Found Deceased NY - James Johnston, 31, missing after car accident in NJ, Brooklyn, 29 Jan 2019 *disoriented*

JerseyGirl

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  • #1
James Johnston, 31, was last seen around 11 p.m. on Jan. 29, inside his Morgan Avenue apartment. Johnston is described as Asian with black hair and brown eyes, approximately 5 feet 8 inches in height and weighs around 200 pounds. He has a large burn scar above his elbow.

Search Continues for Missing East Williamsburg Man Last Seen 2 Weeks Ago: NYPD | Greenpoint Post

301-19-Missing-90-pct-1-29-19.jpg
 
  • #2
A missing person’s flyer states James Russell Johnston III “was in a car accident earlier in the day in North Bergen, NJ and may have suffered a head injury. He may not know his name and likely needs medical attention.”

The family explains during that accident, the airbag deployed. The car is still being fixed and is at the shop in North Bergen.

They said his phone hasn’t been used since the night of the accident. The family has been trying to obtain his phone records, but say without evidence of criminal activity, the police can’t get a subpoena to access those.

Johnston is Korean American, 5’ 9” around 175 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, it is possible he was wearing red shoes at the time of his disappearance.

NYPD searching for missing Wayne Central grad
 
  • #3
This is frightening. He went missing during that very, very cold snap with freezing temps in the area.

He's from Rochester, lived in Brooklyn, and had the car accident in New Jersey. My hunch would be he got disoriented trying to find his way back to Brooklyn using public transportation, but maybe he called a car service?

It's confusing that his car is in the shop, but he is missing. Did he go with the car to the shop? I would assume the shop has cameras - is he on video at the shop? Did LE notice him missing from the accident scene?

jmo
 
  • #4
It sounds like he made it back to his Williamsburg apartment after the accident.. according to the news articles.. i wonder where he could have gone.. he was last seen around his apartment on morgan ave.
 
  • #5
bump..
 
  • #6
Thirty-one-year-old James Johnston, who resides in New York City, was last seen Jan. 29 at his Brooklyn apartment in Williamsburg.

His mother talked to him earlier that day following a car crash he was involved in that resulted in his car's airbags deploying. After the car was towed, his roommates confirmed James made it home.

"He got there, he was talking to his roommates and all went to bed," explained the mom. "When they woke up the next day, he was gone." She also says the NYPD will finally be pinging his phone sometime this week to see where a last possible location could be.

Investigators say there is no security footage in or around the man's apartment. The mom believes her son could have suffered a head injury in the crash, leaving him disoriented.

Johnston also suffers from bipolar disorder and missed his last injection to manage the mental health issue on Jan. 20 which the mom believes could also be a factor in his disappearance.

EXCLUSIVE: Family struggles in search of Wayne Central grad

EXCLUSIVE_Family_struggles_to_search_for_Wayne_Central_grad-syndImport-101324.jpg
 
  • #7
This is scary. His phone has not been used! Even if his battery went dead, everyone has phones and chargers! I always carry different chargers to help out.
 
  • #8
He has been missing for too long! I will never understand how you cannot get a warrant, his loved ones say he needs medication! Why wasn't this followed up???
 
  • #9
I'm local and had no idea there was a missing person in my area.. I heard about it here. smh

I wonder where his phone last pinged..
 
  • #10
flyer-1552068707-4319.jpg


James Johnston, who goes by Jamie, was last seen the night of Jan. 29 in his apartment on Morgan Avenue. Johnston, who works as a Lyft driver, had made it home after his car was towed from an accident earlier that day, but had disappeared by the next morning.

"He took a Lyft or Uber back to his apartment and was talking to his roommates that night," his mother said. "They woke up the next morning and he was gone."

The NYPD is working on getting his cell phone records so they can ping James' phone and see where it was last used.

He refused medical attention at the scene, but the air-bag had deployed when he hit a car that stopped short in front of him, his mother said. The airbag debris had made him so sick that he told her he got out of the car and threw up after the crash.

