James Norris, 24, went missing on a trip to Florida in 1974. The San Francisco man was killed soon thereafter.

On Oct. 3, 1974, James Norris left San Francisco International Airport on a redeye to Miami. He was traveling under the alias Richard Gunning, and his suitcase was filled with cash. A few days later, his family in Fairfield received a postcard from Inglis, Florida, a small town about 90 miles north of Tampa. Norris promised to be home soon, but that was the last time they’d ever hear from him. By the time they realized he was missing, Norris was likely already dead.

Fifty years later, Florida investigators are making a renewed push to find out who killed the Bay Area man, leaving his body to decompose off a lonely highway in Dixie County.

Although he was known for being a free spirit, Norris’ family was immediately concerned when the 24-year-old failed to return from Florida. What happened next was documented by Norris’s younger sister, Rosemary Norris-Southward, on her website dedicated to his case: When Norris’ friends were tracked down in San Francisco, they were “tight-lipped,” Norris-Southward wrote. Norris’ mother “realized that they were withholding something, and that really frightened her.”

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Their reticence was due to the purpose of Norris’ trip: The friends, learning of cheap Colombian weed available in Florida, pooled together their money, and Norris, traveling under a fake name, was making the illegal transaction. It’s believed he planned to buy about $12,000 of marijuana to sell back in the Bay Area.

A view of the drive from Miami International Airport to Inglis, the town from which James Norris sent his........

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