LAKEPORT >> In early September the Lakeport Police Department engaged the services international Forensic Artist Diana Trepkov to aid in a 20 year old missing person case.
Trepkov completed two hand drawn age progression images of Steven William Branston, who was reported missing in Lakeport in October 1996.
Branston was last known to be in Honolulu, Hawaii in August of that same year.
“These two images were based off two different known photographs of Branston when he was approximately 20 years old and intended to show what he may look like today at age 40,” said Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen in a press statement.
Officers were initially contacted by Branston’s parents in the fall of 1996, who reported that they had not had contact with him since an August 1, 1996 telephone call while they were on vacation out of state. Prior to his parents going on vacation, Branston had reportedly advised them that he might move to the state of Hawaii.
After arriving home from vacation Branston’s parents found that he was gone but determined that he had transferred his Social Security income to Honolulu and also rented a self-storage locker in that city.
An investigation determined that Branston arrived in Honolulu after traveling alone from California on August 5, 1996. Officers also determined that he opened a bank account on August 12, 1996. Further investigation of the bank account records at the time of the report showed that two Social Security Income checks, for the months of August and September 1996 had been deposited into the accoun.t but no withdrawals had been made.
Branston’s parents continued to monitor the account for as least a year and found that checks continued to be deposited but no money was ever withdrawn while the account was active.
The last confirmed known locations of Branston were in August 1996 at the Honolulu Airport and Hy-Pac Self Storage in Honolulu.
Between August 1996 and June 1997, there were several reported but unconfirmed sightings in Hawaii, including on the islands of Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Kauai.
The County of Kauai Police Department also conducted investigation of this case in the year 2000.
Branston physical description on file is as a white male, 6 feet tall, 170 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. At the time of his disappearance he had long curly hair worn in a ponytail and may have had a light brown curly beard. He had a history of smoking cigarettes.
Prior to his disappearance, Branston was taking the medication Risperdal due to being diagnosed with Schizophrenia.
Over the years, Lakeport Police investigators have continued to work on this case attempting to develop leads. The age progression drawings are part of that effort.
Trepkov has been involved in 199 law enforcement cold cases throughout Canada and the United States and is experienced in numerous areas of forensic art including Composite Drawings/Police Sketches, Postmortem Reconstruction, Surveillance Video Sketching, Facial Reconstruction of the Skull, Historical Facial Reconstruction and Age Progressions.
She has been a speaker at law enforcement conferences in both Canada and the United States, is an advocate for the homeless, missing persons and children and is the author of four books including: “Faceless, Voiceless — From Search to Closure, A Forensic Artist’s Inspirational Approach to the Missing and Unidentified.”
“It is our hope that these new age progressed images will assist in generating leads to determine the whereabouts of Branston,” Rasmussen said.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Lakeport Police Detective Dale Stoebe or any other officer at 707-263-5491, by sending a private message Facebook @LakeportPolice or by sending an anonymous message through Nixle by texting the words TIP LAKEPORT followed by your message to 888777.
