Overview of Myron Timell Traylor
Photos of 13-year-old Myron Traylor evoke the words “angelic” and “cherubic” for good reason. A young teenager, Myron still possessed a child like quality with an irresistibly adorable smile. Myron was a rising 7th grader at Tavan Elementary School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Myron spent the school year with his aunt Sanda and attended school with his cousin. During the summers Myron would be back with his mom, Debbie. Myron had recently joined the little league team and had taken on a newspaper route. He was earning money to help pay for a trip to Disneyland with his church youth group. He was in the church choir, and was by all accounts a great kid who “didn’t swear” and was loved by his large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Myron was walking to his grandparents' house with his mother in Phoenix, Arizona on July 27, 1988. His grandparents' residence was located on east Pecan Road. Debbie and Myron’s washing machine was broken, so they were going there to do some laundry then call Myron’s brother who lived with a relative in California. With his Mom’s permission, Myron stopped at the OK Fish-N-Chips on 16th Street and Southern Avenue to get a drink. His mom Debbie continued to her parents house and told Myron to catch up when he was done. He was last seen by the store employee at approximately 6:00 p.m. outside the stand after purchasing a soda. She states that there were no other people outside the shop at that time and that Myron entered and exited alone. Myron was carrying a plastic bag full of dirty laundry at the time of his disappearance and did not have glasses with him, though he was known to need them. He didn't have a habit of staying out late and it would be out of character for him to leave without warning. He did have vacation bible school at church that night, so the family wondered if he took the bus there. But later in the evening when he would have been home after the church school, they grew concerned and called the police. Myron’s father was in prison when he disappeared, and his mother has been ruled out as a suspect in his case. Debbie’s then-boyfriend, Gettus Leroy Mintz, is the only viable suspect in his disappearance. He was one of the four witnesses who saw Myron at OK Fish-N-Chips the evening of his disappearance. Myron's aunt Sabdra said that one of Mintz's arms was in a sling shortly after Myron vanished. Mintz claimed the injury resulted from a dog bite. Investigators stated that Mintz was involved with drugs in 1988 and theorized that Myron confronted him about his lifestyle after seeing him at OK Fish-N-Chips, and that Mintz murdered him shortly thereafter. A photo of Mintz is posted with this case summary. In 2009, he stabbed his girlfriend and her mother in Peoria, Arizona. His girlfriend died, and Mintz was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated assault and sentenced to forty-two years in prison. He refuses to be interviewed about Myron's case. Investigators received an anonymous letter in 1991 that claimed Myron was buried on private property near 24th Street and Jones Avenue in Phoenix. A search of the location produced no evidence regarding his case. Authorities believe that Myron was killed and buried near his last known location. The family have experienced a few strange phone calls and visits from various callers asking about Myron and/or relatives in his family. Myron's Aunt Sanda moved into her parent’s home after they passed away, and was once visited by three men claiming to be related to the family. Because she was alone and without her glasses, she did not open the door or let the men in. She is unsure if the calls and visitors are related or even possibly, Myron, himself. Myron's mother Debbie died in March 2002 at the age of forty-five, nearly fourteen years after her son disappeared. His case remains unsolved. Myron is an African-American male with black hair, brown eyes, and a half-inch scar on the right side of his head.
