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Missing Joshua Jerome Mahaffey 
Joshua, approximately 1991; Age at the time of disappearance: -progression to Age at the time of disappearance: 39 (approximately 2015) Date reported missing : 10/12/1991 Missing location (approx) : Centralia, Illinois Missing classification : Endangered Missing Gender : Male Ethnicity : White DOB : 06/02/1976 (45) Age at the time of disappearance: 15 years old Height / Weight : 5'2, 120 pounds Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos : Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Joshua's two front teeth are capped and one of them is discolored. He has a dog bite scar on his left cheek. His nickname is Josh. Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Joshua got into an argument with his mother and departed from his Centralia, Illinois home on October 12, 1991. He climbed out his bedroom window and left with another boy. He has never been heard from again. According to one account, he was later sighted with another teenAge at the time of disappearance: boy, leaving a shopping center in a blue Ford Maverick with a friend, Terry Martin, and Martin's girlfriend. Martin and the other boy returned hours later. The car was mud-splattered and Joshua wasn't with him. He has never been heard from again. Joshua had been known to run away for several days at a time, so his mother was initially unconcerned by his absence. She began to worry after weeks passed without any sign of him, and she reported him missing on November 12. Martin is a suspect in Joshua's disappearance. In 2003, while in jail, he allegedly told another inmate that he had killed a boy named Josh in 1991. A witness, Tonya L. Collins, who was in her teens in 1991, told authorities that she'd witnessed Joshua's torture and murder in a Satanic-type ritual in the Devil's Playground area of Centralia. She passed a polygraph about the case in 1996, but failed a second one in 2008. In 2008, she was placed under hypnosis and led authorities to Joshua's supposed burial site in the Devil's Playground, but a dig of the area produced nothing. Collins named Martin as Joshua's killer. It was she who claims she saw them leave the shopping center together. Martin has an extensive criminal record. In 1993, he beat a man with a baseball bat and almost killed him. In 1999, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the rape of a 6-year-old girl. He was paroled in 2010, but allegedly failed to register as a Gender : offender and was re-arrested. Joshua and Martin burglarized a small grocery together prior to Joshua's disappearance. Joshua testified against Martin in that case, and Martin was ultimately sentenced to four years in prison. Joshua was also allegedly seeing Martin's girlfriend in secret, something Martin denies. Martin admits that he was friends with Collins and Joshua in 1991, but says he didn't harm Joshua and doesn't know what happened to him. He stated Joshua often talked about running away, possibly to Kentucky, which was where his father lived. Authorities believe Joshua is probably deceased, but they're unsure as to what happened to him. His case remains unsolved. Other information and links : ncy Clinton County Sheriff's Office 618-594-4555 September 2021 updates and sources The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children The Chicago Sun-Times A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece. The Belleville News-Democrat NBC News Updated 7 times since October 12, 2004. October 26, 2019; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated. |