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Missing Joshua Justin Summeries 
Joshua, approximately 2013; Demetries Thorpe Date reported missing : 08/19/2013 Missing location (approx) : Zion, Illinois Missing classification : Endangered Missing Gender : Male Ethnicity : Black DOB : 03/13/2013 (8) Age at the time of disappearance: 5 months old Height / Weight : Unknown Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos : African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Joshua was last seen in Zion, Illinois on August 19, 2013. He started crying in the early morning hours and his mother, Kisha Summeries, went to quiet him. At 8:00 a.m., his mother's boyfriend, Demetries Thorpe, told Kisha that Joshua had been abducted by a man who reached through an open window into the apartment. When Kisha asked him more questions, such as why he had not called the police, he fled. Thorpe was located at 6:00 p.m. the following day and taken in for questioning. Two days later, he confessed to the infant's murder. A photo of Thorpe is posted with this case summary. He said he'd suffocated Joshua with his hand while trying to stop his crying. Thorpe said he put the body in a backpack and placed it in a garbAge at the time of disappearance: can behind the apartment building. A surveillance camera filmed him removing the backpack from the can and putting it in a dumpster just before the dumpster was emptied by a garbAge at the time of disappearance: truck. Authorities searched Zion's 330-acre landfill on Green Bay Road for four days, but were unable to find Joshua's body. Thorpe was charged with first-degree murder. He ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison with no possibility for parole. Kisha was cooperative with the investigation and no charges were filed against her. Joshua left behind five siblings. Four were in the custody of the state at the time of his disappearance; the fifth, a boy, was placed in his father's care after Joshua vanished. His body has never been found. Other information and links : ncy Zion Police Department September 2021 updates and sources The Chicago Tribune The Daily Herald CBS News NBC Chicago October 12, 2004. September 27, 2020; middle name and two pictures added. |