After nearly 29 years, police have reopened the case of a North Little Rock man who went missing in the late 1980s, offering a new reward for information into his disappearance.

Dwayne Martin, 23 at the time, went missing Dec. 11, 1987, after leaving work at a Sherwood diner, North Little Rock police spokesman Sgt. Brian Dedrick said.

He said investigators decided to look back into the unresolved case, considered a homicide investigation, given its unusual nature.

"The cold case squad was going through homicide files, and this happened to be in the mix of these files," Dedrick said.

Martin left Rob's Place about 10 p.m. Dec. 11, 1987, with an unknown person and has not been seen since, according to police. His mother, Brenda Brown, reported him missing days later.

Information regarding that diner's location was not immediately available Friday.

Dedrick said Martin had been to Rob's Place twice that day: once in the morning to pick up his paycheck and later in the day to work a shift.

Police received reports that Martin was last seen in the area of the Shorter Gardens apartment complex at 800 N. Beech St. in North Little Rock. Martin's listed home address was 319 Elm St. in North Little Rock, about 1 mile southeast of the complex.

Dedrick said authorities at that time received unsubstantiated witness information that crack cocaine could have been a factor in Martin's disappearance, with one witness telling police that Martin had been given crack cocaine at that address.

The witness reports in the late 1980s came at a time when use of crack cocaine was of great concern nationwide, the Arkansas Gazette, now the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, included in its February 1988 report on Martin's disappearance.

Martin had recently been discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps, according to police.

"His mom told us that he was a witty person and that it was very unlike him to not tell of his whereabouts," Dedrick said.

Police at one point offered a $500 reward for information regarding Martin's disappearance, the Arkansas Gazette reported in May 1988. A $1,500 reward is now being offered for leads in the case.

Anyone with information related to the case is asked to call the North Little Rock Police Department at (501) 758-1234.