NV AMANDA LEE FRAVEL: Missing from Las Vegas, NV - 13 June 1986 - Age 20 - Rose tattoo on left hand

Amanda Lee Fravel

64-65 inches tall
green eyes
110 lbs
tattoo of a rose on left hand
brown hair, would bleach her hair blond
white/Asian

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Amanda Lee Fravel – The Charley Project

Amanda worked at a Taco Bell restaurant. She did not own a vehicle, and frequently got around by hitchhiking. Friends later stated that she had stopped hitchhiking due to a bad experience. She moved to Las Vegas from California in 1985. Amanda had an unhappy and chaotic home life and childhood growing up in California.
On the day of her disappearance, her roommate, who went by the name of "Lew Frank", told police that Amanda had left their South 3rd St. apartment, planning to go pick up her paycheck and visit her ex-boyfriend. She never arrived at either place. When Amanda's parents arrived at her apartment after her disappearance, all of her things had been packed up and her two kittens had not been fed or cared for since her disappearance.

"Lew Frank" claimed to be from Georgia, but did not speak with a discernible Southern accent. In 1986, he appeared to be in his late forties; many of the visitors to his apartment were much younger; and Nevada state records have no trace of anyone named "Lew Frank". His true name and current whereabouts are unknown. He told police he had come to Nevada to open a brothel. Amanda's parents and friends suspected him in Amanda's disappearance.

AMANDA LEE FRAVEL has been missing from Las Vegas, #NEVADA since 13 June 1986. She was headed to meet with her ex-boyfriend.

On the day of her disappearance, her roommate, who went by the name of "Lew Frank", told police that Amanda had left their South 3rd St. apartment, planning to go pick up her paycheck and visit her ex-boyfriend. She never arrived at either place.

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[Sunburst]

Louis Franklin "Real Last Name?"
Frank Louis "Real Last Name"?
I wonder if LE ran variations of that name through a database in the last 5 years or so.
Were they able to get something with his fingerprints on it in 1986?

 

[GrandmaBear]

I know cell phones were not common then but I wonder if anyone who knew him has a picture of him or knew more about him?

One would think there would have been prints on the things he packed up or did he leave and a landlord pack them?

So her paycheck was not picked up? I wonder if there was one or he lied about that.

Just thoughts.

 

[Kimster]

Whoa. I definitely think this person had everything to do with her going missing. I have a great uncle who spelled his name Lewis rather than Louis. However, I highly doubt he was using his real name if he was going over there to open a brothel.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Although brothels are legal there or at least in some of that area so why hide the name? Interesting he was hanging around always younger people, maybe he was running prostitution out on the streets or out of the home?

 

[Sunburst]

Although brothels are legal there or at least in some of that area so why hide the name? Interesting he was hanging around always younger people, maybe he was running prostitution out on the streets or out of the home?

Brothels are not legal in Clark County. In the next county over, Nye County, they are. However, Clark County has working girls and guys.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Amanda has been missing for 34 years today. I found a Podcast about her story. Haven't listened to it yet but saving for later. Thought others may want to listen too.

 

[Mel70]

I know cell phones were not common then but I wonder if anyone who knew him has a picture of him or knew more about him?

One would think there would have been prints on the things he packed up or did he leave and a landlord pack them?

So her paycheck was not picked up? I wonder if there was one or he lied about that.

Just thoughts.

They could have verified with the employer about the check. I'm sure they ran prints. There was no national database then. They probably lost them now. It would be nice to know that though.

 

[Mel70]

Brothels are not legal in Clark County. In the next county over, Nye County, they are. However, Clark County has working girls and guys.

Yes. Many people think it's legal in "Vegas". It's not. Many find out the hard way.

 

[Mel70]

Although brothels are legal there or at least in some of that area so why hide the name? Interesting he was hanging around always younger people, maybe he was running prostitution out on the streets or out of the home?

Brothels are a house. He probably was using an alias because he was running or already in trouble.

