Help find a boy missing since 1968

Sometimes the smallest detail can produce a case-breaking clue. Please review the background information surrounding the disappearance of Kipper Lacey. Maybe something will spark your memory and help reunite a mother with her beloved son.
In June, 1968, Kipper Lacey was abducted.
He disappeared without a trace, along with his father, Mike Lacey, and paternal grandmother Dorothy Wills, who are believed to have raised him. Here are some little-known facts:

• Mike and Dorothy left behind all their worldly belongings. Mike took only the clothes he was wearing, leaving everything else behind.

• Their vehicles and resources: Mike drove a light tan colored 1967 Volkswagen, and the grandmother was driving a 1964 green Chevrolet. Between them, Mike and Dorothy had about $25,000 in cash. Since their Social Security accounts went dormant after their disappearance, it is believed they assumed new identities.

• They forfeited sizeable inheritances: Mike and Dorothy have walked away from the equivalent of $1 million dollars. Mike’s paternal aunt, Evelyn C. Taylor, died in Wichita, KS in February, 1984, leaving most of her estate to Mike. Dorothy’s brother, Joe Hailey, died in Nevada in June, 2002, leaving a sizable estate to Mike or Dorothy. Dorothy has never claimed a pension, Social Security benefits or Medicare benefits due to her.

• Possible employment: Since Mike and Dorothy lacked legal identity and could not provide documentation of employment, it is likely that they became self-employed: Mike as a mechanic and Dorothy as a decorator.

About Mike Lacey:

• The basics: Mike Ogilve Lacey was born on October 19, 1939 to parents Max and Dorothy, and raised in Enid, Oklahoma. He attended Phillips University in Enid and graduated from Oklahoma State University around 1964.

• Mike’s paternal lineage: Mike’s father, Max Lacey is a distant cousin of U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (OK). Max Lacey’s lineage is one of wealth and prominence.

• Mike’s father: Max Paul Lacey was born in 1911 and married Dorothy Rose Hailey around 1933. They divorced in 1939, the year of Mike’s birth. Max later marred Mary D. Parrott, who died in 1957. Max was killed on Thanksgiving Day, 1959, in a car-train mishap in Enid speculated to be “suicide by train.”

• At the time of Kipper’s disappearance: In 1968, Mike was was 29 years old, 5′ 10″, fair skinned, medium build, brown hair and eyes. Mike was a chronic nail-peeler, smoked Camels, enjoyed fly-fishing, and was clothing and appearance-conscious. View a photo here.

• Mike’s skills: He was an adept mechanic and funded his college by working weekends at an upscale Enid auto service station. In Dallas, he first worked at Texas Instruments and later became a successful copier sales person with Smith Corona.

• View his profile here.

About Dorothy:

• The basics: Dorothy Rose Hailey was born on October 16, 1914. She attended Memorial Catholic High School in Enid. She married three times, to wealthy men each time.

• First marriage: In 1933, Dorothy married Enid resident Max Lacey. Their daughter, Judith was born in April, 1936. Dorothy divorced Max in 1939, the year of Mike’s birth.

• Denied visitation: Dorothy would not let her first husband, Max, see his children. There is speculation that since Dorothy herself denied her husband visitation privileges, she believed that Kipper’s mom might do the same to Mike. This could be one of the reasons for abducting the child.

• Second marriage: Soon after divorcing Max, Dorothy married Myron Groseclose, a wealthy successful Oklahoma City asphalt contractor who was 13 years her senior. One year later, Groseclose filed for divorce.

• Third marriage: Dorothy married James Waldon “Jelly” Wills in 1961. Wills was a businessman and owner of Jelly’s Club in Tonkawa. After the marriage, Wills purchased a large home in Enid where Dorothy lived. Wills continued to live in Tonkawa until his death in November, 1967.

• At the time of Kipper’s disappearance, Dorothy was 5″3″, slightly overweight, brown hair, brown eyes, small mouth, small hands and small feet, tastefully dressed, small heels. She was an accomplished cook, and somewhat aloof. Dorothy was 52 years older than Kipper and if alive today, would be 96 years old. Dorothy’s half-sister, Barbara, has refused numerous requests for photos of Dorothy.

• Dorothy’s skills: Dorothy was a skilled secretary and worked at Pillsbury Mills in Enid. She was also a part-time freelancer specializing in antique sales and interior decorating.

• View Dorothy’s profile here.

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