The ex-wife gave the police a list of names of associates and employers Jake Bannon knew or worked with before his disappearance.

Ritchie

Police tracked down a friend we will call "Ritchie."  Ritchie and Bannon both worked on various construction crews around Southern California.  Ritchie described Bannon as a "fly by night" type who would walk off jobs after the least provocation and who sort of lived life day to day without worrying about future employment or the like.

Ritchie last saw Bannon around late July or early August 1989.  He never thought much about his disappearance until around a year or so later. He had contacted Bannon's ex-wife and was surprised to hear she had not seen him in over a year.  He reported that the ex-wife didn't sound very worried and did not seem to care that he hadn't shown up again.  She had filed for divorce.

Mike

Detectives also tracked down a man we will call "Mike" who worked on the tuna clippers with Bannon a couple of times. Mike stated that the boats did legitimately fish for tuna, but that they definitely did not make their primary income from that activity.  He declined to go into further detail for fear of self-incrimination, but did tell detectives that he only worked on the boats a few times on Bannon's insistence. He found the people they were working for "intimidating" and "killer types" and even warned Bannon not to continue working this trade and not to trust his employers. Mike gave authorities a lead on one of the employers on the tuna clipper. Mike moved on around mid-August of 1989 and never saw Bannon again.

Mike identified "Charlie" as a woman Bannon dated in the Long Beach area. The woman frequented the bars where dock workers hung out after work.  Bannon met her there.  He could only recall that Charlie was short for Charlotte and that she was a waitress.

Torn photograph of fishing boat was found in Bannon's journal
 
 

Other Interviews Ex-wife Past employers