To an outsider, Monday, Sept. 26, 2011, might have seemed like an average day in Jamie Nichole Peterson's life.

Peterson's children, a 9-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, left for school that morning from their Ross Township home in the area of North Fremont Avenue, near Bellevue Borough. Jamie, 30, went to buy groceries at the Giant Eagle at 4110 Brighton Rd., and, according to some reports, also a Home Depot. Then, she returned home.

The last person to see Peterson was an ex-boyfriend, who came over early that afternoon to pick up clothing that he had left at her place. Jamie had broken off their five-year relationship three weeks earlier, according to her father, Jim Peterson, a former state constable from Ross.

Witnesses said that Jamie and the ex-boyfriend talked outside in her yard and that she did not get in his car, Jim Peterson said.

Darlene Peterson, Jamie's mother, reported her missing after Jamie's children returned home from school and couldn't find their mother. Jamie's car was still at the home, but her purse and cellphone were gone.

It wasn't the first time that Jamie had disappeared, her father said. She had gone missing for a while about eight years prior to this September 2011 disappearance.

The family passed out flyers in hopes of getting information and, after a few weeks with no success in finding her, Jamie's father organized a search of the immediate area. 

On Oct. 8, 2011, more than 50 friends, relatives and volunteers conducted a ground search, specifically looking for Jamie's purple Cricket phone case with flowers; a black cloth purse with white skulls; and a pair of glasses with pink speckles.

They concentrated on the area between Route 65 (Ohio River Boulevard) in Bellevue and the North Fremont Avenue area of Ross. The only things found were a pair of glasses and sandals, but it is unknown if those items belong to Jamie.

Jamie attended North Hills Junior High School and graduated from Northgate High School. She enrolled at Rosedale Technical Institute in 2004 and graduated in 2005 with an automative diploma. A mechanic, she was on disability leave from a car dealership following knee surgery. 

Jamie is white, 5 feet 3 inches tall and of stocky build. She has green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair with blond streaks. She wears black glasses with pink speckles. She also has multiple tattoos, including a butterfly tattoo on her neck, a purple bear on her left arm, a cross on her left shoulder with her son's name (Elijah) accompanying it, a daisy on her right shoulder with her daughter's name (Daisy) with it and a purple rose on her right breast.

Ross Township police Det. Brian Kohlhepp said that there are no new details to release concerning Jamie but that her case is still being actively worked.

Anyone with information regarding Jamie's whereabouts is asked to contact Kohlhepp at bkohlhepp@rosspolice.com or at 412-931-9070, ext. 148.

For more information about this and other missing person cases, visit the websites for Pennsylvania Missing Persons, NamUs and The Doe Network.

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