Dozens of loved ones are missing in NWI. But who’s really looking?

James Allen Jr. was a "mama's boy." Even when his mother moved more than 1,000 miles away from Hammond to Palm Harbor, Florida in 2021, their connection remained strong. 

"He'd call me from anywhere," Dawn Boudah said. "He was that son that would text me 10 to 20 times a day. Anytime his phone went off, he'd call me from a gas station or someone else's cell phone."

The last time he called was the night of Jan. 20, 2023. She hasn’t heard from him since. 

Boudah said Allen called around 10:30 p.m. that night to tell her he was leaving Safe Haven veteran's building, 7931 Iowa St. in Merrillville, where he had been living temporarily following his release from a county work release program three days prior. He had been released so he could attend his father’s funeral, Boudah said. 

When she didn't hear from him the next day, she knew something was wrong. She went to the Hobart Police Department, where she said she was advised to wait 72 hours to see if he showed up. When he didn’t, she filed a report on Jan. 24, 2023. 

Video surveillance collected by Hobart police from a Speedway gas station on the corner of Broadway and U.S. 30 shows Allen jumping out of a car around 11:15 p.m. the same night Boudah last spoke to him. She said a Hobart detective suggested Allen, who had a history of substance abuse, might have been high and paranoid, which could have caused him to jump out of the vehicle.

“It wasn’t like when he used to get high,” she said of his demeanor in the video. “I don’t know what happened. He just disappeared, never to be heard from again.”

Boudah alleges she hasn't heard from the detectives on the case since they were assigned, but calls to check in periodically herself. She said she believes police have neglected to thoroughly investigate her son's disappearance.

Merrillville Police detectives Aaron Ridgway and Alexander Van Rite said their department has put an "extensive effort" into searching for Allen: they served search warrants for his cellular data, social media and bank records and conducted a cellular analysis to locate his cell phone. Police didn’t find anything that could point them in the right direction.

Without additional leads, the detectives said they aren’t able to move forward, which is a common issue other police departments said they face when it comes to investigating missing persons cases.

“We haven’t found anything, but it isn’t for lack of trying,” Ridgway said. “It’s because there isn’t anything to find.”

The families of people missing in Northwest Indiana issued a cry for help earlier this year after what they said was a lack of action from Northwest Indiana police agencies, particularly detectives with the Gary Police Department. During a January rally on a snowy day in Crown Point, loved ones made the names of their missing family members known to the public and demanded action. Emma Baum, Ja’Niyah McMichael, Lisa Wright, Diamond Bynum and her nephew King Walker are all still missing.

Some families said they felt abandoned by detectives because their missing loved ones battled substance use disorders, made money as sex workers or had been formerly incarcerated. The law enforcement members interviewed for this story said a person's lifestyle does not make their investigation less vehement.

A list of missing persons maintained by the Indiana State Police showed 232 people were missing from Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties as of Feb. 1. The list is full of inaccuracies, however, with some individuals listed having already been found or found dead, based on a Times analysis of the data and previous reporting.

In January, Gary Police Department released a list of seven missing persons cases, all dated with reports filed last year. Officials did not respond to requests for comment regarding the over 100 cases remaining on the state's list.

Families have said they are left confused by a perceived lack of action and communication, and police said they cannot investigate leads that do not exist. Inconsistent data only makes the problem harder. 

'He deserves better'

For approximately two months, Allen lived in Lake County Community Corrections' Kimbrough Work Release Program. Lake Criminal Court records show he was placed on probation in a felony case in early November 2022 and asked the court if it would be willing to let him live in work release while a separate misdemeanor case of his was pending, as he did not have alternate housing, Boudah said. 

Prosecutors filed a petition to expel him from work release the week before he was released due to an alleged violation of program rules and set the petition for a hearing Jan. 17, 2023. The petition was never resolved, because two days before the hearing, Allen learned his father, James E. Allen Sr., had died in his birthplace of Detroit, Michigan. A Lake County judge agreed to release Allen from work release so he could attend his father’s out-of-state funeral. When Allen went missing, the family delayed the funeral for three weeks to see if Allen would turn up. 

Upon his release, Allen planned to stay with a friend temporarily at Safe Haven while he waited for Boudah to meet him in Northwest Indiana so they could make the trip to Detroit together. 

The Hobart Police Department initially investigated Allen’s disappearance. Merrillville police said Hobart did much of the initial legwork, including drone and K-9 searches, search warrants and subpoenas. 

Boudah said her experience with the Hobart detective on the case made her lose trust in the police's ability to investigate the case. She alleges the detective told her Allen could "hide from his mommy if he wants to."

"My son has never not been in touch with me for more than 72 hours," she said. "He deserves better."

Boudah was, however, complimentary of then Hobart Lt. Nicholas Wardrip, who spoke with her about her son's case. Wardrip, who is now the assistant chief, said Allen's case was tricky, but the department put every resource they could into finding him. 

