Right: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 50 years
Right: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 50 years
Name: James Richard Howell
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: May 28, 1969
Location Last Seen: Sterling, Whiteside County, Illinois
Date of Birth: October 28, 1959
Age: 9 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 4'5
Weight: 79 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Jimmy
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown
Clothing: Blue jeans and a white T-shirt. White tennis shoes.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
James Howell and his sister, Debra, were playing in the front yard of their home on West 13th Street in Sterling, Illinois on May 28, 1969. Jim was going to build a cage for his birds. Deb went into the house to get some nails and a hammer. When she returned about a minute later, the boards Jim had with him to build the cage were scattered along the street in front of the residence and Jim was gone.
Newspaper reports from days, months and a year after Howell's disappearance reveal several supposed sightings of him.
A newspaper account states Howell's stepfather saw him a short time after he apparently left home looking for wood to build a birdcage, across the alley with another boy from the neighborhood, and a neighbor reported seeing him walk across a nearby field with the pigeon under his arm.
Police were notified the following day, after the boy's mother and stepfather apparently had spent the night searching for him. A neighbor called at 22:35 on May 28, 1969, to report Howell's disappearance.
An ensuing search included a 400-person air and ground search party that worked its way through the area west of town where Howell reportedly last was seen by his stepfather, a search of Elkhorn Creek and the Rock River, and divers searched gravel pits and water areas, with no results.
Agency Name: Whiteside County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Detective Pat Carney
Agency Phone Number: 815-772-4044
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: M00A7263
Agency Name: Sterling Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Alex Chavira
Agency Phone Number: (815) 632-6640
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: M13B4888
NCIC Case Number: M530524219
NCMEC Case Number: 872770
NamUs Case Number: 6194
NCMEC
NamUs
Sauk Valley News - May 23, 2009
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 02/25/2024 - By: kc
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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