Situation

Let's say you reviewed a manuscript for a journal back in 2004. You thought the essay was excellent: research that was very much needed. You gave it a verdict of "accept with revisions" and suggested some areas that needed improvement. You've looked at all the issues of the journal since then (there have been nine), and you don't see the article. You want to cite this essay in your dissertation, but you don't know who wrote it, or if it ever found a home. What do you do? Do you write to the journal and ask for the identity of the author?