Brian Thomas Vargo -- Missing Since March 9th, 1976

Details from NamUs**: 

"Vargo was a University of Texas at Austin Student. Vargo dropped out of school in March. Vargo traveled to Colorado in his vehicle. His vehicle broke down in Colorado. Vargo traveled to Houston, Texas to pick up the vehicle's title. His mother dropped him off at the bus station in Houston (unknown date). Family was notified he had not returned to his apartment. When family arrived at his apartment in Austin, Texas Vargo's wallet was in the apartment."

Missing Person: Brian Thomas Vargo
Last-contact date: March 9th, 1976
The area where the MP was last seen: Austin, Texas
Link to government source: NamUS #MP77718

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 20 years old
Birthdate: between March 10th, 1955 and March 9th, 1956

• I'm not sure of the exact birthdate for Brian Thomas Vargo but a date range can be calculated using his age at the time of the disappearance.

Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Scar: Above right eye
Height/weight: 6-foot-0 and 150 pounds
BMI*: Brian Thomas Vargo was in the normal range for BMI.

• Please, Google-search BMI if you aren't familiar with the phrase. I think it's an important tool to be aware of when working on missing person cases.

Tattoos: Brian Thomas Vargo did not have any tattoos associated with his profiles. If you know this to be a mistake, then please contact this site.

Brian Thomas Vargo was last heard from on March 9th, 1976, when he was 20 years of age. I read a Facebook post about what constituted his last-known contact and evidently, he withdrew from classes at the University of Texas at Austin on that date. This individual has now been missing for 45 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

Brian Vargo had a chipped front tooth. That distinctive characteristic is part of his skeletal system and would be a part of any post-mortem remains under most circumstances. I looked for someone with a chipped tooth in the NamUs John Does but did not find anyone that I felt was Brian Vargo.

What you can do to help with this case, is do a similar search. John Does get added to the database all the time. If you are reading this more than three months after publication (March 4th, 2021), then go to NamUs and do a new search for "chipped and tooth" ("and" is a boolean operator with the site) in the unidentified person database. Follow this link and scroll down to Distinctive Physical Features. In order for any John Doe that comes up to possibly be Brian, the body would have to be found after the date Brian was last heard from. 

What stands out with this case, is the wallet. What does it mean for the wallet to be in his apartment but for him not to be?

Individuals that go out into public without their wallets are actually at increased risk of becoming John Does. There have been many individuals that have been hit by cars without their wallets that have died and not been identified or not been identified for decades. Getting hit by a car without your wallet is one mishap that can make you a John Doe. There are many others.

For this case, I read a lengthy post at the Facebook group dedicated to finding this missing person. I gleaned the following details about Brian from that group:

• He drank alcohol
• He used marijuana
• He received a citation for having a small amount of marijuana and it's mentioned that he was on probation at some point
• He seemed to have a "nicotine habit" at one point that he was trying to beat
• In the Fall of 1975, he started to do poorly in school after making the Dean's List at previous times
• He talked about finding himself and clearing his head
• He was evidently having back troubles as he went to a chiropractor on February 27th, 1976

I think the balance of reasonable conjecture would suggest that he was secretly depressed. Things did not seem to be going well for him at all. Additional to the problems above, his car recently broke down as per the NamUs description. None of these problems are all that bad but for someone having a difficult time, they could all be compiling. You have to wonder about the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

As for finding him, I recommend looking for a John Doe with the following:

• A chipped front tooth
• Body found after March 9th, 1976 with no wallet or ID
• A John Doe that is believed to have been dead since March of 1976
• Reasonable proximity to Colorado, Austin, and Houston are all in play

Please, take a moment to share this on social media using hashtags relevant to the missing person's area. Also, please include the website hashtag #MPCSL.

Author: Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing person's case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.