Right: Age-Progressed by NCMEC to age 56 years; 60 years; 65 years
Right: Age-Progressed by NCMEC to age 56 years; 60 years; 65 years
Name: Steven Norman Chait
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: March 13, 1972
Location Last Seen: New York, New York County, New York
Date of Birth: May 9, 1951
Age: 20 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 155 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Mustache and beard at time of disappearance; wears glasses; several scars around left eye
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Unavailable
DNA: Available
Clothing: Winter jacket, knit hat, and scarf
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Steven was a student at Columbia University in New York when he disappeared in 1972. The last time his mother saw him, he was home for the weekend, asleep in the bedroom he used to share with his brother. His mother closed the door gently and left with her husband for a party on Long Island.
Steven went back to Furnald Hall on campus that night and spent much of the next morning lying in bed, listening to music, his roommate said. Then he pulled on a jacket, a knit hat and scarf, said goodbye to his roommate, and left. He did not give any indication that he intended to leave for an extended period. His friends waited two days before calling the Chaits and telling them that Steven had missed his classes as well as his shifts at Mama Joy's Delicatessen which at the time was located on Broadway near 113th Street in New York City.
Mysterious phone calls to the Chait home began on Mother's Day of 1972, two months after Steven disappeared. The calls occurred two to three times a year for 25 years. In 1997, the phone calls stopped.
By the age of 9, Steven was reading The New York Times and U.S. News & World Report and earning top marks in school. After he got a "C" in a crucial engineering course, a devastating first, he switched to art history. His family describes his mood as being "heavy of heart" at the time of his disappearance. He has not been seen nor heard from since.
Agency Name: New York City Police Department - Missing Persons Squad
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 212-694-7781
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: KNMP05495
NCIC Number: M-138729871
NamUs Case Number: 5938
NCMEC Case Number: 1066634
NamUs
NCMEC
Orange Tourism
The New York Times
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 2/24/2022 - By: kc
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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