New member, happened to stumble across this forum and post in particular as I was thinking of Nonconnah and the flooding Memphis is currently experiencing, and John popped in my head. I tried finding an obituary to verify my recollection but I can find nothing on that boy’s existence except for this thread.
I don’t know if anyone will see this, but just putting what I remember out there.
I did not know John, but one of my best friends growing up was. I remember how devastated he was. It’s odd that there’s no obituary and nobody can find photos or information or a resolution to this.
He was a student at Colonial Middle School at the time, and so there should be a photo of him SOMEWHERE. My recollection (I’m 41 now, and those years are pretty blurry). He was found deceased on the banks of Nonconnah. At the time there was speculation that he had been killed as some sort of gang initiation, as he had multiple burns on his body from where cigarettes had been put out on him, and I cannot say for certain, but I seem to remember when he was found, he was bound and tied; but the official cause of death (again, this is what I can recall) was drowning.
I wish I could ask my childhood friend about the case, but we have lost touch over the years. (He is an addict, has been in and out of jail and while I miss him dearly, I have no address or phone number or way of contacting him). He remained close friends with John’s mom and they stayed in touch for years. She would call him every year on the day he went missing. My friend MAY have been the one John went to visit, but I also can’t say that with certainty; my friend lived off of Amboy.
I’m not trying to gain anything here, I just wanted to put out what a neighborhood kid remembers.
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