Howard left his apartment and pit bull dog and never returned, likely left after 11 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2011. (My most recent information is that he left a dog with a neighbor, saying he would be going to Harlem for 4 days. He would come back shortly from a nearby Petland Discount store with dog food to leave for his neighbor. He never came back or returned e-mail messages from his neighbor and the neighbor eventually had to give the dog to the ASPCA. It's possible one or more people who were taking him to Harlem picked him up somewhere between his apartment and the Petland store and that person or persons knows something about his disappearance. This could have occurred on October 9, 2011. This information makes me doubt the sightings in Brooklyn or that he was far gone on drugs at the time of his disappearance.) He likely left a laptop. He left all the furniture provides him by Services of the Underserved. He may have also left the mobile broadband, or sold them, or had them stolen. He is bipolar and had an argument in a mental health clinic, run by Services for the Underserved and may have gone off medication, probably before September 14, 2011. He may have been selling this medication. From September 14 to September 24,2011--he made harassing phones calls to his daughter in Phoenix, Arizona, sounding insane. Another friend said he talked with Howard long before September 14 and Howard told him he was weaning himself off of his medicines, against the doctor's advice. And he was selling the unused medicines for money. He was going to college, maybe Liberty University or Phoenix University online programs, unemployed, living on Social Security disability payments. He was on my Verizon family plan and suddenly added a mobile broadband. He bought a new smartphone on 9/26/11, shortly after being beaten by a roommate, so that fight may have gotten his old cell phone broken. His calls went from 1,700 minutes in one month to nothing after October 8. His friends and relatives can't find him. Neighbors say he went to the Occupy Wall Street site and may have been arrested.

He was in middle of forensics course at a university (Liberty or Phoenix?)when he disappeared, with plans to work on ongoing movie script in January 2012. He transferred to this latest unknown college/university after leaving a Walden University Master's Program in Forensic Psychology. He had a BA in Human Services from Empire State College before entering Walden University. One of his last contacts was with a friend in November, talking about the forensics class and his scriptwriting plans for January 2012. That memory may be faulty but another friend who had planned to go with Howard to the MLK dedication ceremony in Washington, DC, on October 16, said he didn't think Howard went and he said he saw Howard around October 16. A friend in Washington, DC, who was in phone contact with Howard through October 8 said Howard was going to go to the MLK ceremony around October 15 with another friend, probably from an African mosque Howard was said to be attending.

He is known to many only as "Zebra" and his favorite hangout was 207th Street in Manhattan, where he frequented a pool hall. He also went at least once to an African-American barber on Broadway to get his hair braided.

I have confirmed that he went off his medicines by September 14 or 24, 2011 and was pretty insane around that time, so he likely would have gotten worse and worse by the time he disappeared.

About a year ago, he rented his bedroom to a couple, the wife was a crack addict. Her husband nearly killed Howard, breaking his nose and smashing his head against an air conditioner, according to one of Howard's friends and phone contacts. He told another friend only that someone had broken in and broke his computer during a fight. He was said to be glad to have acquired the pit bull after that. (Information retrieved from NamUs.gov)