Welcome to Mysteries of the Missing, a podcast and blog about missing person's cases. You can find my podcast, my blog, and my social media pages on my Linktree at: https://linktr.ee/MysteriesoftheMissing.
Keep in mind that I am only reporting the events of what have happened, per my research through various media outlets. I’m not trained in any way in true crime. Instead, I'm a published author who loves to blog. Also, I’m solely a human being that’s trying to do my part to get the message of the story of Byron Eric Page (aka "Eric") out there so that one day, hopefully, he may be found, and his case may be solved. Join me as I dive into the last day that people saw Eric and what happened after he was last seen.
It was 1993. On January 1, Czechoslovakia disappeared from the map, separating into the Czech Republic and Slovakia; and on December 22, the South African Parliament approved a new constitution, ending the era of apartheid. For that accomplishment, Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk were the recipients of 1993's Nobel Peace Prize.
In American politics, Bill Clinton was inaugurated for his first term as President. His first year had both scandals—Travelgate, Troopergate, and Whitewater—and significant achievements—the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Brady Bill, and the negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Clinton and his Attorney General, Janet Reno, were sharply criticized after a two-month siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, ended with a massive fire in which 80 people were killed. And in Congress, Senators Barbara Mikuski and Carol Moseley Braun wore pantsuits onto the Senate floor in a protest of the Senate's dress code, which required women to wear skirts or dresses; the dress code was quickly changed.
During 1993, River Phoenix, Thurgood Marshall, and Andre the Giant passed away. The best movie of 1993, at least according to the Academy Awards, was Schindler's List, which was also a popular success; it finished fourth on the year's box-office list, behind Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire, and The Fugitive. Making their movie debuts in 1993: Renee Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, Anna Paquin, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Ryan Reynolds. The biggest new video games were the elaborate fantasy Myst and the first-person shooter Doom. The first "Got milk?" commercials aired. The crimes committed against Rodney King by the L.A. Police Department had just happened two years prior and the responsive L.A. Riots were only a year before 1993.
The North Hollywood Shootout happened between two bank robbers and L.A. police officers, ending in 20 people injured (12 officers and 8 civilians).
And that year, in 1993, Byron "Eric" Page went missing.
Byron "Eric" Page was born on September 16, 1974. He loved music, loved life, and was looking forward to attending one of many colleges that had accepted him in California. Eric was also an excellent high school student with perfect attendance. He had played soccer since he was a kid and he wanted to be a writer (just like I did when I was younger, and I now am). Though he tried out for football during his sophomore year of high school, Eric eventually returned to soccer. Comic book collecting was something Eric loved to do.
This kid was also very smart -- he scored in the top 6% of African Americans who took the PSAT's. This amazing test score landed him an academic scholarship for college. Also, Eric was a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist. He mentioned wanting to be a camp counselor at the YMCA, which told me he has a heart of gold.
Life was great for Eric. He had many things going on for him.
On the day he went missing (January 29, 1992), Eric was 17 years old. He had plans to visit a music warehouse and video store in North Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. In fact, Eric was a consistent visitor at this facility. Many employees remember seeing him frequently.
The music store was twenty miles from where Eric lived. I don't have the name of the music store, as it was not mentioned in any of the resources I found. Eric was taking the bus to the store that day, as he did not have his driver's license yet (but he was planning on getting it and had even practiced driving with his mother that week). That day, the store employees said they did not see Eric come in. That means Eric went missing on the way to the store.
Eric's clothes, treasured comic books and the money he saved from a recent ski trip were left behind at home when he went missing. Also, Eric didn't take anything with him on this trip to the music store.
Where did he go? Did he leave with someone that he encountered on the bus, and they hurt him? Was he attacked on the way to the store? Was he stressed out and uncertain about his future, leading him to commit suicide or disappear to start a new life? What happened to Eric?
After Eric's mother came home from her job as a nurse, she discovered that the house was empty. Eric wasn't there. When she called friends, one said that they had seen Eric at the bus station. At 7 pm, Eric's mom and dad called the L.A. Police and they were told "nothing could be done for 24 hours."
This happens a lot. Too much. The first 48 hours is important in the ability to find missing people, and the L.A. Police Department failed this family on this factor, in my opinion.
Eric never indicated that he wanted to leave home, as his life was happy. Therefore, the police and the family do not think he left on his own volition. The police believe foul play was involved.
