supreme Court’s account, Michael initially gave police a statement in October 1970 implicating two friends, but subsequently changed his account and implicated his brother.

The court record also states that Michael could not initially be located when Patrick Pickering’s trial was scheduled for February 23, 1971. A material-witness warrant had been issued on January 25, and Michael was eventually arrested and incarcerated on March 29, 1971. The trial was postponed until the May 1971 term.

This chronology is striking because Michael Lee Pickering’s California missing-person record gives his disappearance date as April 16, 1971 — only 18 days after that March 29 arrest. The available court decisions establish the South Dakota witness history, while the missing-person databases establish the California disappearance. Publicly accessible sources reviewed for this article, however, do not establish that his disappearance resulted from the South Dakota case, and no such connection should be presented as fact.

Possible Matches and Online Theories

Over the years, amateur investigators have compared Michael with unidentified remains.

One Websleuths discussion considered whether Michael might have been an unidentified young male discovered near Coquille, Oregon, in 1971. Participants noted similarities but also significant discrepancies, including height and hair color. The discussion specifically noted Michael’s reported right-ear deformity as a potentially useful comparison point. That discussion was an unofficial crowdsourced comparison, not an identification.

Another Websleuths discussion proposed Michael as a possible comparison for an unidentified male found near Beckley, West Virginia, in July 1972. Again, this was a suggestion by forum users, not a confirmed investigative finding.

There has also been online speculation attempting to connect Michael’s disappearance to the Zodiac Killer because of the timing and his intended travel toward San Francisco. No reliable evidence found in the reviewed sources establishes Michael as a Zodiac victim. The Websleuths discussion itself contains users questioning the theory and acknowledging the large geographic area involved.

These theories can generate leads, but they should remain clearly separated from verified facts.

Latest Publicly Available Case Information

Michael’s disappearance remains represented in current missing-person resources. The Doe Network’s present chronological index lists 4939DMCA — M. Pickering, age 20, missing April 16, 1971.

The Doe Network first announced Michael Lee Pickering’s addition to its database in April 2016. Its update archive later records that his case information was updated on January 27, 2022.

A much more recent case article published in October 2025 continued to describe Michael as missing and reported that he had never been seen or heard from again.

No credible publicly accessible source located in the research for this article reports that Michael has been found, identified among unidentified remains, or that an arrest has been made in connection with his disappearance. Likewise, no verified public announcement located in this research describes a current suspect or establishes that Michael was the victim of homicide.

That distinction is important: Michael Lee Pickering is a missing person. His death has not been established by the sources reviewed here.

Very Brief Case Summary

Last seen: April 16, 1971
Location: Victorville, San Bernardino County, California
Age: 20
Intended destination: San Francisco, California
Circumstances: Michael told his family he was hitchhiking to San Francisco and expected to return within a few days. He never returned and has not been publicly confirmed as seen or heard from since.
Key identifier: Deformed right ear; blue eyes; strawberry-blond/blond hair; approximately 6’0″–6’1″ and 130–140 pounds.
Status: Missing; publicly available sources reviewed do not establish a homicide.