This week’s featured missing person is Norman Basil Pappas. This slender, fresh-faced 19-year-old disappeared from the small town of Carmel, California on July 26, 1993, a month shy of his twentieth birthday.
And that’s all. This case is pretty slim pickings: “Few details are available.” I can’t find anything else about Norman or his disappearance from any of my usual sources.
If Norman Pappas is still alive, he would be 43 years old this coming summer. I’d love it if anyone who knew him or his family or anything about this case could comment or at least shoot me an email.
The Charley Project Blog 
I always find it strange when there is a young missing person with few details available… and especially ones for recent years. I always feel like, if it were MY loved one I would be blasting there information and photos out to everyone that would bother listening! Of course that is just my opinion/feeling.
Is that an unusual last name? If so maybe somebody can google it and find some of his family in that area. Thanks for all you do!!
It’s Greek. A lot of Greek immigrants with longer last names, like Papadakis, anglized it to Pappas. Basil is often used in Greece. I know a woman of Greek descent named Basilda, aka Bessie.
Yes, the name is Greek. In fact, “Pappas” is a very common Greek last name.
Basil’s paternal grandparents (George and Calliope) were both born in Greece, and later immigrated to Utah in the early 1900s.
He went by the name of Basil. I was a friend of his, elementary to middle school. Crazy that I thought to Google his name today and see if anything new had happened in this cold case.
When it happened, the rumor I heard, was he checked out of life and became a crazy desert person. I doubt that could be the case anymore.
Hi Leslie,
What was he like? Did he got to Carmel High School? What kind of car did he drive? Did he work? Thanks!
He wasn’t a popular kid. I would call him socially awkward. He was in the class of 91 at Carmel High School. I don’t think he had a car, and I don’t remember him working.
Here I sit watching Disappeared on ID and thought I would just Google Basil to see if there was anything new and I find this. Leslie! How the heck are you? (It’s Analee). Anyway, I have often thought about this case and how so little is known. Basil was super quiet in High School. He sat in front of me in Anatomy for a year and I don’t think he ever said a word to me. I don’t understand why there are no details. If my son was missing, my face would be everywhere searching for him. I have no idea what Basil’s parents names even are. I don’t even remember his parents or anything about him in the news when this happened. I have often wondered if I should ask my friend who is a journalist with the local Carmel paper to run a story on his disappearance.
Ana, what a pleasant surprise. I’m alive and well living in Tehcahapi, CA. Married with 2 kids. You?
I assumed because Basil was kind of an odd duck nobody ever thought or cared about him. I remember his mom driving a station wagon around town with missing person fliers in the window. I also remember a article in the Pine Cone. That was about all I ever saw.
I totally agree, as a parent, you wouldn’t forget. They must know more than we do.
Hello there, I think it was a maroon or blue Volvo station wagon. He was a quiet and very reserved person. So sad to see one of my classmates gone. I have checked to see if he has popped up over the years and it’s awful to see that he has disappeared.
this is the pine cone article
NORMAN BASH PAPPAS
CHILD QUEST International has
joined in the search for Norman Basil
Pappas, 20-year-old resident of the greater
*Carmel area who has been listed as miss¬
ing since late July, Carmel Police Depart¬
ment said Wednesday.
Despite the added help, Detective Sgt.
Warren (Pete) Poitras said, the man has
not been located.
“Yes,” said Poitras, “that network took
the case. It distributes missing person
brochures all over the place.”
Pappas 1 mother dropped him off at the
Naval Postgraduate School, where he had
a parttime job, on July 26. That was the
last time she saw him.
“A friend observed him in the area of
the Monterey bus station at 11 a.m. the
same day,” Poitras said, “but did not
speak with him. Basil hasn’t been heard
from since.”
Originally, it was thought that he may
have traveled to San Francisco. Acting on
information supplied by his mother about
where else Pappas might have gone,
Carmel Police Department has covered
South Lake Tahoe and Joshua Tree Na¬
tional Park with bulletins.
https://archive.org/stream/ccarm_005107/ccarm_005107_access_djvu.txt
Hi. I’m Basil’s cousin. Since I live on the other side of the country, I’d never met him, but many years ago, his father Non (my uncle) told my mom over the phone that Basil likely died of suicide. Very sad. I hope it’s not true, but it probably is. 😦 Anyway, may he rest in peace.
do we have any other photos of pappas? i think i know who he might be.