 

[Mel70]

I hate she was living with a guy like that. I think he was probably the one responsible for her disappearance.

 

[Mel70]

If "Lew" was in his late 40's in 1986 he would be around 80 now.

 

[GrandmaBear]

If "Lew" was in his late 40's in 1986 he would be around 80 now.

Little chance of justice then if he did it.

 

[Mel70]

Little chance of justice then if he did it.

Or him still being alive probably.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Family still searching for answers 36 years after Amanda Fravel disappeared in Las Vegas, Nevada

The 20-year-old was reportedly last seen hitchhiking across town to see her ex-boyfriend and collect her paycheck from Taco Bell on June 13, 1986.

www.nbcnews.com

Family still searching for answers 36 years after Amanda Fravel disappeared in Las Vegas, Nevada​

“She had no reason to disappear,” Melisa Fravel said of her older sister, Amanda. “She was on her own already.”

20-year-old Amanda Fravel was reportedly last seen in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 13, 1986.

Melisa told Dateline her sister was supposed to fly home to California that week. “She never made it,” Melisa said.


In April 1986, the month before she turned 20, Amanda moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. “She got to Vegas and stayed with her girlfriend from Santa Rosa,” Tom recalled.

Melisa told Dateline that the woman was a friend of Amanda’s from high school who had gotten married and moved to Vegas. Melisa said the living arrangement didn’t last long. “They had a new baby and Mandy liked to hang out with bands and rockers and stuff,” Melisa said. “She ended up moving out.”

After Amanda moved out, she got a new job. “She had a job at Taco Bell on Boulder Highway,” Tom told Dateline.

In June, Amanda decided to take a break from Las Vegas. She booked a flight back home to visit her mother, Glenda, and stepfather, Tom. “She was due to fly back -- due to be in San Jose on Saturday, June 14, 1986,” Tom recalled. “She never showed up.”

Tom said they initially thought Amanda might have just changed her mind about coming to visit. But after more than a week of no communication, her mother started to worry.

“Her mother started to become very uneasy and made a phone call to [Amanda’s] last known location,” Tom recalled. He told Dateline that a man by the name of Lew Frank answered the phone when Glenda called Amanda. According to Tom, Amanda and Lew were roommates. “He said, ‘Well, I haven’t seen her since June the 13,’” Tom said.

Tom told Dateline that Amanda’s friends told her mother she was going to “hitchhike across town to see her boyfriend before she flew back.” Melisa clarified that Amanda and the boyfriend, Xavier Romano, were no longer a couple at the time. Dateline attempted to get in contact with Xavier Romano to see if he had any further insight on Amanda’s plans that week, but was unable to reach him.

Dateline spoke with Public Information Officer Larry Hatfield who confirmed that Amanda “was supposed to leave on June 14, 1986, to return home to Gilroy, California.” He added that she “was last seen by a friend named Lew who she supposedly” was “keeping house for and living with,” at an “apartment on South 3rd Street” in Las Vegas. Officer Hatfield noted that Amanda “was going to her boyfriend’s house but never showed up.” He said that at the time, “her boyfriend’s address and name were unknown.” Officer Hatfield followed up in an email to Dateline that authorities do suspect foul play in Amanda’s disappearance.

Tom told Dateline that shortly after they reported Amanda missing, he and Glenda flew to Las Vegas “just before the July 4 holiday” to search for her. Tom said they stopped at a 7-Eleven near Amanda’s apartment on South 3rd Street to hang a missing person’s flyer. “There was this older guy, older than me at the time,” Tom told Dateline. Looking at the flyer, the man said, “That’s Mandy.” Tom said the older guy identified himself as Lew Frank -- Amanda’s roommate.

Tom told Dateline the 7-Eleven encounter was the only interaction they had with Lew Frank. He also believes Lew Frank may not have been the roommate’s real name.

Officer Hatfield told Dateline there are no known suspects or persons of interest in the case at this time, although the investigation remains open.