In September 1995, 57-year-old Larry left his home in Delavan, Wisconsin, beginning a journey that would somehow lead hundreds of kilometres north into the remote wilderness of Ontario. More than three decades later, there is still no publicly available explanation for why he travelled there or what happened after he left Wisconsin.
Even Larry’s surname appears differently depending on the source. Canada’s Missing records him as Larry Zink, while The Charley Project, Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy and The Doe Network identify him as Larry Zinc. Despite the spelling difference, the records refer to the same man and the same disappearance.
Larry Zinc was born on December 16, 1937. He was 57 years old in September 1995 and lived in Delavan, a community in southeastern Wisconsin. According to The Charley Project and Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy, Larry was last seen leaving his home in Delavan on September 27, 1995.
There is, however, an unexplained discrepancy in the dates. Canada’s Missing gives Larry’s official missing date as September 29, 1995, two days after he was reportedly last seen leaving his residence. For that reason, September 27 can be considered his documented last-seen date, while September 29 remains the missing date recorded in the Canadian national database. The publicly available records do not explain what happened during those two days or why the dates differ.
Larry’s family reportedly suggested that he may have been feeling despondent around the time he disappeared. No further details about that concern have been publicly released, and there is nothing in the available information that establishes what Larry intended to do when he left home.
What happened after Larry drove away from Delavan is largely a blank space in the public record. There are no publicly documented sightings tracing his journey north, nor is there information explaining when he entered Canada. His vehicle would eventually turn up an extraordinary distance from home, but the records available to the public don’t explain how investigators reconstructed any part of the journey.
The next known development came in October 1995, when Larry’s vehicle was discovered abandoned in a gravel pit approximately 65 kilometres, or 40 miles, north of Pickle Lake, Ontario.
Pickle Lake is in a remote part of Northwestern Ontario, making the discovery of Larry’s vehicle there particularly puzzling. There was no sign of Larry at the location, and he has never been seen or heard from again.
The discovery raises questions that remain unanswered in the information released publicly. It isn’t known whether anyone saw Larry in the Pickle Lake area or whether anyone witnessed him driving his vehicle to the gravel pit. Public accounts don’t reveal when the vehicle arrived there, how long it may have been abandoned, whether it was locked, broken down, whether its keys were recovered, or what belongings were found inside.
There is also no publicly available explanation for why Larry – or at least his vehicle – travelled from southeastern Wisconsin to such an isolated area of Northern Ontario. No substantiated connection between Larry and Pickle Lake has been publicly identified.
The difference between Larry’s September 27 last-seen date and his September 29 official missing date is intriguing, particularly considering that his vehicle subsequently appeared in Canada. It is possible investigators possess information about Larry’s movements that has never been released publicly. However, there is no evidence available to establish that the two-day discrepancy represents a confirmed border crossing or another sighting. It is possible that September 29 is the date he was actually reported as missing to the Canadian authorities or other differences between records, but we don’t know for sure. Whatever the explanation, those two days remain unexplained in the publicly available account.
Larry was approximately 5’6″ tall and weighed about 141 pounds. He had a slender build, fair complexion, blue eyes and grey hair, and he wore sideburns at the time of his disappearance. He had an upper denture plate and several false teeth in his lower jaw, although his lower front teeth were natural. Larry was believed to have been wearing blue jeans and a black cotton T-shirt when he was last seen.
More than 30 years have now passed since Larry left his home. The trail that is visible to the public consists of only a handful of points: Larry left his Delavan residence on September 27, 1995; Canada’s Missing records September 29 as his official missing date; and the following month, his abandoned vehicle was discovered in a gravel pit approximately 65 kilometres north of Pickle Lake.
Somewhere between Wisconsin and that isolated gravel pit in Ontario, Larry’s story disappears from the public record.
Whether Larry intentionally travelled to the Pickle Lake area, what brought him so far from home, what happened during the days after he left Wisconsin, and what happened after his vehicle reached Northern Ontario remain unanswered questions. Larry has never been found.
If you have information on Larry’s case, please contact any of the following:
Sioux Lookout OPP OPP ONCMPUR:
Telephone: 1-877-934-6363 or 1-705-330-4144
Email: opp.isb.resolve@opp.ca
Reference Case#: RM05012198
Canada’s Missing Case reference: 2006010899
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS(8477)
Online at: https://www.canadiancrimestoppers.org/submit-a-tip/submit-a-tip
Crime Stoppers provides anonymous tipping
Send email to the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at: canadasmissing-disparuscanada@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Sources: Canada’s Missing, The Charley Project, Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy, The Doe Network, CrimeSolversCentral.
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