Deborah Dubs - Missing Since July 1984 from San Francisco

Missing Person: Deborah Dubs

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Deborah Dubs was last seen on July 25th, 1984 in San Francisco, CA. Also missing is her husband, Harvey, 30, and their 16-month-old son, Sean. Based on the evidence, I think a reasonable guess as to what happened to them can be made.

Last contact: July 25th, 1984 (Wednesday)

Last seen: Their Mission District home (100 block of Yukon Street); Upper Market area, just off of  Market Steeet.

Age when Deborah Dubs disappeared: 33

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 64, which is 5'4"

Weight in pounds (lbs): 107

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Tracheotomy scar

Clothing and Accessories: Leather purse, white blouse with horizontal stripes, dark slacks, sandals, and loafers

Maiden name: Deborah Ann Nourse

Vehicle:1980 Volkswagen Rabbit. Tan/Beige, Four door. Plate: 3A06195 (CA), which was found near the San Francisco Airport on August 1st in the airport's long-term parking lot with the doors unlocked.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/10208?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

Deborah Dubs disappeared in late July 1984. The last time she was seen was on July 25th of that year. Her disappearance happened at the same time as her husband Harvey and their 15-to-16-month-old son, Sean Christopher Dubs.

The first instance of journalism I found about this case appeared on July 31st, 1984 in the Oakland Tribune. Here are the pointers of the early journalism:

• Deborah's father, James Nourse, received a phone call from an unidentified man saying that the couple was going to Washington State for a few weeks;
• Neighbors reported seeing people going in and out of their apartment;
• Someone drove off with their car;
• Harvey's employer also received a phone call saying that he was going to Washington; the man who phoned called himself "Jim Bright";
• On July 26th, there was a commotion outside of the apartment and an Asian man was spotted carrying duffel bags down the street; this Asian man was probably serial killer Charles Ng, although this was not known at the time;
• The then-unknown Asian man is the one who drove away in the Dubs' Volkswagen but this was called unverified in another article in early journalism;
• Three days after their disappearance reportedly someone tried to break into the apartment;
• A man came out and entered a Dodge Dart where two other men were waiting.

In the early journalism, it was also mentioned that Harvey Dubs did video work as a side job. Something to do with this was thought to be a possible reason for his disappearance and his family's. It''s possible that a classified advertisement led the wrong kind of people to the Dubs family. 

Has Deborah Dubs been found?

Although the car was found at the airport, the police had no evidence that the couple had taken a flight. But Deborah's credit card was used twice in the days after her disappearance. On both days, it was credit card fraud. This was reported on August 17th, 1984. The first instance of credit card fraud was on July 26th while the second was the next night. Both involved petty restaurant food purchases.

August 17th, 1984. San Francisco Examiner.

August 18th, 1984. San Francisco Examiner.

August 18th, 1984. San Francisco Examiner.

The journalism died down after the restaurant credit card transactions. However, it heated back up in June 1985. Someone named Paul Cosner went missing and it was thought that his case might be related to the missing Dubs' family. Cosner is still missing as of the time of this blog post. Cosner and Harvey Dubs had both placed classified ads in the time frame leading up to their disappearances. Cosner was selling a car while Dubs was offering video services.

In journalism from June 1985, the composite sketch of the Asian man above from the restaurant credit card fraud is thought to be the same Asian man who carted things out of the Dubs' apartment. The names Leonard Lake and Charles Ng soon emerged in journalism about the disappearance of Deborah Dubs and her family.

The evidence, in this case, suggested that Deborah Dubs was in the custody of serial killers Charles Chitat Ng and Leonard Lake. The former was convicted of her murder while the latter committed suicide. According to Ng's Wikipedia page, Deborah Dubs was seen on a videotape of Ng's being assaulted so severely that she could not have survived. Her remains might be among those found in a makeshift grave involving burned human ashes and bone fragments. Her fate is largely known and if she was in the makeshift grave, then it's possible that all work on finding her will be futile. Charles Ng, at the time of writing, was imprisoned and on death row in California.