Decades have passed, and there’s still no clue as to what happened to man from south-central Kansas.
Larry Woods disappeared on May 18th, 1984, from Pratt. He owned a tree service company. According to case details with the U.S. Department of Justice, he said he was to see a man about a tree-trimming job in Turon, Kan., which is a small town about 25 miles north of Pratt.
At 9 a.m. that morning, Larry was seen at Sharon’s Conoco station in Turon in a 1981 Chevrolet pickup truck, as detailed in a Jan. 29, 2007, article in The Pratt Tribune. Later, his pickup truck was found east of town — just off highway K-61 in Reno County. The vehicle was thoroughly searched, and there was no sign of foul play.
“There were no drag marks. There were no signs of a struggle,” said Ray McGuire who was Pratt County Sheriff at the time of the disappearance, shared in the 2007 Tribune article. “There was no blood, no scrape marks, nothing as I remember it.”
Multiple agencies were brought in to assist with the case, including the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Pratt and Reno County law enforcement agencies. There were even aerial searches for evidence. Some believed Larry was in Texas.
“We couldn’t tie anything to anybody,” McGuire said in the article. “We did a lot of work in Pratt County but never got any leads. There were all kinds of rumors but nobody could be tied to the case.”
LARRY WOODS
Missing from: Pratt, Kan.
Missing since: May 19, 1984
Age when reported missing: 36
Height: 5’9’’
Weight: 170 pounds
Hair: Medium-length brown hair
Eyes: Green
Distinguishing features: Lion’s head tattoo on upper right arm; Devil’s head tattoo on upper left arm
Clothing: Baseball cap with “Woods Tree Service” on the front; blue jeans; light-colored shirt
If you have information that could help the case, call the Pratt County Sheriff’s Office at (620) 672-4133, or the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 296-4017 or by clicking here.
If you have a person you’d like for us to share a story about, please contact Annette Lawless at annettelawless@hotmail.com.
