Two years after James “Rick” Larabee was last seen or heard from, his car was sold in Georgia. Where is he and what happened to him?
Two years after James “Rick” Larabee was last seen or heard from, his car was sold in Georgia. Where is he and what happened to him?
Summary of Post
A link to his card can be found below:
Sources:
https://osbi.ok.gov/cold-case/james-rick-larabee
https://charleyproject.org/case/james-richard-larabee
https://www.kxii.com/content/news/Davis-Police-investigate-missing-persons-case--477983993.html
https://kfor.com/news/mans-disappearance-remains-a-mystery-six-years-later/ Rick's case is featured in the OSBI Cold Case Playing Cards distributed to prisoners in the ODOC system. The delay in him being reported missing is definitely a roadblock, as the sale of the vehicle would have been linked to him right away. He could have simply changed his mind about walking away, or possibly made this decision later after running out of funds from his 401k. This is not quite the standard age one can begin drawing such disbursements, however, different circumstances may allow one to retire early without being penalized on disbursements. After he was reported missing, it was discovered that Rick had apparently cashed out his 401k shortly before his initial disappearance. I could not find information about what kind of car he drove or the circumstances of the 2015 sale.
James "Rick" Larabee attended a class reunion in Davis, Oklahoma in late September of 2013. A few days later on October 3rd, his sister received a text message that stated he was going to Northwest Oklahoma for nine days, and would then return home to Texas. (ETA: Davis is is far southern OK, NOT in Northwest OK.) That is the last contact anyone in his family had with him, but he would not be reported missing until more than four years later in January of 2018. Apparently there was a misunderstanding and it was believed he had already been reported.
After he was reported missing, it was discovered that Rick had apparently cashed out his 401k shortly before his initial disappearance. Investigators also learned that his car had been sold in Georgia in April 2015. That is almost two years after his family last heard from him. His Texas issued driver's license expired in 2016 and was not renewed.
That concludes all of the information available in Rick's case. I could not find information about what kind of car he drove or the circumstances of the 2015 sale. I also could not find any information about what kind of career he had. As far as his 401k goes, he was only 53 at the time of his disappearance. This is not quite the standard age one can begin drawing such disbursements, however, different circumstances may allow one to retire early without being penalized on disbursements.
The delay in him being reported missing is definitely a roadblock, as the sale of the vehicle would have been linked to him right away.
Possibilities:
He met up with someone who later killed him, stole his money, and sold his vehicle. He could be a John Doe in Oklahoma or any of it's surrounding states, or any state between Oklahoma and Georgia, or his remains have not been found yet.
He walked away from his life and has assumed a new identity. He could have used the funds from his 401k to sustain him for awhile, assuming it was a substantial amount. (It is not known how much he received from his 401k.)
He decided to walk away from his life and then committed suicide. He could have simply changed his mind about walking away, or possibly made this decision later after running out of funds from his 401k.
What do you think happened to Rick Larabee? How do you think his car ended up in Georgia?
Rick's case is featured in the OSBI Cold Case Playing Cards distributed to prisoners in the ODOC system. A link to his card can be found below:
Sources:
https://osbi.ok.gov/cold-case/james-rick-larabee
https://charleyproject.org/case/james-richard-larabee
https://www.kxii.com/content/news/Davis-Police-investigate-missing-persons-case--477983993.html
https://kfor.com/news/mans-disappearance-remains-a-mystery-six-years-later/