Overview

Full name: Paul Joseph Fuchs Jr.

Age at disappearance: 19

Date of birth: March 10, 1957

Date missing: December 12, 1976, according to his missing-person profile; historical newspaper coverage gives December 10, 1976.

Last known location: Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California

Residence: Redondo Avenue, Long Beach

Case classification: Endangered Missing

Current status: Missing; disappearance remains unsolved

Primary investigating agency: Long Beach Police Department

Potential connection: Convicted serial killer Randy Steven Kraft, identified by investigators as a suspected perpetrator, but not charged in Paul’s case.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Paul Joseph Fuchs Jr.: The Unsolved 1976 Disappearance in Long Beach, California, and the Randy Kraft Investigation

Nearly five decades after 19-year-old Paul Joseph Fuchs Jr. vanished from Long Beach, California, his disappearance remains unresolved. What began as an ordinary evening in December 1976 eventually became connected to one of Southern California’s most notorious serial murder investigations.

Paul left his family’s home without his wallet and never returned. Years later, investigators told his parents they believed he may have been a victim of convicted serial killer Randy Kraft. Despite that suspicion, Paul’s remains have never been recovered, and no one has been convicted or charged specifically in connection with his disappearance.

His case remains a painful example of the uncertainty families experience when a missing loved one’s fate cannot be conclusively established.

Case Summary

• Full name: Paul Joseph Fuchs Jr.
• Age at disappearance: 19
• Date of birth: March 10, 1957
• Date missing: December 12, 1976, according to his missing-person profile; historical newspaper coverage gives December 10, 1976.
• Last known location: Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California
• Residence: Redondo Avenue, Long Beach
• Case classification: Endangered Missing
• Current status: Missing; disappearance remains unsolved
• Primary investigating agency: Long Beach Police Department
• Potential connection: Convicted serial killer Randy Steven Kraft, identified by investigators as a suspected perpetrator, but not charged in Paul’s case.

Circumstances: Paul left his family home to meet friends and was reportedly last seen at Ripples Bar in Long Beach with an unidentified man. His wallet remained at home, and his family never heard from him again. Investigators subsequently examined a possible connection to Randy Kraft, but that theory has not resulted in a criminal conviction in Paul’s case.

Sources: The Charley Project and Los Angeles Times, October 9, 1988.

Paul Fuchs Jr.’s Background and Family Life

Paul Joseph Fuchs Jr., affectionately called “Young Paul” by his family, was the youngest of four sons. He lived with his parents, Paul and Elizabeth Fuchs, and three older brothers in a home on Redondo Avenue in Long Beach.

His family had Hungarian roots, and Paul had visited relatives in Hungary the year before his disappearance. His parents remembered him as an independent, creative young man with a close connection to his family.

Paul graduated from Wilson High School and was working various jobs, including parking cars, while considering his future. His mother described him as a talented artist who was also capable of cooking, sewing, and handling household tasks.

Those who knew him emphasized his habit of telling family members where he was going and when he expected to return. According to the family’s account in the Los Angeles Times, Paul sometimes left handwritten notes explaining where he could be found.

That pattern of communication would become especially important after he vanished. His parents did not believe that leaving without contact was consistent with his character.

At the time he disappeared, Paul was approximately 6 feet 3 inches to 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed between 160 and 170 pounds. He had light brown hair, blue eyes, and a Fu Manchu-style mustache. His reported clothing included blue jeans and light brown leather shoes, and he frequently wore jewelry.

These identifying details are preserved in Paul’s missing-person profile.

The Night Paul Disappeared in December 1976

Paul’s disappearance began with a seemingly ordinary family meal.

According to an October 9, 1988, investigation published by the Los Angeles Times, Paul helped prepare the table for a Sunday-style family dinner featuring chicken paprikas, a Hungarian dish his family enjoyed. Eager to leave and meet friends, he ate before the rest of his family.

He then left the family home after a car arrived to pick him up.

In his hurry, Paul left his wallet behind.

The family would never see him again.

Conflicting dates in the historical record

There is an important discrepancy in the available documentation.

The Charley Project lists December 12, 1976, as Paul’s missing date. However, the original 1988 Los Angeles Times article identifies December 10, 1976, as the day he left home.

