CA CA - Thomas James, 41, Los Angeles, 18 June 1998

[TheArtfulDetective]

Thomas James



Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: June 18, 1998
Location Last Seen: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California

Description:

• Date of Birth: June 04, 1957
• Age: 41 years old
• Race: White/Caucasian
• Gender: Male
• Height: 5' 8" (68 inches)
• Weight: 145 lbs
• Hair Color: Black/Possibly a mustache, beard or a goatee.
• Eye Color: Brown
• Nickname/Alias: Unknown
• Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
• Clothing & Personal Items: Unknown
• Identifiers: Dental records available

Circumstances of Disappearance:
James was last seen in Los Angeles, California on June 18, 1998. He lived with his mother in the 4000 block of Cromwell Avenue in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles. He has never been heard from again. He left his wallet, money, credit cards, driver's license, and passport behind at home, but may have taken his ATM card. A newspaper with some apartment rental advertisements circled was also discovered; he'd been looking for a new apartment that was closer to his job.

James' 1997 Nissan Altima was later found abandoned at Avon and Alameda Streets near NBC Studios in Burbank, California on July 1, 1998. There was no sign of him at the scene. He normally used a steering wheel locking device to deter theft, but it was unlocked when the car was found.

James had worked as a tram driver for Universal Studios for fifteen years prior to his disappearance; he was considered a model employee and won the employee of the year award in 1995. He was unmarried and his hobbies included investing in the stock market, watching movies, and horse racing.

It's considered uncharacteristic of James to leave without warning. His case is unsolved and whereabouts remain unknown.

Investigators:

• Los Angeles Police Department- Adult Missing Persons Unit: (213) 996-1800; (213) 485-5381; (877) 275-5273
  Reference Case Number: 98-1116940

NCIC Case Number: Not available
NamUs Case Number: MP19499
NCMEC Number: Not available

Thomas James
Thomas James – The Charley Project
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Thomas James – The Charley Project

 

[fozamo]

Tram Driver Disappearance Probed

Investigation: Car owned by Universal Studios' top employee in 1995 was found July 1 in Burbank.

www.latimes.com

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Tram Driver Disappearance Probed​

By ANDREW BLANKSTEIN
July 23, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER
BURBANK —
In the 15 years he worked for Universal Studios, Thomas James gained a reputation as a steady employee whose enthusiasm shuttling tourists helped earn him the company’s employee of the year honors in 1995.
Then last month, the 41-year-old tram driver--a bachelor who enjoyed movies, investing in the stock market and horse racing--vanished, leaving behind only a discarded newspaper classified section circled for possible apartment rentals.
But even that discovery failed to turn up any hard leads for family members, who met with several landlords. No one could recall seeing the thin, dark-haired man with the bouncy walk.

“It’s such an enigma,” his mother, Clare James, 80, of Los Feliz, said Wednesday. “There hasn’t been one clue. His friends and his family agree it’s not like him to drop out of sight without letting anyone know.”
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Missing Persons Bureau concurs there is little to go on other than the discovery July 1 of the missing man’s greenish-blue Nissan Altima, which was parked at Avon and Alameda streets near NBC Studios in Burbank.
“The case is still open as a missing person case,” said LAPD Det. Doug Lemelle. “There is no evidence of foul play at this time.”

Universal Studios spokesman Jim Yeager called James, who was the assigned tram driver for VIPs, “very popular and very well liked,” describing him as “a model employee.”
The deepening mystery has unnerved Clare James, who said she was told that police found only an unmounted steering-wheel locking device in the front passenger seat of her son’s car.
“He was cautious about things,” she said. “The fact that he didn’t use The Club leads me to believe that he intended to return to the car in a reasonable amount of time.”
In the days leading up to his disappearance, James did not seem depressed or exhibit any unusual behavior, she said.
The second oldest of four brothers, James had helped organize a birthday party for his 9-year-old niece on Sunday, June 14, his mother said.
The missing man’s brother, John James, said that the last time anyone talked to him was the following Tuesday night, when he made a half-hour phone call to a friend and co-worker at Universal.
The first hint of trouble came that Wednesday, when he did not come home. After he failed to show up for work Friday, his mother called police.
Family members said that James moved in with his mother in May after his landlord raised the rent on his one-bedroom apartment in Burbank. During his free time, he had been out looking for a new apartment closer to work, his family said.
The missing man left a wallet at home with credit cards, his driver’s license, a passport and cash, John James said. Family members could not find his automatic-teller card and believed he might have been carrying it when he disappeared.
Hundreds of fliers have been distributed in the area where his car was found. Anyone with information can call (818) 759-6513.