It was the family who drove around L.A. looking for Eric in the early hours after he disappeared, not the police. The family printed and handed out flyers, not the police. The family ran missing person's ads in the paper for months, not the police. The family called every number in Eric's phone book, not the police. Again, the city's officers failed the family in this situation as well.
What are police officers for if they are not going to help family and friends find missing people? Why do the people have to do the job of looking for their loved ones who have disappeared? What are cops being paid for?
If you know me, you know that I have an opinion, and here it is: Something bad happened to Eric either at the bus station or on the way to the music store. He was taken against his will, hurt in some way, or killed by someone else. I don't know if it was a stranger or not, but someone did something to this young man. He had everything going for him, and I can't see someone walking away from that, especially since he was on route to one of his favorite places.
This was 1993. The camera had been around for a long time by this year, including CCTV (which has been around since 1949 in America). However, the quality of security camera's footage wasn't what it is today, 31 years later. Still, did the police and/or Eric's parents look at footage of any cameras nearby the bus stop to see if they could spot Eric? I wasn't able to find this information.
What I did find was that the police don't have much on Eric's disappearance. This isn't a surprise to me, as almost every case I have covered on missing BIPOC people lacks the sufficient amount of information to help find them. Also, the family was doing all of the work to find Eric.
The Doe Network stated that the jacket color that Eric was wearing was similar to what the gang The Crips wear: blue. Could Eric have been mistaken for a gang member by a rival gang? This is just speculation, based on a post on Eric's Facebook page. This post also mentions the police brutality and racial profiling of the L.A. Police Department in the 1990's, even going so far as to state that "One police abuse victim stated they would pick up rival gang members, rough them up and then dump in their rival gang member's territory which would lead them to get attacked. With gang injunction lists, they have had a free reign to do so." Could the police have picked up Eric and dropped him in a gang's territory, thus leading to his demise? Again, this is just a theory, but it fits into what was happening in Los Angeles in the early 1990's.
In June 1993 (about seven months after Eric went missing), Soul Asylum featured Eric (along with many other missing teenagers) in their Runaway Train music video. You can see Eric's photo and information on the video at 1:17-1:18.
At the time of his disappearance on January 29, 1992, Eric was 18 years old, 5'8", 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a blue and white jacket, blue baseball cap, and black pants. His DNA and Dental X-Rays are available. There are no known distinguishing marks on him. Today, he would be 49 years old.
If you have any information on the disappearance of Eric, please contact Detective Tamar Abraham at the Los Angelos Sheriffs Department at (323) 890-5500 and reference case number 920042627, or you may email me at mysteriesofthemissing2023@gmail.com. Here are his case file numbers: NamUs Case Number: 7311
NCIC Case Number: M-748591513
NCMEC Case Number: 766160
Byron aka "Eric," if you're out there, know that your family is still posting about you on their Facebook page that they created for you. You're missed, and they're looking for you. You can come home...they love you, it's evident by the diligent work they did to try to find you. If you're not with us on this earth, I pray that the people who ended your life may be brought to justice, and that you may be found so that your family can be brought some measure of closure. I hope you find or have found peace.
This has been another episode of Mysteries of the Missing. You may find me on Instagram and Tiktok as @mysteriesofthemissing, on Facebook under the page name of "Mysteries of the Missing Blog," or by the links on my linktree at https://linktr.ee/MysteriesoftheMissing.
Until next time, stay safe.
Byron "Eric" Page: 1993, age 17 Byron "Eric" Page: 2023, age 49
Resources:
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki Fandom Page on Eric: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Byron_Page
Eric's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066924656624
California Attorney General's Page on Eric: https://oag.ca.gov/missing/person/byron-eric-page?fbclid=IwAR0GRM5PvFr6v6LDAYE-guC7U7xv32crXiQ19V98NcRF85pYyXJU90rrTsc
Doe Network about Eric: https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/415dmca.html?fbclid=IwAR2BQpraZetvh8p9yy1-7xE2j5mhKR6rl7pismz80q08f-KRnPViA9sWQiM
Los Angelos Public Library: https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/look-back-1993#:~:text=Here%20in%20Los%20Angeles%2C%20Richard,Union%20Station%20to%20MacArthur%20Park.
Comments