I found his high school picture. From Altoona PA, the 1942 yearbook which would make the age correct. He is second from the right.

I am reasonably certain that it is a picture of the Richard Zaleski you are looking for because his sister appears in the yearbook for the same school eight years later.

Thanks, Deb! Definitely the right guy.

The girl to his right looks like a guy. Yikes!

EDIT: That girl, if you look at just her face… has to be a dude!! And the girl on the far left, same thing. The girl in the middle is cute though haha.

Altoona, PA is a very small town now, so I could only imagine that it would have been pretty small at that time. Small towns definitely make it easier to find people that may have remembered him. Do you have any further information on his disappearance?

Altoona, PA is a very small town now, so I could only imagine that it would have been pretty small at that time. Small towns definitely make it easier to find people that may have remembered him. Do you have any further information on his disappearance?

Unfortunately, it’s hard to find anything on the guy. I emailed a family member months ago, but the email was no longer valid. People disappearing was not all that uncommon back then, but I would love to know the details.

I have a very close friend who grew up just outside of Altoona and although we are way too young to remember anything about the disappearance, considering we were not born until a long time after, to my knowledge her family has always lived in this area. But to be honest I would like to know little bit more about your curiosity before I asked for help from my friend. I’m sure you understand and feel free to PM me if you don’t want to list all of the information on the blog.

Oph, I was able to find the death certificates for both of Richard’s parents. His mother died in 1955 while in Hollidaysburg State Hospital. She committed suicide by "self strangulation, using a strip of muslin". I think that the manner of death is kind of odd. I would think that if you tried to strangle yourself you would pass out and loosen your grip on whatever it was that you were using. I quoted exactly what was on the DC and will post it if you would like.

The father remarried but died in 1960 of lung cancer.

Oph, I was able to find the death certificates for both of Richard’s parents. His mother died in 1955 while in Hollidaysburg State Hospital. She committed suicide by "self strangulation, using a strip of muslin". I think that the manner of death is kind of odd. I would think that if you tried to strangle yourself you would pass out and loosen your grip on whatever it was that you were using. I quoted exactly what was on the DC and will post it if you would like.

The father remarried but died in 1960 of lung cancer.

Self strangulation does not necessarily mean by their own hands in the sense you are thinking. In fact that is almost pretty much impossible to strangle yourself that way because as you stated you will pass out first and loosen your grip; however tying anything around your neck, such as a rope or belt is considered self strangulation. It just means that the object used to restrict your airway was put their by you and no one else.

Thanks Susie, that makes sense. It was late when I found the DC’s and guess I didn’t think it through.

Thanks Seagull and Susie. Susie, I will send you a PM here in a minute.

Oph, I was able to find the death certificates for both of Richard’s parents. His mother died in 1955 while in Hollidaysburg State Hospital. She committed suicide by "self strangulation, using a strip of muslin". I think that the manner of death is kind of odd. I would think that if you tried to strangle yourself you would pass out and loosen your grip on whatever it was that you were using. I quoted exactly what was on the DC and will post it if you would like.

The father remarried but died in 1960 of lung cancer.

If you wouldn’t mind posting it, I would love to see it. Thanks!! Having some family background can never hurt! So the mom was in a mental institution?

Thanks, Deb!! I wonder if that means that she hung herself. Richard was living somewhere in Texas at the time of his moms death. I was hoping to find a Texas link!!

Possibly the same Richard…

EDIT: This is not the right Richard Zaleski.