William Henry Forshee Sr.

William, circa 1973

  • Missing Since 04/16/1973
  • Missing From Miami, Florida
  • Classification Lost/Injured Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race Black
  • Date of Birth 09/07/1925 (99)
  • Age 47 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'9, 185 pounds
  • Associated Vehicle(s) 18-foot outboard boat
  • Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. William is bald and may have a mustache. One of his eyes is missing. As the result of an accident, his right leg is one and one-quarter inches shorter than his left leg.

Details of Disappearance

William, his son William Jr., and two other African-American men, Minni or Benny Gaskins and DeWitt Lewis, left Miami, Florida in an eighteen-foot outboard boat on April 16, 1973. They were on an overnight fishing trip to Marco Island. They never returned to shore and none of them have ever been heard from again.

The boat trailer was found at Captain's Landing Marina in the 1000 block of Bald Eagle Drive, on Marco Island, alone with the men's truck, a green 1969 Ford F100 with Florida license plates, but the boat itself was never located and neither were any of its passengers.

Another vessel, a 14-foot boat which carried Robert Stone of Fort Myers, Florida, disappeared at the same time; it's unclear whether it or Stone was ever located either.

Photographs and vital statistics for Lewis and Gaskins are unavailable. The disappearances remain unsolved.

Investigating Agency

  • Miami-Dade Police Department 305-418-7284

Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated February 10, 2019; details of disappearance updated.