LaLima was last seen standing outside the Village Green Cafe, a nightclub at west Main Street and Maple Street in Norwich, Connecticut, at 1:00 a.m. on May 7, 1981. Witnesses saw him arguing with a man and then walking in the direction of his mother's home, where he lived with his girlfriend and young son. He has never been heard from again. LaLima has nine siblings. His mother died in 1997. Few details are available in his case, but foul play is suspected.