Brian Thomas Vargo

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Austin Police Department (TX)

Missing From:

Austin, Texas

Summary:

Brian was 20 years old in his 2nd year 2nd semester at the University of Texas and said he was going to CO to meet a friend (destination unknown) for spring break March 1976. His car broke down. He went home to Houston to get the title to sell the vehicle. It's unknown if he found the title. Brian's mother and Aunt dropped him at a sub bus station and never saw or heard from him again. It is unknown if he went back to his apartment in Austin as his roommates were on Spring Break as well.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

This is how the story comes together thus far when including evidence and interactions with friends and relatives in 1976. Some of these things are facts with dates on paper documents and others are recollections from 45 years ago. Meaning that emotions fill in the holes between the dates and can vary based on the narrative each person has told themselves in their grieving process. With that said most recollections have been consistent between individuals that haven't spoken in decades. Brian was 20 years old in his 2nd year 2nd semester at the University of Texas and said he was going to CO to meet a friend (destination unknown) for spring break March 1976. His car broke down. He went home to Houston to get the title to sell the vehicle. It's unknown if he found the title. Brian's mother and aunt dropped him at a sub bus station and never saw or heard from him again. It is unknown if he went back to his apartment in Austin as his roommates were on Spring Break as well. His roommates were alerted to his disappearance because he didn't return to attend class when spring break was over. Unbeknownst to them, Brian had withdrawn from UT days before Spring Break. From a scratch copy of an application for withdraw he intended to return for the Summer semester. The vehicle that Brian was getting the title for, was supposedly left in CO at a gas station or mechanic. The mechanic some how contacted Brian's father to inform him that he wanted to get rid of the vehicle, Brian had not been back and the vehicle had been broken into. Brian had left all of his belongings at the apartment in Austin which included a wallet and his driver's license. Brian's sister and brother-in-law collected his belongings. Amongst his things is an envelope which says things in wallet, but it is unknown what happened to the wallet or licence through the years. Brian was also on probation in Houston for possession of 0-2 oz of Marijuana on July 30, 1975, which he served 30 days in jail. There is a court date of May 15, 1976, in which a plea of "nolo" (nolo contendere) was given. It is unknown if Brian was in attendance, but his case was dismissed about 1 year from the date of arrest Aug 5,1976.

Additional Details:

Brain's mother and sister have given DNA to be matched in Codis . Brian's niece also has DNA on GEDmatch open to law enforcement. An official missing persons case was filed in January 2021 and accepted by AustinPD Cold Cases. His finger prints have been obtained from HoustonPD and are also with his Namus profile.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 16, 2024