SCRANTON, PA — Seven years ago, on November 6, 2018, Denise DeGraffe received a phone call that would haunt her forever. Her son, 42-year-old Rashan Anthony Francis, was running—she could hear gravel crunching beneath his feet. He was crying, something he never did. And then he said the words that still replay in her mind: “They’re going to kill me.”

The line went dead. Rashan Francis has never been seen or heard from again.

Now 49 years old if still alive, Francis remains missing from Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he had moved from the Bronx three years earlier for work. His case has become emblematic of what his family says is a troubling pattern: missing persons of color who don’t receive the same level of attention, resources, or urgency as their white counterparts.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Rashan Anthony Francis, please contact:

Scranton Police Department
570-348-4134

Case Details:

• Name: Rashan Anthony Francis
• Missing Since: November 6, 2018
• Missing From: Dickson City/Scranton area, Lackawanna County, PA
• Age When Missing: 42 years old
• Current Age: 49 years old (if alive)
• Description: Black male, 5’8″, 150 lbs, black hair (shaved), brown eyes, possibly had beard, tattoo on upper arm
• Last Seen Wearing: Red, white and blue jacket, dark pants (possibly blue jeans), red tennis shoes, carrying black backpack
• Last Known Location: Walking on Business Route 6 near Sugerman’s in Eynon/Dickson City area
• Phone Last Pinged: Near Lake Scranton
• NamUs Case: MP56144
• Background: Originally from Bronx, NY; aspiring rapper; recently married; worked at warehouse

An Aspiring Rapper Seeking a Better Life

Rashan Anthony Francis was born and raised in the Bronx, where he nurtured dreams of making it as a rapper. Music was his passion, and those who knew him described him as talented and driven.

In 2015, Francis moved to Scranton for work opportunities. The city of approximately 76,000 residents offered him a fresh start and a warehouse job that would help him build a better life. He was recently married and seemed optimistic about his future, calling his mother nearly every day.

Francis lived with a roommate initially, but when that relationship soured, he moved to a rooming house on North Main Avenue. He appeared to be settling into life in the small Pennsylvania city, far from the hustle of New York.

The Terrifying Final Phone Call

On that November evening in 2018, DeGraffe, then 62, answered her phone to hear her son’s panicked voice.

“He sounded upset. He said, ‘Mom, tell everyone that I love them and I love you too,'” DeGraffe recalled in interviews. “He said he’s being accused of something he never did, and he said, ‘Oh they’re going to kill me.'”

The phone then went dead. When DeGraffe tried calling back, it went straight to voicemail. Her son never answered again.

Francis’ sister Kadesha later used a website to track his phone’s last location. It had pinged near Lake Scranton on the eastern edge of the city—a detail that would guide search efforts but yield no answers.

Last Seen Walking Route 6

According to Scranton Police, Francis was last seen walking along Business Route 6 in the Dickson City area, near Sugerman’s store in Eynon, on November 6, 2018.

He was wearing a distinctive red, white and blue jacket, dark pants—possibly blue jeans—and red tennis shoes. He carried a black backpack. Francis, who typically kept his head shaved, may have had a beard at the time. He had a tattoo on one of his upper arms.

Police searched a large wooded area near where he was last seen but found no trace of him.

A Family’s Fight for Answers

Francis’ family immediately sprang into action, hanging “Missing” posters throughout Scranton and pressing police for updates. But according to the family, they quickly encountered what felt like indifference.

DeGraffe claims that early on, police gave excuses for delays in searching—it was raining too much, snowing too much, they didn’t have special gear. She says detectives told her not to post on social media or go to the media, advice she later regretted following.

In February 2019, after submitting a second DNA sample, DeGraffe says a month passed before police told her they had searched but found nothing.

The family’s frustration mounted as they watched other missing persons cases—particularly that of Gabby Petito, the white Long Island woman who disappeared in 2021—receive wall-to-wall media coverage and aggressive law enforcement response.

“Like the Gabby Petito — Ha — every news outlet covered it — everyone,” Francis’ sister Tamisha said, the pain evident in her voice.

Race and the Missing Persons Gap

The Francis family has been direct in their assessment of why they believe Rashan’s case hasn’t received adequate attention.

“He’s a minority,” Tamisha Francis said. “That’s all I can say — he’s a minority. We never get treated the same. Never.”

Their experience reflects a documented pattern in missing persons investigations. Studies and advocacy groups have long noted that cases involving missing people of color, particularly Black men and women, receive less media attention and fewer investigative resources than cases involving white individuals—a phenomenon sometimes called “Missing White Woman Syndrome.”

Peter Gleason, a lawyer advising DeGraffe, put it bluntly: “It’s fair to say everybody can agree that all missing persons deserve the same attention regardless of race, creed or color.”

The Investigation That Wasn’t

The family’s most painful claim is that Scranton Police have effectively stopped working the case. They say police no longer return their calls or answer their questions.

When NewsNation attempted to investigate Francis’ disappearance in 2022, they noted that Scranton Police didn’t respond to any of their calls about the investigation. The silence, the outlet observed, “seems to support what the family has been saying”—that police are behaving “as if Rashan Francis never existed at all.”

The Scranton Mayor’s office and Chief of Police did not respond to detailed emails requesting comment about the handling of the case, according to the New York Daily News.

Unanswered Questions

What happened to Rashan Francis during those terrifying final moments? Who was chasing him? What was he accused of doing?

Podcast host Ed Dentzel, who has explored Francis’ case extensively, suggests that Francis could have covered significant ground if he was running from someone.

“Given that Rashan was walking or was running away from someone or it was some sort of paranoia, he could have gone a long way,” Dentzel said. “Miles. So I’m not surprised they didn’t find him.”

Security footage from the area showed Francis alone—”He was not being followed by any pedestrians,” according to former investigator Tom Carroll. Yet Francis clearly believed he was in mortal danger.

Some have speculated about paranoia or mental health crisis, but Francis’ family insists he was genuinely afraid of a real threat. They point to his roommate situation and suggest there may have been disputes that escalated dangerously.

A Mother’s Unending Grief

For Denise DeGraffe, now in her late 60s, seven years have brought no healing.

“And you tell me: How should I feel? How should I feel?” she asked through sobs in a 2022 interview. “How are you gonna tell a mother who has a son that’s missing that she can’t come to another state to find out what’s going on?”

She can still remember that last phone call like it was yesterday—her son’s panicked voice, the sound of gravel, his tears, his final declaration of love.

The family doesn’t expect to find Rashan alive at this point. But they still desperately want answers. They want to know what happened. They want closure. They want justice.

Most of all, they want someone to care.

Rashan Francis’s family continues to seek answers seven years after his disappearance. Even the smallest piece of information could help solve this case.