Approximately 2,300 Americans are reported missing every single day. In 2024, Oklahoma had the highest rate of missing people at 16 missing per 100,000 residents, according to data collected by the National U.S. Missing Persons Database (NamUS).
This was followed by Arizona, which had a rate of 14.2. As of this past December, the state had 1,581 resolved missing person cases and 1,090 open cases.
The disappearance of Jason William Noble Saul, a teenager who went missing in 1997, is one of the unsolved mysteries.
In 1997, Jason was 17 years old, and on Thursday, August 14 of that year, he and his friend, Kenford J. Farley, went to a desert near Bullhead City, Arizona. The pair were reportedly searching for crystals.
Later in the afternoon, Jason and Kenford began heading home when their vehicle, an orange 1977 Dodge van, became “stuck” on a remote dirt road.
This pushed the teens to start walking toward Bullhead City, but after traveling one mile together, they reportedly split up. Jason was last seen at about 4:00 a.m. on Friday, August 15; meanwhile, Kenford made it to Bullhead Community Hospital by around 9:00 a.m.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office was notified of Jason’s disappearance at 12:00 p.m., and authorities launched a search with the help of volunteers and a DPS Ranger 33 helicopter. Yet, despite scouring the area until Saturday evening, no sign of Jason was recovered.
An August 1997 article published in Today’s News-Herald reported, “At about 5:00 p.m. Saturday, the search was suspended until authorities can gather more information, according to Mohave County Sheriff’s spokesperson Steven Johnson.”
Jason has never been seen or heard from again, and his case has gone unsolved for over 27 years. His family feared that he was murdered after he went missing, but investigators still don’t know the exact circumstances of his disappearance.
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At the time he vanished, Jason was five foot four, weighed 120 pounds, and had blonde hair and blue eyes. He also had a tattoo of a cross on his hand, as well as a tattoo of his nickname, “Lazy J,” on his abdomen. His other nicknames reportedly included “J” and “8 Ball.”
Jason was last seen wearing blue shorts, a black “muscle shirt” or tank top, and tire tread sandals.
The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children created an age-progressed photo showing what Jason might’ve looked like at age 41. He would be 44 years old today.
Anyone with information regarding Jason’s case is urged to contact the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 753-0753.
