Larry Don Carter Jr.

• Missing Since 07/31/2020
• Missing From Lodi, California
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Age 56 years old
• Height and Weight 6'0, 225 pounds
• Medical Conditions Carter has struggled with mental health issues. He is classified as disabled.
• Associated Vehicle(s) White 1998 Dodge conversion van (accounted for)
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Carter is missing part of the middle finger on his right hand. He has a large tattoo of an eagle on his left arm and a tattoo of the phrase "The higher power lives in me" on his chest. A photo of the chest tattoo is posted with this case summary.

Details of Disappearance

Carter was last seen driving his white 1998 Dodge conversion van on Highway 12 just west of Interstate 5 in Lodi, California on July 31, 2020. He disappeared after leaving his mother's home and has never been heard from again.

The next day, an acquaintance of Carter's took Carter's dog to his mother, saying he'd found the dog wandering near Highway 12 and Interstate 5. When the family asked the man where Carter was, he was surprised that he hadn't come home yet. The day after that, the van was found abandoned and burned alongside North Guard Road, in the same area where the dog had been found.

Carter had been homeless for several years before his disappearance, but turned his life around and bought a motor home after winning money in the lottery. He lived with his mother at the time of his disappearance, but maintained the relationships he had formed in the homeless community and provided financial assistance and transportation for people experiencing homelessness. The van was found near a homeless encampment where he sometimes visited friends.

According to his sister, a few days before his disappearance Carter had a dispute with a couple living near Highway 12 and Interstate 5 and the man threatened to harm him. The couple dropped out of sight a few days after Carter's disappearance, and when the man resurfaced in September, he had some of Carter's belongings. When Carter's relatives visited the home of the acquaintance who had returned his dog, they found some more of Carter's belongings at that person's home: his identification, food stamp cards and a knife.

Since his disappearance, Carter has not accessed his financial accounts or maintained his cellular phone service. His family fears he came to harm, as they don't think he would have simply walked out of his life.