Overview

• Full name: Tom Ray Starkel
• Age at disappearance: 19
• Date of birth: July 15, 1960
• Last seen: December 5, 1979, approximately 10:00 p.m.
• Last known location: Leaving his girlfriend’s residence in Palmdale, California
• City and county: Palmdale, Los Angeles County, California
• Classification: Endangered missing person
• Current status: Unsolved; remains listed as missing
• Physical description: White male, blond hair, green eyes, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and 150 pounds
• Clothing: Tan sweater, brown corduroy pants, gold watch, and sneakers
• Investigating agency: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
• Official agency case number: 079124061
• Main circumstances: Starkel disappeared after leaving his girlfriend’s home. His car was recovered approximately two weeks later in another man’s possession, but investigators did not establish what happened to him.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Tom Ray Starkel: The Unsolved 1979 Disappearance of a 19-Year-Old in Palmdale, California

On December 5, 1979, 19-year-old Tom Ray Starkel left his girlfriend’s home in Palmdale, California, at approximately 10:00 p.m. He was believed to have returned to his apartment, but he was never heard from again.

Approximately two weeks later, police recovered his dark green Pontiac Firebird as another man drove it from Nevada into California. Inside the vehicle, investigators reportedly discovered Starkel’s jacket, paperwork transferring ownership of the car, and a handgun believed to have been recently fired.

The man driving the vehicle was detained and questioned but eventually released because investigators lacked sufficient evidence to connect him to Starkel’s disappearance.

More than four decades later, the disappearance remains unresolved. The circumstances surrounding the recovered vehicle continue to raise questions about what happened to Starkel after he left his girlfriend’s residence.

The California Department of Justice continues to list Starkel in its missing-person database.

Case Summary

• Full name: Tom Ray Starkel
• Age at disappearance: 19
• Date of birth: July 15, 1960
• Last seen: December 5, 1979, approximately 10:00 p.m.
• Last known location: Leaving his girlfriend’s residence in Palmdale, California
• City and county: Palmdale, Los Angeles County, California
• Classification: Endangered missing person
• Current status: Unsolved; remains listed as missing
• Physical description: White male, blond hair, green eyes, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and 150 pounds
• Clothing: Tan sweater, brown corduroy pants, gold watch, and sneakers
• Investigating agency: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
• Official agency case number: 079124061
• Main circumstances: Starkel disappeared after leaving his girlfriend’s home. His car was recovered approximately two weeks later in another man’s possession, but investigators did not establish what happened to him.

Sources: The Charley Project and California Department of Justice.

Background: Who Was Tom Ray Starkel?

Tom Ray Starkel was born on July 15, 1960. He grew up in California’s Antelope Valley region and graduated from Palmdale High School.

According to his profile maintained by The Charley Project, Starkel attended First Assembly of God Church, where his grandfather served as a pastor.

These details offer a limited but meaningful picture of his life before his disappearance. He was a young man with connections to his local community, school, church, and family.

At the time he vanished, Starkel was 19 years old and living in an apartment in the Palmdale area. He drove a dark green Pontiac Firebird displaying blue-colored Nevada license plates.

Publicly available accounts provide little additional verified information about his employment, personal plans, or activities during the days immediately preceding December 5, 1979. Those gaps should not be interpreted as evidence of suspicious behavior.

December 5, 1979: The Night Starkel Disappeared

The last reported sighting of Starkel occurred at approximately 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 5, 1979.

He was leaving his girlfriend’s home in Palmdale.

According to The Charley Project, investigators believed he subsequently arrived at his apartment. However, the available public account does not explain what evidence established that belief or whether anyone independently witnessed his arrival.

After that evening, there were no confirmed public reports of contact with Starkel.

He was reportedly wearing a tan sweater, brown corduroy pants, a gold watch, and sneakers, possibly size 7½.

His Pontiac Firebird would later become one of the most significant elements of the investigation.

The Initial Missing-Person Report

The Charley Project reports that authorities were notified of Starkel’s disappearance approximately three days after he was last seen, around December 8, 1979.

However, investigators reportedly did not visit his apartment until another three days had passed.

During the interval, Starkel’s mother had cleaned the apartment.

According to the case account, this cleaning potentially eliminated evidence that investigators might otherwise have examined.

There is no verified indication that Starkel’s mother intended to interfere with the investigation. The cleaning is significant because it may have complicated efforts to reconstruct his final movements.

The available public sources do not identify specific forensic evidence that was recovered from the apartment.

Source: Tom Ray Starkel – The Charley Project.

Investigation: The Recovery of Starkel’s Pontiac Firebird

Approximately two weeks after Starkel disappeared, authorities encountered his vehicle traveling from Nevada into California.

The dark green Pontiac Firebird was being driven by a man identified in The Charley Project’s account as Craig Moore.

Starkel was not in the vehicle.

The recovery introduced several important investigative questions: how Moore obtained the car, when he last encountered Starkel, and whether the vehicle contained evidence explaining the disappearance.

Evidence Reportedly Found in the Vehicle

The Charley Project describes three particularly important findings:

• Starkel’s jacket: Reportedly discovered inside the vehicle’s trunk.
• Vehicle ownership paperwork: The car’s pink slip reportedly contained a transfer of ownership from Starkel to Moore.
• A handgun: Reportedly found beneath the driver’s seat and described as having been fired recently.

These details are significant, but the public account does not establish that the handgun was used in a crime or that the ownership transfer was fraudulent or coerced.

