Name: William Francis Hoag
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: May 10, 1967
Location Last Seen: Hannibal, Marion County, Missouri
Date of Birth: October 4, 1955
Age: 11 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: "5'5"
Weight: 80 lbs.
Hair Color: Red/Auburn; crew cut
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Billy; Bill
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar under right arm in the shape of a V from a picket fence incident; fair skin with freckles
Dentals: Unavailable
Fingerprints: Unavailable
DNA: Unavailable
Clothing: White t-shirt; blue jeans.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: 1 scout shovel; flashlights; homemade lantern
Billy disappeared with his brother, Joel Hoag , and a friend, Edwin "Craig" Dowell . The boys were last seen on the south side of Hannibal, Missouri between 4:20 and 5:00 p.m. They were carrying shovels and a flashlight, and said they were going to explore Murphy's Cave, near the Highway 79 construction project. The three boys have never been heard from again.
That day, the construction work resulted in a cave-in at Murphy’s Cave. Because of the circumstances, authorities theorized the three boys were trapped inside the cave when it collapsed and couldn't get out. Extensive search-and-rescue efforts turned up no sign of any of them, however. In 2006, construction workers building a new elementary school on Highway 79 found a small cave about 50 feet long. Authorities checked it to see if the Hoag brothers or Craig were there, but they didn't find anything. Because nothing was ever found, there's speculation that the children weren't lost in the cave and something else caused their disappearances.
A memorial marker for the boys has been placed in the vicinity of the cave. Billy, as described by one of his sisters to a reporter in 1967, likes to do everything his big brother Joey likes to do.
Agency Name: Hannibal Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Lieutenant John Zerbonia
Agency Phone Number: 573-221-0987
Agency E-Mail: Unknown
Agency Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: N/A
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - May 12, 1967
ABC News 7, KHQA
Added: 4/26/2016; Last Updated: 3/10/22 - By: hb
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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