Name: Andy Lepley
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: May 30, 1976
Location Last Seen: Crow Junction, Pueblo County, Colorado
Date of Birth: October 3, 1957
Age: 18 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Taco; Joe
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scarred/deformed right hand; described as having a "coppery" complexion
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Green Texaco t-shirt, a coat with the name "Joe" on it, blue jeans, and hiking boots.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Andy was last seen on May 30th, 1976. He opened the Texaco station at the intersection of I-25 and HWY 165 in Crow Junction, Pueblo County, Colorado, where he had worked part-time for two years. He opened the station between 6:15 and 6:30 AM and took a newspaper to a restaurant adjoining the gas station where he joked with a waitress. He was last seen under a gas station canopy near the gas pumps at 6:45 AM. Shortly thereafter, customers wanting to buy gas discovered the station unattended. The police were called, and a short time later, they and Andy's manager discovered his 1967 pickup truck parked in the Texaco station lot with the keys in the ignition. Inside the gas station, the manager discovered his CB radio with its microphone ripped out; all the cash (between $50-$100) from the register was missing. Although he disappeared in a high-traffic area in the daylight hours on Memorial Day weekend, no one saw or heard anything suspicious.
At the time of his disappearance, Andy was a senior at Rye High School, and was just days from graduating. He was an honors student, was studying motorcycle mechanics in a vocational program, and was a pole-vaulter, football player, basketball player, and former class president. He had planned to spend the summer after graduation working for his father as a plumber's apprentice, then enlist in the Air Force and attend Adams State College. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance.
Agency Name: Pueblo County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Captain Leroy Mora
Agency Phone Number: 719-583-6400 or 719-583-6125
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 76-00898
NamUs Case Number: 22979
NCIC Case Number: M489455616
NamUs
Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Denver Post Cold Cases (6/2/12)
Added: 4/20/10; Last Updated: 11-13-2021 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
Return Home