1978 Suzuki GS750 engine# GS750-48441

[Harris2024]

Hey All! I am looking for a missing US Marine from 1978. He was stationed in Millington, TN and never reported back to base after he went for a motorcycle ride in June of 1978. He was a new rider at the time, on  a 1978 Suzuki GS750, Engine #GS750-48441 frame number either GS750-35056 or GS750-33000 with TN license plates ZNB768. There was a transcription error on the receipt for the bike so I am not entire sure what the frame number is. It is suspected he crashed the bike and  he his remains have never been found. I looking for some resources to potentially see if the motorcycle was ever recovered? Maybe salvaged? Is there a place to search Engine or Frame numbers? If I can get more details about where the bike may have been found maybe I can locate him.  I am a Law Enforcements Officer and my contact info is contained within the link below. I do not believe he is a military deserter or AWOL and he is not in trouble. Help me bring this Marine home to his family.

 

Tips can be sent via this link https://www.ncis.navy.mil/Resources/NCIS-Tips/ or posted in this form. You can remain anonymous via the NCIS P3 tips if you desire to do so. 

https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/75707

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-gary-boutilier-novembe/76487263/

 

Edited May 16 by Harris2024
adding more info

[TonyGee]

not got the info you need but if you are genuine then good luck in finding him. 

[Reinhoud]

In The Netherlands there's a government web site you can go to, typ in the number of the license plate and all the info will show up.

Same as in Australia (rego check), I asume the USA also has something like that?

Edited May 20 by Reinhoud

[Dezza]

1 hour ago, Reinhoud said:

In The Netherlands there's a government web site you can go to, typ in the number of the license plate and all the info will show up.

Same as in Australia (rego check), I asume the USA also has something like that?

In the UK that would be a magnet for crooks - best in the world (for vehicle crime)

Edited May 20 by Dezza

[Reinhoud]

How?

 

No details of the owner. Just if the vehicle is registered and that sort of stuff.

RDW.nl for The Netherlands, Tas Rego check for Australia Tasmania. The license plate numbers you can find yourself

If you're curious what info shows up

Edited May 21 by Reinhoud

[Dezza]

Engine number, vin number, registration number all can be used to effectively clone a knicked vehicle of the same model (although these will unlikely to be 46 year old gs750s).

[Reinhoud]

19 hours ago, Dezza said:

Engine number, vin number, registration number all can be used to effectively clone a knicked vehicle of the same model (although these will unlikely to be 46 year old gs750s).

And how do you get a matching license plate? And the right paperwork?

[Dezza]

I guess you don't live in the UK. Google 'car cloning uk' or similar. There will be hours of fun reading on offer, not.

[Gixer1460]

6 hours ago, Reinhoud said:

And how do you get a matching license plate? And the right paperwork?

Unlike a lot of the world, UK registrations are linked to the Chassis Plate # when 1st registration made and stay with the vehicle for life until scrapped, exported or owner wants a 'personalised' registration like, say RR 1 on a Rolls Royce - that reg # would cost an absolute fortune if it was to come up for sale!

So, the tea leafs nick a car but obviously can't sell it with no paperwork so they obtain a V5 rego document for something similar or something that is beyond reasonable repair and transfer its 'identity / chassis # / reg plate' onto the nicked car. Now you have a 'clean / legit' car that can be sold although it isn't what it started life as!

V5 sales were rife 5-10 years ago - actually illegal in itself - but included a bit of the original vehicle or a pile of rust . . . . . for restoration or usually making stolen cars, seemingly legit! harder these days as DVLA have eventually got wise and ask for a lot of documentary evidence to re-issue 'dormant' V5's to new owners!

[Upshotknothole]

Yeah, things are different here in the states with that stuff. I could go in tomorrow and get new plates for all my vehicles if I wanted to, all I'd have to do is tell them my plates were stolen or I want vanity or special interest plates and pay for them. Where I live most people don't even include the plates when selling a vehicle because it'll force the new owner to register it right away. Here everything is tied to the VIN, some places won't even register a bike if it doesn't still have the factory VIN sticker with the emissions compliance information as well as the VIN stamped into the head stock.

