WI WI - James Scott Rawlings, 23, Mercer, March 8, 1986

[victoriarobinson642]

NAMUS:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

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Missing Age - 23 Years
Current Age - 59 Years
First Name - James
Middle Name - Scott
Last Name - Rawlings
Nickname/Alias - James Arwigs
Sex - Male
Height - 5' 10" (70 Inches)
Weight - 150 lbs
Race / Ethnicity - White / Caucasian
Date of Last Contact - March 8, 1986
Hair Color - Sandy
Eye Color - Hazel (required glasses to see)

Distinctive Physical Features - scar on forehead. small birthmark on forehead, may have a wolf head tattoo on his chest, left-handed, dimples in cheeks when smiling​

Last Known Location Map​

Location - Mercer, Wisconsin
County - Iron County
Missing From Tribal Land - No
Circumstances of Disappearance - On March 8, 1986, Jim drove from Kenosha, possibly heading to Alaska. The car he was driving was found in a snow bank on the side of the road in Mercer WI. The keys were not with the vehicle. No one knows what happened to Jim from there.

 

[chaddylex]

James was added to The Charley Project

James Scott Rawlings – The Charley Project

• Missing Since 03/08/1986
• Missing From Kenosha, Wisconsin
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Age23 years old
• Height and Weight5'10, 150 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Rawlings's nickname is Jim. He has a scar or small birthmark on his forehead, he shows dimples when he smiles, and he is left-handed. He may have a tattoo of a wolf head on his chest.

Details of Disappearance​

Rawlings was last seen in Kenosha, Wisconsin on March 8, 1986. He may have been traveling to Alaska. He has never been heard from again. The car he was driving was found abandoned in a snowbank on the roadside in Mercer, Wisconsin, with the keys missing. Few details are available in his case.

Investigating Agency​

• Kenosha Police Department 262-605-5203

Source Information​

• Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children and Adults
• NamUs
• WSAW-TV 7

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 10, 2022; casefile added.

 

[TSL7584]

Missing for 37 years

 

[Pennysmom1]

News report Jul 21, 2002

State Crime Stoppers publicize cold case with ties to Iron County

The Wisconsin State Crime Stoppers and the Kenosha Police Department are publicizing a cold case with ties to northern Wisconsin.

www.wsaw.com

 

[Pennysmom1]

James Scott Rawlings​

James Scott Rawlings was last seen leaving Kenosha, Wisconsin on March 8th, 1986. It is believed that he was heading to Alaska at that time.

His car was found by the Iron County Sheriff's Department abandoned in a snow bank on the side of the road in Mercer, Wisconsin. The keys were not in the vehicle.

No one has seen or heard from James since.

James is a white male, 5’10”, and 150 pounds. He has blue eyes, sandy hair, and requires glasses to see.

He has a scar/small birth mark on his forehead. He may have a wolf head tattoo on his chest. James is left handed and has dimples in his cheeks when he smiles.

James was 23 years old when we went missing. He would be 59 years old today.

James Scott Rawlings

James Scott Rawlings was last seen leaving Kenosha, Wisconsin on March 8th, 1986. It is believed that he was heading to Alaska at that time. His car was found by the Iron County Sheriff's Department abandoned in a snow bank on the side of the road in Mercer, Wisconsin. The keys were not in the...

www.wimissing.org

 

[Pennysmom1]

Kenosha Police Department

COLD CASE – Missing Person James S. Rawlings 59yoa Case Number 1986-068589 Lt. John DeMario On November 11, 1986, James S. Rawlings was reported missing by his father. James was last seen by his...

www.facebook.com

 

[Teamir]

I don’t think Mercer is on an obvious route to Canada from Kenosha. It’s a scenic route maybe. I wonder if he knew someone near Mercer?

 

[ProductiveOne]

I've submitted the following cases to NamUs.

On March 8 1986, James Scott Rawlings "drove from Kenosha, possibly heading to Alaska. The car he was driving was found in a snow bank on the side of the road in Mercer, WI. The keys were not with the vehicle. No one knows what happened to Jim from there." Eight days later, an unidentified deceased male was found on 3658 N Keeler Ave in Chicago, IL.

Rawlings was actually last seen in Kenosha, WI which is only 45 miles from where the unidentified was found. I suspect that Rawlings may have been murdered in the area of Kenosha, WI and Chicago, IL, if not at the exact location the body was found, and then his vehicle was discarded in Mercer, WI.