The publicly accessible sources reviewed do not establish why these dates differ. December 12 is used as the listed missing-person date, while December 10 is preserved as the date reported in the historical newspaper account. Neither should be silently substituted for the other.

The reported sighting at Ripples Bar

Investigators later learned that Paul had reportedly been seen at Ripples Bar in Long Beach.

According to the Charley Project, he was in the company of an unfamiliar man whose appearance reportedly resembled Randy Kraft.

Ripples became a significant location in the investigation because Kraft was known to frequent the establishment.

The available accounts do not conclusively establish the unidentified man’s identity or what happened after Paul was reportedly seen at the bar.

There is also no publicly verified account establishing precisely where Paul went after that sighting.

Sources: Los Angeles Times investigation and Charley Project case details.

Investigation History and Evidence

The family’s initial search

After Paul failed to return home, his parents attempted to locate him through friends and acquaintances.

They reviewed names in his address book and contacted people who might have known where he had gone. These efforts produced no confirmed information explaining his disappearance.

His wallet remained at home, and the family reported that no withdrawals were made from his bank account afterward.

These circumstances raised serious concerns that Paul had not voluntarily disappeared.

His parents also encountered difficulties with the initial police response.

In the 1988 Los Angeles Times report, the family said Long Beach police had initially treated Paul as a runaway. His parents strongly disagreed with that assessment, emphasizing his close relationship with them and his consistent habit of maintaining contact.

This description reflects the family’s historical account of the investigation, not a verified characterization of the department’s current handling of the case.

The missed court appearance

Before his disappearance, Paul had received a misdemeanor citation involving underage drinking.

He was scheduled to appear in court in San Pedro but did not attend. A warrant was subsequently issued after he failed to appear.

His parents reportedly went to the courthouse over the following days, hoping he might arrive.

He never did.

The missed appearance is relevant because it provided another documented instance of Paul failing to carry out an expected obligation. It does not, by itself, establish what happened to him or prove any particular theory about his disappearance.

The 1983 connection to Randy Kraft

A major development occurred in 1983, when investigators began associating Paul’s disappearance with Randy Steven Kraft.

Kraft was arrested in May 1983 and became the focus of an extensive investigation into the killings of young men.

In the fall of 1983, two Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigators visited Paul’s parents. According to the Los Angeles Times, the investigators conveyed the district attorney’s belief that Paul had been killed by Kraft.

This was a significant investigative assessment, but it was not the same as a proven homicide in Paul’s individual case.

The family was told about possible connections involving a coded list recovered from Kraft’s vehicle. Investigators reportedly believed that one entry referred to Paul.

The same investigation also identified the word “Ripples” on Kraft’s list, connecting it to the Long Beach bar where Paul had reportedly last been seen.

The precise meaning of the entries and the full evidentiary basis for associating them with Paul have not been established in the public materials reviewed.

Randy Kraft’s conviction

In 1989, Kraft was convicted of 16 murders.

His crimes involved young male victims, and investigators suspected he was responsible for additional deaths beyond those resulting in convictions.

Paul was among the individuals investigators considered possible additional victims.

However, Paul Fuchs Jr. was not one of the 16 murder victims for whom Kraft was convicted, and the publicly available case information does not establish that Kraft was criminally charged with his disappearance or presumed death.

The distinction is essential: investigators’ suspicions may be substantial without constituting a judicial finding that a particular missing person was murdered.

Sources: Fate of Alleged Kraft Victim Torments Kin and Paul Fuchs case profile.

Physical Evidence and Forensic Questions

The publicly documented evidence surrounding Paul’s disappearance is limited.

The most significant reported information includes his abandoned wallet, the absence of subsequent bank withdrawals, the reported Ripples Bar sighting, and the possible connections investigators identified in Kraft’s coded list.

None of these publicly described circumstances independently establishes Paul’s death or identifies the person responsible for his disappearance.

Paul’s remains have not been recovered, according to the available missing-person information.

No publicly confirmed DNA identification, genetic genealogy match, forensic identification of remains, or newly announced physical evidence directly resolving Paul’s case was located in the sources reviewed.

California’s Department of Justice maintains a Missing Persons DNA Program that can compare family reference DNA and other relevant samples against unidentified remains. The existence of that program does not establish that Paul’s case has undergone a particular DNA analysis or that a match has been found.

