DALLAS (Gray News) – The oldest missing persons case in Texas has finally been solved 52 years later.
It was back on January 14, 1973, when 16-year-old Norman Prater was reported missing to the Dallas Police Department.
Authorities in Texas have solved a missing persons cold case more than 50 years after the individual was last seen with friends in East Dallas.(Source: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
The 16-year-old was last seen walking with his friends.
Officials believed they made a breakthrough in July 1973 after an “unidentified white man was killed in a hit-and-run incident” on Highway 35 in the city of Rockport.
However, they ultimately decided that the two cases were unrelated, though the body of that victim remained unidentified for 52 years.
The Aransas County Medical Examiner’s Office discovered a new photo of the unidentified body and passed it on to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in late 2025.
That crucial piece of evidence ended up on Detective Ryan Dalby’s desk.
Dalby eventually established a connection between the unidentified hit-and-run victim and Prater.
Prater’s older brother in Lewisville was contacted and shown the photo. The 16-year-old was positively identified.
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