It is also unclear whether investigators conducted handwriting comparisons, fingerprint examinations, ballistics testing, or other forensic examinations related to the recovered items.

The absence of publicly available test results does not establish that such testing never occurred.

Craig Moore’s Detention and Release

According to The Charley Project, Moore was arrested and held for approximately two weeks following the recovery of Starkel’s vehicle.

The case profile states that Moore gave investigators several different accounts during questioning.

He was eventually released because authorities lacked sufficient evidence linking him to Starkel’s disappearance.

The Charley Project describes Moore as the prime suspect in the case. However, that characterization comes from a secondary case profile; a current official law enforcement statement independently confirming his investigative status was not located.

Moore’s reported detention and designation as a suspect do not establish guilt. No verified public court record establishing a conviction in connection with Starkel’s disappearance was identified.

The publicly available accounts do not establish whether Moore had an ongoing personal relationship with Starkel, how the ownership paperwork was executed, or what explanation Moore gave for possessing the vehicle.

Source: The Charley Project case profile.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

The disappearance has several unexplained aspects. Nevertheless, it is important to distinguish evidence described in published case accounts from possible interpretations.

Was Starkel the Victim of Foul Play?

The recovery of his vehicle in another person’s possession, the discovery of his jacket in the trunk, and the reported presence of a recently fired handgun make foul play an understandable investigative concern.

However, these circumstances do not independently establish that Starkel was murdered.

No publicly verified discovery of his remains, determination of cause of death, or homicide charge was located.

His case should therefore continue to be described as an unresolved endangered missing-person investigation rather than a confirmed homicide.

What Happened to the Vehicle?

The ownership paperwork is one of the case’s most consequential unanswered questions.

Investigators would need to establish whether Starkel voluntarily transferred the car, whether the paperwork was authentic, and when the transfer occurred.

The public case summary does not resolve these issues.

The fact that another person possessed the car does not, by itself, explain Starkel’s whereabouts.

What Was the Significance of the Handgun?

The reported discovery of a recently fired handgun raises additional questions about its ownership, the timing of its use, and whether investigators could connect it to any criminal activity.

No publicly verified ballistics results or other forensic findings establish a connection between the firearm and harm to Starkel.

It would therefore be inaccurate to characterize the handgun as a confirmed murder weapon.

Did the Delay in Investigating the Apartment Affect the Case?

The reported delay between the initial missing-person notification and the apartment examination may have reduced opportunities to preserve potential evidence.

However, the available records do not establish which evidence, if any, was permanently lost or whether an earlier examination would have changed the outcome.

These questions remain unresolved in the publicly available case history.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates (2026)

As of October 19, 2026, Tom Ray Starkel remains listed in the California Department of Justice missing-person database.

The available records establish that his disappearance continues to be publicly documented, but they do not establish that investigators have recently recovered new evidence or identified a new suspect.

Historical Case-File Updates

The Doe Network’s archived update records provide two notable entries:

• 2015: An archived update references Starkel’s case, number 2322DMCA, and indicates changes involving forensic-information fields and the investigating agency’s case number. The archive mentions DNA and fingerprints, but it does not establish that new DNA testing produced a match or identification.
• March 1, 2018: The Doe Network recorded another update to Starkel’s case information. The archive does not identify a new investigative breakthrough.

These were database maintenance updates, not confirmed resolutions of the investigation.

Public Awareness in 2023

On February 23, 2023, the Just The Tip-Sters: True Crime Podcast published an episode titled TASTES LIKE WHERE IN THE WORLD IS TOM STARKEL? WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS…

The episode revisited Starkel’s disappearance and encouraged people with information to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

This was a public-awareness effort rather than an officially announced investigative development.

Source: Just The Tip-Sters podcast.

DNA, Genetic Genealogy, and Cold-Case Developments

Although the Doe Network’s historical archive references DNA and fingerprint information, the available documentation does not confirm whether investigators have recently performed additional DNA testing, forensic genetic genealogy, or a comprehensive cold-case reexamination.

No publicly confirmed recent developments were located involving:

• A new arrest, criminal charge, or conviction.
• The discovery or identification of Starkel’s remains.
• A confirmed forensic match resolving his disappearance.
• A newly announced suspect or officially released investigative findings.
• A confirmed resolution of the case.

These findings reflect the publicly accessible sources reviewed, not a direct confirmation from investigators that no additional work has occurred.

Conclusion: A Disappearance That Still Needs Answers

Tom Ray Starkel was only 19 years old when he disappeared from Palmdale on December 5, 1979.

What began as an unexplained absence developed into a troubling missing-person investigation after his Pontiac Firebird was recovered in another man’s possession.

The discovery of his jacket, the reported vehicle ownership transfer, and the handgun described in published case accounts remain important elements of the publicly documented circumstances.

Nevertheless, none of these details has publicly established exactly what happened to Starkel.

His disappearance has remained unresolved for nearly 47 years.

Someone may still possess information about Starkel’s final movements, the vehicle’s whereabouts during the two weeks after he vanished, or the circumstances surrounding its recovery.

Even information that initially seems insignificant could help investigators reconstruct events.

Anyone with credible information about Tom Ray Starkel’s disappearance is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at (562) 465-7816, referencing case number 079124061.

Information can also be submitted through the California Department of Justice’s missing-person hotline at 1-800-222-FIND (1-800-222-3463).

Starkel’s case deserves continued attention, careful reporting, and a resolution grounded in evidence.