TX Police Close State’s Oldest Missing Person Case After 52 Years

Texas law enforcement officials have solved what is believed to be the state’s oldest missing persons case, finally providing answers more than five decades after a Dallas teenager vanished without a trace, as reported by The New York Post.

The Dallas Police Department announced Friday that investigators have positively identified a long-unidentified teenage victim of a 1973 hit-and-run as Norman Prater, who disappeared from Dallas at age 16.

Norman Prater was reported missing on Jan. 16, 1973, after spending a late night with friends in Dallas. He never returned home, and despite years of investigative work, police were unable to generate credible leads.

The case remained unresolved for more than 50 years.

De politie van Dallas (USA) weet nu wat er met de 16-jarige Norman Prater is gebeurd na zijn verdwijning in 1973. Het was de oudste onopgeloste vermissingszaak van het korps. https://t.co/1kNNlUASs0

— ColdCaseNieuwsNL (@ColdCaseKennis) January 6, 2026

That changed when authorities confirmed that an unidentified teenager killed in a hit-and-run crash on July 9, 1973, along Highway 35 in Rockport, Texas, was in fact Prater.

This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year

Rockport is located approximately 380 miles south of Dallas in Aransas County. At the time of the crash, officials were unable to identify the victim, and the case faded into obscurity.

The breakthrough came after Ryan Dalby, a detective assigned to the department’s Missing Persons Unit, was contacted by a medical examiner in Aransas County who had been reviewing decades-old case files.

The examiner flagged similarities between the unidentified crash victim and Prater’s disappearance.

“I pull up the file, and I look at it, I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?!’” Dalby told NBC Dallas–Fort Worth.

The medical examiner retrieved the original case file, and with assistance from a forensic analyst, investigators examined facial characteristics using recognition software.

Dalby said the analysis revealed “points of reference on the face” that suggested “a high probability of the person that was found down there being Norman Prater.”

“I’m like, I’m looking at the photos by the side by side. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m with them. There’s a high probability this could be who we’re looking for,’” Dalby said.

Still, Dalby said he was not willing to risk misidentification after more than five decades. He contacted Norman’s older brother, Isaac Prater, to confirm the findings.

“He answers the phone and is like, ‘Who is this?’ I’m like, ‘It’s Detective Dalby with the Dallas Police Department.’ He goes, ‘I’ve waited 52 years for this phone call. Please tell me you have something’,” Dalby told the outlet.

Isaac Prater traveled to Dallas police headquarters the following day. Dalby showed him the facial recognition images used in the identification process.

“I showed him recognition software that they used, and he just looks at me and he goes, ‘You can close the case, that’s my brother, case is done,’” Dalby said.

“He finally has closure. He has closure after 52 years of wondering where his brother is.”

Dalby told Fox 4 that Isaac Prater was able to identify specific facial scars, including one on Norman’s lip caused by a dog attack and another on his eyebrow from a fight.

Investigators said it remains unclear what Norman was doing during the six months between his disappearance and his death or how he traveled so far from Dallas.

Dalby told Fox 4 that hitchhiking, which was common in the 1970s, may explain how Norman ended up in South Texas.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LifeZette. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.