Bobby Joe Horn

Horn, circa 1977

  • Missing Since 08/31/1977
  • Missing From Washington D.C., Washington D.C.
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race Black
  • Age 43 years old
  • Height and Weight Unknown height, 230 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Horn's radio name is Bob "Nighthawk" Terry.

Details of Disappearance

Horn was last seen in Washington, D.C. He was missed after he failed to pick up his son at National Airport on August 31, 1977. He has never been heard from again. His dark blue 1976 Oldsmobile Toronado was found abandoned and burned in North Carolina months after his disappearance.

Horn was well-known in the D.C. area as a radio personality on the WHUR channel. He disappeared shortly after he quit the radio to form his own production company.

In 1978, Horn was indicted for failure to file income taxes during the years 1971 to 1974. Investigators suspect foul play was involved in his case, however. There were rumors that he was murdered, his body dismembered and the parts scattered in North Carolina. These stories have never been confirmed.

In 1979, Linwood Gray, Horn's former business partner, was tried on drug and tax evasion charges. Prosecutors alleged Gray and several co-defendants ran a multimillion-dollar heroin-smuggling ring.

Gray, a former mental patient with a long criminal record and a history of violent behavior, testified that he had never been involved with drugs and his money actually came from a series of bank robberies. During his trial, Gray testified that Horn was a drug dealer who was involved with organized crime figures in New York.

Gray said he had heard a contract hit had been taken out on Horn's life, but he believed Horn had traveled to the Netherlands, grown a beard and was running a business there. Gray was acquitted of the drug charges, but convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 20 months in prison. It's unknown whether he was involved in Horn's case.

Horn's disappearance remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

  • Metropolitan Police Department 202-727-9099

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated June 14, 2010; casefile added.