Lyft Driver Disappears After Accident, Now Missing For A Month

Here is his Help Find James (Jamie) Johnston page on Facebook: Log into Facebook | Facebook
 
  • #11
flyer-1552068707-4319.jpg


James Johnston, who goes by Jamie, was last seen the night of Jan. 29 in his apartment on Morgan Avenue. Johnston, who works as a Lyft driver, had made it home after his car was towed from an accident earlier that day, but had disappeared by the next morning.

"He took a Lyft or Uber back to his apartment and was talking to his roommates that night," his mother said. "They woke up the next morning and he was gone."

The NYPD is working on getting his cell phone records so they can ping James' phone and see where it was last used.

He refused medical attention at the scene, but the air-bag had deployed when he hit a car that stopped short in front of him, his mother said. The airbag debris had made him so sick that he told her he got out of the car and threw up after the crash.

Lyft Driver Disappears After Accident, Now Missing For A Month

Here is his Help Find James (Jamie) Johnston page on Facebook: Log into Facebook | Facebook
He was himself a Lyft driver? Was he working as a driver when he got in the accident? I'm wondering if he took the accident very hard emotionally - that it would ruin is livelihood, be financially ruinous, etc. I hope the best for this young man but I'm worried.

jmo
 
  • #12
If he is bipolar as stated above, he could be in a manic episode, perhaps even hallucinatory. A head injury could only make that worse.
If he is really manicky, he could be on a 5150 hold, which I think is only is legally permissible for a few days.
Let’s hope he is found safe soon, and returns home.

Amateur speculation and opinion.

ETA the throwing up sounds consistent with a concussion/head injury.
 
  • #13
wonder if there are any searches going on in the area..
 
  • #14
NYPD has been investigating and they are working on getting a subpoena so that we can get access to his phone and bank accounts to try to ping the phone. The issue is that Bi-Polar is not considered something that would impact his cognitive ability and it does not make him a vulnerable adult.

If you are not a vulnerable adult, the police will generally not do much because the assumption is that the person disappeared on their own.

We've called all the hospitals in the NYC and North Bergen/Hoboken/Jersey City area and he hasn't been admitted. At this point, he is off his meds.

Here is the latest news story from the Rochester news media and the Find James Facebook Group for latest discussion.

*modsnip*/ 🤬🤬🤬 removed as against TOS

It's great how much interest there is in his case!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #15
@brandon359

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  • #16
bump.. no updates? any searches planned?
 
  • #17
bump.. no updates? any searches planned?
According to the most recent post on the Help Find James (Jamie) Johnson Facebook page, the family hired a PI “yesterday” (the post is from 15 hours ago, so probably on Thursday).

The information was posted by Jamie’s mom, who is one of the admins of the group:
Nancy Seils Johnston

I am not seeing any information about future searches.
 
  • #18
According to the most recent post on the Help Find James (Jamie) Johnson Facebook page, the family hired a PI “yesterday” (the post is from 15 hours ago, so probably on Thursday).

The information was posted by Jamie’s mom, who is one of the admins of the group:
Nancy Seils Johnston

I am not seeing any information about future searches.


thank you, inmyhumbleopinion. I'm local and would love to help any way that i can. I feel horrible for his friends and family. He's been missing for a while now and there doesn't seem to be much info out there about it.
 
  • #19
thank you, inmyhumbleopinion. I'm local and would love to help any way that i can. I feel horrible for his friends and family. He's been missing for a while now and there doesn't seem to be much info out there about it.
I agree. It seems like they really don’t have much to work with right now, and that has to be very frustrating.

According to the Patch article JerseyGirl posted above, Jamie’s mom said the NYPD was working on getting his cell phone records to see where it was last used.

The article was published on March 8th and updated on the 11th. They haven’t posted on the FB Group page if anything came if it as far as I can tell, but I am really hoping that they will be able to get good information from it, as that would definitely help identify areas to search, IMO.

Because:

1. Jamie suffers from bipolar disorder;

2. It has been almost a month since he was scheduled to receive an injection of his medication, and since it is “newer,” his mom isn’t “sure how his body will react to going off of it” [perhaps his medication level was already below therapeutic level, and that is what precipitated his disappearance or even accident]

3. He was in a car accident within 24 hours prior to his disappearance;

4. He threw up after the accident;

LE really needs to expedite the investigation, IMO.
Lyft Driver Disappears After Accident, Now Missing For A Month
 
  • #20

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