Name: James W. Morse
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: February 23, 1982
Location Last Seen: West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida
Date of Birth: April 2, 1927
Age: 54 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 155 pounds
Hair Color: Gray
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: A non-descriptive scar on his head
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Morse, 54, a carpenter and disabled veteran, was last seen by his mother on February 2, 1982, in Apopka. He headed south for West Palm Beach in his silver Ford step-up van when he picked up a hitchhiker. He never made it home to West Palm Beach.
At first deputies considered it a missing-persons case. Then they found someone had used Morse's credit cards, and sold his 1964 Ford step van for $70. Morse's blood was found splattered on the inside of the van. Enough tissue was found for the Medical Examiner's Office to conclude that the injury suffered by the victim was fatal.
Eventually, police obtained a murder confession from drifter David Lee Armstrong, a 20-year- old fugitive from Arkansas. Armstrong killed James W. Morse, sold his truck and used his credit cards. Armstrong told police he dumped the body in a sugar cane field near Belle Glade. An extensive search was conducted but the body was not found. David Armstrong pleaded guilty and was sentenced 15 years in prison for manslaughter.
Agency Name: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 561-688-3000
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 82-30183
NamUs Case Number: #MP29848
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Miami Herald
Added: 4/21/2009; Last Updated: 11-13-2021 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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