Alex, is that Jan 3 1944 or March 1 1944? At any rate either loss date seems to rule him out.
I also found a MACR for Leroy Strader, 145g FG with a FOD date 1945-08-20.
The MACR is in the "blank" section on fold3.com, 10 pages long. No plane number, the MACR number is 10005.
For those with fold3 access, here is a link to the first page.
https://www.fold3.com/image/139144183
He was lost on 1944-08-19 on a ferry flight from England to Italy. There were a group of pilots from the 1st , 14, and 82nd FG ferrying planes back from England. Strader's gyro horizon went out soon after take-off from England. At that time the group had separated somewhat as they tried to climb through heavy clouds between 15,000 to 32,000 feet. Strader apparently went into a spin and bailed out.