Further information about the program is available through the California Department of Justice Missing Persons Section.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

Theory: Paul was a victim of Randy Kraft

The most prominent investigative theory is that Paul was killed by Randy Kraft.

The theory is based on several reported circumstances: Kraft’s connection to Ripples Bar, the unidentified man seen with Paul, the coded list associated with Kraft, and the assessment communicated to Paul’s family by investigators in 1983.

These connections provide reasons for investigators to consider Kraft, but they do not conclusively establish that he encountered Paul or caused his disappearance.

No publicly verified confession, recovery of Paul’s remains, or case-specific conviction establishes the theory as fact.

Family belief: Paul would not have disappeared voluntarily

Paul’s parents consistently challenged the idea that their son had intentionally abandoned his family.

They cited his affectionate relationship with relatives, his habit of leaving notes, and his tendency to communicate his plans.

Their account is important testimony about Paul’s personality and routine. Nevertheless, family belief alone cannot establish the circumstances of a disappearance.

Questions that remain unanswered

Several fundamental questions remain unresolved:

• Who drove Paul away from his family home?
• Was the unidentified man at Ripples Bar Randy Kraft or someone else?
• What happened to Paul after his reported appearance at the bar?
• What evidence led investigators to associate a particular coded-list entry with him?
• Are any additional witness statements, forensic materials, or investigative records still available?
• Could future forensic comparisons help establish his fate?

These are unresolved investigative questions, not claims that new evidence or witnesses have emerged.

The public discussion of Paul’s disappearance also continues in historical true-crime communities, including Websleuths’ Paul Fuchs discussion. Such discussions can help preserve awareness, but they are not substitutes for official evidence.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates — October 2026

As of October 18, 2026, no publicly confirmed recent investigative breakthrough was located in Paul Joseph Fuchs Jr.’s disappearance.

The latest publicly available information reviewed continues to describe him as missing, with Randy Kraft remaining the principal publicly reported investigative connection.

February 26, 2016: Missing-person profile updated

The Charley Project identifies February 26, 2016, as the date of its last substantive case-profile update.

The profile continues to classify Paul as endangered missing and reports that no one has been charged in connection with his disappearance.

The profile’s update date is not evidence that investigators discovered new information in 2016.

April 11, 2026: Community awareness discussion

A case-specific discussion was opened on Websleuths on April 11, 2026, referencing Paul’s disappearance and existing missing-person information.

This demonstrates continued public interest in the case but does not constitute a law enforcement announcement, a newly identified witness, or an investigative breakthrough.

The discussion is available at Websleuths’ Paul Fuchs case thread.

Current investigative status

No verified recent announcement was located concerning an arrest, new criminal charge, identification of Paul’s remains, DNA match, genetic genealogy breakthrough, or official resolution of his disappearance.

No publicly verified case-specific NamUs identification number, NCMEC number, NCIC number, or police report number was established during this research. Although the Charley Project cites NamUs among its information sources, that does not independently verify a particular NamUs record number.

The absence of public announcements does not necessarily mean that investigators have stopped working on the case. Police may retain evidence, conduct reviews, or pursue information without releasing those activities publicly.

Conclusion: Remembering Paul Joseph Fuchs Jr.

Paul Joseph Fuchs Jr. was a young man with artistic talent, a close relationship with his family, and a future he had only begun to explore.

His disappearance in Long Beach in December 1976 left his parents and brothers without answers. Years later, the possible connection to Randy Kraft gave investigators a troubling theory, but it did not provide his family with a definitive resolution.

Paul deserves to be remembered as more than a possible victim of a notorious serial killer. His story is also about a family that searched for him, questioned the early assumptions surrounding his disappearance, and continued hoping for answers.

Anyone with credible information about Paul’s movements in December 1976, the person who picked him up from his family’s home, or his reported appearance at Ripples Bar is encouraged to contact the Long Beach Police Department.

The department’s current Missing Persons Investigations telephone number is 562-570-7246, and its 24-hour police dispatch number is 562-435-6711. Information can also be reported through the California Department of Justice’s missing-person hotline at 1-800-222-3463.

Even decades later, reliable information may help investigators clarify what happened to Paul and provide answers to those who remember him.