[Tom Anderson] was the last person to see [Bill Landreth]. It was about Sept. 25-he doesn't remember exactly. Landreth had spent a week living in Anderson's home so the two could share Landreth's computer. Anderson's IBM-PC had been confiscated by authorities, and he wanted to complete work on his own book.

Landreth pleaded guilty in July, 1984, to one count of computer fraud in connection with tapping into GTE's electronic mailbox in Vienna, Va., and sharing his secrets within a network of other computer hackers, known as The Inner Circle. Landreth was known within the group only by the name "Cracker." Anderson said he is not counting the days until he sees his best friend again. "I'm not real sure if he's dead, but I'm not waiting for him to come back, either. That would only screw me up, because what if he didn't? I've written it off as a given, that he won't come back."

In a Wednesday article about the mysterious disappearance of computer hacker Bill Landreth, The Times incorrectly reported that Landreth's friend, 16-year-old Tom Anderson of Escondido, had been convicted in federal court and placed on probation for a computer crime. Actually, Anderson's computer equipment was confiscated by the FBI in October, 1985, when federal authorities made a sweep of alleged computer hackers, but Anderson was not arrested. **** END OF CORRECTION ********************************************