These men have the same neck, chin, mouth, nose, and a more narrow face. While the unidentified has facial hair, and longer hair, Rawlings may have had this appearance when he went missing.

Spoiler: WARNING: Side-by-Side with post-mortem photo

James Scott Rawlings (NamUs #MP93446)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Cook County, IL Unidentified (NamUs #UP14344)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Teamir]

News report Jul 21, 2002

State Crime Stoppers publicize cold case with ties to Iron County

The Wisconsin State Crime Stoppers and the Kenosha Police Department are publicizing a cold case with ties to northern Wisconsin.

www.wsaw.com

Just adding some summary type info.
From that article, it said “James graduated from Bradford High School in 1980 and was in the US Army until 1985.” Just to clarify, Bradford High School is in Kenosha, WI.
And NAMUS lists a possible alias of James Arwigs.

Missing March 8, 1986, age when missing 23, so Birth year would be approx 1963.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Join Ancestry®

Begin your discovery today by exploring the world's largest online family history resource!

www.ancestry.com

Ancestry records suggest he was born on October 4th, 1962

 

[Teamir]

View attachment 506074

Join Ancestry®

Begin your discovery today by exploring the world's largest online family history resource!

www.ancestry.com

Ancestry records suggest he was born on October 4th, 1962

This is always very helpful info, thank you for pinpointing that. Sometimes I think people disappear on purpose but then their actual birthdate is shown in eventual obituaries.

 

[Keiri]

Anyone find any information as to where the car was found precisely? Like even what road it was

 

[Keiri]

Updated Charley link: James Scott Rawlings – The Charley Project
newish Doe link: https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/mp-main.html?id=6269DMWI
no exclusions

 

[Keiri]

NAMUS:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

---

Missing Age - 23 Years
Current Age - 59 Years
First Name - James
Middle Name - Scott
Last Name - Rawlings
Nickname/Alias - James Arwigs
Sex - Male
Height - 5' 10" (70 Inches)
Weight - 150 lbs
Race / Ethnicity - White / Caucasian
Date of Last Contact - March 8, 1986
Hair Color - Sandy
Eye Color - Hazel (required glasses to see)

Distinctive Physical Features - scar on forehead. small birthmark on forehead, may have a wolf head tattoo on his chest, left-handed, dimples in cheeks when smiling​

Last Known Location Map​

Location - Mercer, Wisconsin
County - Iron County
Missing From Tribal Land - No
Circumstances of Disappearance - On March 8, 1986, Jim drove from Kenosha, possibly heading to Alaska. The car he was driving was found in a snow bank on the side of the road in Mercer WI. The keys were not with the vehicle. No one knows what happened to Jim from there.
View attachment 355140View attachment 355141View attachment 355142View attachment 355143

is the location you linked just from picking "mercer, wi" or did you find the location of his car exactly

 

[victoriarobinson642]

is the location you linked just from picking "mercer, wi" or did you find the location of his car exactly

Arbitrary, I think.

 

[Keiri]

Arbitrary, I think.

Thanks, I will try to get the location for us

 

[Keiri]

Thanks, I will try to get the location for us

I researched it and nothing online covers the time period we need for the Iron Miner (name of the newspaper there). I'll have to go to the archives in downtown madison to find it, which I can do but not now. So I poked the Kenosha pd on their post about Rawlings and asked them to tell us what road they found him on, and generally, if they can, an idea of where on the road.

 

[Teamir]

I researched it and nothing online covers the time period we need for the Iron Miner (name of the newspaper there). I'll have to go to the archives in downtown madison to find it, which I can do but not now. So I poked the Kenosha pd on their post about Rawlings and asked them to tell us what road they found him on, and generally, if they can, an idea of where on the road.

Awesome if you can check the archives. I also could not find any specific street info online.

 

[truthfinder2019]

This is James in 1979, Bradford high school yearbook

(Source https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10569-407644819/james-rawlings-in-us-yearbooks-name-index)

 

[truthfinder2019]

The PD shared a photo of his dad and brother to show how he may look like at older age

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0jfAk4z9zDigpHzFMDEehpNG2jTQdwr7aWJrjYkA5qpWsLsVZoT8GfujKz9Beaobcl&id=100066563149445