PA PA - Tamara 'Tammy' Porrin, 15, DuBois, 22 Nov 1986

[Lorenathered]

I am local so this is what I can tell you...as far as I am aware, yes the parents were native to DuBois. Her sister also still lives in the area. I have heard two different versions of what happened from people who claim to be family. Though full disclosure, I could not verify this at the time so take these versions with a humble IMO. First version I heard was that neither of the parents ever reported her missing and she was written off as a run away. The version I have heard from people who claim to be family, is that she was reported missing the first night but the police wrote her off as a runaway. Parent's did push the issue, wasn't mentioned again until the sister reported her missing years later.

 

[Brightchaser47]

I am local so this is what I can tell you...as far as I am aware, yes the parents were native to DuBois. Her sister also still lives in the area. I have heard two different versions of what happened from people who claim to be family. Though full disclosure, I could not verify this at the time so take these versions with a humble IMO. First version I heard was that neither of the parents ever reported her missing and she was written off as a run away. The version I have heard from people who claim to be family, is that she was reported missing the first night but the police wrote her off as a runaway. Parent's did push the issue, wasn't mentioned again until the sister reported her missing years later.

If her parents did pursue it, did local LE have reason to not investigate, or was a missing teen with a history of running off just not a priority?

 

[Lorenathered]

IMO you hit the nail on the head. At that time, kids who had a history of running away were not investigated beyond taking the report.

 

[Brightchaser47]

IMO you hit the nail on the head. At that time, kids who had a history of running away were not investigated beyond taking the report.

I hear this so often reading through cold case threads. Makes me wonder how many "runaways" were actually murdered. SMH...

 

[rebelP]

I'm local. A friend was a cop at the time. I will speak to them soon to see what they remember from the time. Not a Du Bois cop, but close by. Just recently started looking into this case and also realized another family friend lived very near the house in Du Bois where the parents lived. --something was said on the Facebook page about 530 Maple Ave --assumed that's where she lived.
Not sure if my friends moved in there before 86 though. If not, soon after. I will see if they have any recollections of the home situation.
I'll report back when I talk to some people.

I will say... I don't have the impression that it was 'small town/afraid of the family' kind of thing. @Brightchaser47 Had asked: "In such a small, rural area, could the locals have been so afraid of him or the family that they avoided any deep involvement in locating Tamara?" There isn't that kind of vibe here, now or back then. More likely it was the 'teenage runaway' excuse to not pursue. Which is an amazing level of ineptness.

 

[chaddylex]

I wonder if Tammy's sister is still actively looking for her?

Did she have any friends in Jr high that Law Enforcement interviewed?

I have been to Dubois a few years ago, my daughter was in state playoffs for softball and played at Heindl Memorial Field. We took a lot of back roads to get there, I remember thinking how rural it was. If she "ran away" where did she go?

 

[dotr]

by: Bill Shannon Jul 25, 2025

https://www.wtaj.com/news/local-news/reward-offered-in-30-year-cold-case-of-missing-dubois-teen/

''DUBOIS, Pa. (WTAJ) — A $5,000 reward is being offered as Pennsylvania State Police continue looking for answers after a teen was reported missing in 1994.

State police out of DuBois continue investigating the disappearance of Tamara “Tammy” Dawn Porrin, who was 15 years old when she was last seen.

While the case began in 1994, when she was reported missing, investigators said she was reportedly last seen Nov. 26, 1986.''

''Anyone with information is asked to contact PSP Dubois Station at 814-938-0532 or PSP Tips at 1-800-472-8477 or online by clicking here''

 

[purplegardengirl]

I had just started looking into the case. Ironically, I do have a good friend I work with who is very good friends with a sister-in-law of the missing girl. The sister in law claims that the parents of this missing girl did travel to Ada Oklahoma area. I ran a search of unidentified person’s within the various counties of that location matching a specific timeline between when she went missing and when she was reported missing. I somewhat concluded that if a body was found that she would be between the ages of 15 to 17. Unfortunately, one of the two Jane doe’s I found near this location does not have any identifiable remains nor any remains used for possible DNA analysis. This body was found near a residence home, I’m going to confirm if they did have any family in the area during this timeframe, and continue on searching for any information on this recovery in that area. However, I did find one with a date stretched out to 2012, the bone recovered from this DOES have partial DNA profile.