Christopher Martin King

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Siskiyou County Sheriffs Department (CA)

Missing From:

San Diego, CA

Summary:

Christopher Martin King, 24, of Hampton, Virginia, was last seen by relatives on August 2, 1974, in the Rialto/San Bernardino area of California before boarding a bus bound for La Paz, Mexico. He is known to have crossed the border at Tijuana that day and has never been seen or heard from since. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office carries his case as an open missing person investigation.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Christopher Martin King was 24 years old and living in Hampton, Virginia, in the summer of 1974 when he set out on a backpacking trip into Mexico. He was last seen by his relatives between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Friday, August 2, 1974, in the vicinity of Route 10 and Route 395 in the Rialto/San Bernardino area of California. From there he boarded a bus bound for La Paz, Mexico. According to the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office and NamUs, Christopher is known to have crossed the border into Mexico at Tijuana, Baja California, on a Mexican visa the same day, still travelling by bus toward La Paz. He has not been seen or heard from since. The California Department of Justice missing persons listing records his last-seen location as San Diego, which is consistent with the bus route south to the Tijuana crossing; the sheriff's office map places the case at San Diego as well. Investigators believe his planned itinerary was to travel down Baja California to La Paz, cross to the mainland by ferry and continue to Guadalajara. From there he was expected to head southeast through Mexico City to Merida, and then on to Isla Mujeres and the Yucatan ruins. Whether he completed any part of that route after Tijuana is unknown. He was carrying a red nylon backpack holding a complete set of camping gear, and was equipped for summer travel with sport shirts, colored t-shirts, jeans and cut-off jeans, Wallabee desert boots and low-quarter black sneakers. He often wore wide-lens, metal-framed eyeglasses and has a birthmark on the left side of his abdomen. The case is carried by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office as an active missing person investigation; the Hampton Police Division in Virginia also holds a case file. Dental records, fingerprints and DNA are noted as available in the national databases. More than fifty years later, Christopher King remains missing.

Additional Details:

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office at (530) 841-2900. The Hampton Police Division (Hampton, Virginia) also holds a file on his disappearance.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 23, 2026