As for that frame and engine number, all the old bikes with 5 digit VINs would have been given normal 17 digit VINs years ago if they were still registered. And I doubt those records would have been saved or digitized when the different states started updating from paperwork records to computer records. CA used to throw out everything over 7 years old before they went digital. I also can't remember the last time I had to deal with an engine number on a title, so I don't think those are really tracked anymore either. As far as the state and my insurance company know, my bikes are all the displacement that came stock in that frame. They only recently started asking about turbos.

All I can think of for the missing marine would be to go through old DMV records in Tennessee, but I doubt they have anything going back that far.

[Reinhoud]

16 hours ago, Gixer1460 said:

Unlike a lot of the world, UK registrations are linked to the Chassis Plate # when 1st registration made and stay with the vehicle for life until scrapped, exported or owner wants a 'personalised' registration like, say RR 1 on a Rolls Royce - that reg # would cost an absolute fortune if it was to come up for sale!

So, the tea leafs nick a car but obviously can't sell it with no paperwork so they obtain a V5 rego document for something similar or something that is beyond reasonable repair and transfer its 'identity / chassis # / reg plate' onto the nicked car. Now you have a 'clean / legit' car that can be sold although it isn't what it started life as!

V5 sales were rife 5-10 years ago - actually illegal in itself - but included a bit of the original vehicle or a pile of rust . . . . . for restoration or usually making stolen cars, seemingly legit! harder these days as DVLA have eventually got wise and ask for a lot of documentary evidence to re-issue 'dormant' V5's to new owners!

You still have the stamped VIN number what needs to be taken care of. And that's something they're really strict on in The Netherlands and here in Tasmania, if that looks dodgy the strip the paint till where ever they see fit.

In The Netherlands that's checked every time the vehicle is in for the annual roadworthy test, in Tasmania when the vehicle is also up for a roadworthy test, or a random check from Transport.

 

It looks like it's a more sensitive for fraudulent activities, but it isn't. 

[Gixer1460]

27 minutes ago, Reinhoud said:

You still have the stamped VIN number what needs to be taken care of. And that's something they're really strict on in The Netherlands and here in Tasmania, if that looks dodgy the strip the paint till where ever they see fit.

In The Netherlands that's checked every time the vehicle is in for the annual roadworthy test, in Tasmania when the vehicle is also up for a roadworthy test, or a random check from Transport.

You think the 'crims' haven't got that covered? Cutting out and re-welding panel stamped numbers, welding up and re-stamping VIN numbers - there is VERY little that has been tried and defeated by a crafty crook! Its great that the cloggies check every year but would an average mechanic / MOT tester be able to tell if the numbers / plates / VIN's had been tampered with? Probably not with a time crunched, non detailed look!

[Reinhoud]

On 5/23/2024 at 7:13 PM, Gixer1460 said:

You think the 'crims' haven't got that covered? Cutting out and re-welding panel stamped numbers, welding up and re-stamping VIN numbers - there is VERY little that has been tried and defeated by a crafty crook! Its great that the cloggies check every year but would an average mechanic / MOT tester be able to tell if the numbers / plates / VIN's had been tampered with? Probably not with a time crunched, non detailed look!

Maybe you should ask yourself, if it was as easy as you say, why would countries have those sites? You noticed the sites don't show a VIN number?

It looks easy, but it isn't. If it looks dodgy, they WILL go as far as necessarry, no matter if they need to go to the bare metal of a complete mudguard/fire wall? It happened!!

They also check the VIN number. When I had my bike done, not to long before that the guy had a Harley for a road worthy test, the VIN number was the same as a VIN number registered in the States. That guy had some explaining to do..

I don't know why the VINnumber is such an issue to you, the main thing is the license plate, neither in The Netherlands or Australia it's not possible to get a liceense plate of your choise. No clue how that is in the UK, maybe that's why ou guys it's easy to duplicate?

 

It's not as easy as you think!

 

Edited May 24 by Reinhoud