Crime & Safety
Unsolved Cases: Jamie Martin Thornton
The 1-year-old was last seen in the front yard of his West End home in 1986.
Little Jamie Martin Thornton was just more than a month shy of his second birthday as he played in the front yard of his home in the West End of Pittsburgh on Oct. 4, 1986.
But when his birthday arrived on Nov. 12 that year, Jamie, whose nickname was "J.T," wasn't around to celebrate it. Some reports say that he disappeared in Chartiers Creek.
There is very little information available on his case, other than the standard listings on Pennsylvania Missing Persons, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, NamUs and The Doe Network. Jamie is considered one of the "endangered missing."
Find out what's happening in Baldwin-Whitehallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Today, he would be 27 years old.
In a March 17, 2011, story, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Jamie's mother—Gloria Steffens, of Pittsburgh's Overbrook neighborhood—became the first parent to provide her DNA to Pittsburgh police as part of a national project to link family members with the remains of lost relatives. Steffens' biggest fear, according to the story, was that her son's remains would be found and that she would have to deal with the fact she could never hold him again.
Find out what's happening in Baldwin-Whitehallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
At the time of his disappearance, Jamie was 3 feet 2 inches tall, weighed about 30 pounds and had light-brown hair, brown eyes and a birthmark on his right thigh. He was last seen wearing blue shorts, a green tank top and blue tennis shoes.
Anyone with information regarding Justin's case is asked to call Pittsburgh police at 412-665-4000. You may remain anonymous.
For more information about this and other missing person cases, visit the websites for Pennsylvania Missing Persons, NamUs and The Doe Network.
---
Follow the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch on Facebook and Twitter.
Sign up for the daily Baldwin-Whitehall newsletter.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.