Merrillville detectives took over on Feb. 23, 2023, once police realized Allen was last seen in Merrillville. The investigation led police to the area of 84th Avenue and Georgia Street, Ohio Street along Interstate 65 and the Red Roof Inn just west of the interstate. Their searches did not yield any results, Ridgway and Van Rite said. Cellular data showed Allen’s phone last pinged in the area of 86th Avenue and I-65, Ridgway said. Detectives never located his device. They used sonar technology to see if his body would turn up in any of the small bodies of water near the hotels, but were unsuccessful. 

Ridgway and Van Rite said they spoke with the man who was last seen with Allen. While he was cooperative, he was not able to provide anything of substance to investigators.

Van Rite said it's unusual for them to have such little direction in a case such as this. 

Merrillville Investigations Cmdr. Derek Diehl said the department does not have a written policy for investigating missing persons cases but has common procedures officers follow when they investigate a case. When someone comes to the department to file a report, Diehl said officers gather medical information, family history and details about the person’s last known contact.

“The most important thing we’re trying to determine is if someone is in danger, if someone is a suicide risk or medical risk,” Diehl said. “Then we would start working on the case immediately.”

From there, the report is sent to the detective bureau. Once a detective is assigned, they gather information on the person’s social media presence, speak to family members and associates and retrace their last steps, among other tasks.

“There are a multitude of things we look into,” Diehl said. 

If those techniques don’t garner more details, it can be a "waiting game,” he said. They put information out publicly when they can and hope someone will come forward with a tip. 

Cases are never closed until the missing person is found, according to all law enforcement sources. While they might go cold, there is always the possibility a new lead will emerge. 

Collaboration among law enforcement agencies can be extremely valuable, especially if cases are high-risk, such as those involving children or people who might need urgent medical assistance. Valparaiso police Capt. Joe Hall said they use multiple sources to share data with local, state and national agencies that include Indiana Data Communication Systems, the National Crime Information Center, Indiana Clearinghouse on Missing Children and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Schererville police Chief Pete Sormaz said his department has written policies for procedures in cases of missing adults and children. Each 7-page document contains definitions of terms related to missing persons, procedures for officers, supervisors and detectives, communications with other agencies and public alerts. He said they focus heavily on technology during a missing person’s investigation through the use of drones, license plate readers, credit card usage, tracking IP addresses and facial recognition, which is still an emerging technology. 

The Porter County Sheriff's Department also has a written policy to provide detectives with guidance regarding missing persons investigations. Similarly to Schererville police, it includes definitions of terms related to missing persons cases, report procedures, investigatory processes, follow-ups and case closure. Sgt. Ben McFalls said the department has an average of 12 cases logged each year. The majority of the reports he said they receive are often resolved within 24 to 48 hours as a result of Porter County police locating the person, the person returning home or being located in another area with the help of an alert or entry as a missing person. 

Law enforcement members said they believe a substantial majority of their cases of people who go missing are people who do not want to be found. Ridgway said he's encountered cases where he's called up a person reported missing who answers and tells him they don't want to be found. Ridgway said they'll honor the person's request to keep their new location private, but they will update the person who made the report that the individual is safe.

Much of the difficulty for law enforcement lies in working with populations who may not leave clues behind. 

“People who suffer from addiction may not leave the best trail," Hobart police Assistant Chief Nicholas Wardrip said. "They may not have a phone or car to help us track them down. Lifestyle, in my opinion, doesn’t make someone less of a victim or make our response less. But without evidence, without the trail to follow, it’s very hard to find somebody, especially if that person doesn’t want to be found and they are no longer leaving clues behind.”

A team effort

Allen lived a relatively transient lifestyle. He often stayed in motels or with friends and acquaintances, but regularly showed up for work for his job at Aurelio's Pizza in Crown Point, and kept in contact with his mother. 

"My son was always very transparent with me," she said. 

After Boudah filed the missing persons report, she and Allen's loved ones started their own independent search. For six weeks, they looked through fielded areas behind the Safe Haven building, posted flyers up and down Broadway and handed them out everywhere from Crown Point to Hammond. She recruited Team Canine NWI, an independent search and rescue team that deploys K-9s to search for missing persons at no cost to the family. 

"The search still continues," founder Lorenzo Longoria said. 

Longoria, a dog trainer by trade, started assisting families in their searches for missing loved ones in 2014 after his son, 23-year-old Michael Hernandez, went missing in May 2015 and was found in a retention pond six weeks later. He died from an accidental drowning, according to previous reporting from The Times.

The team only investigates cases in which it has connected with the family of the missing person and doesn’t use social media or the state police database to learn about missing persons cases. There are about 10 people total who participate in the search and rescue enterprise.

“We just don't go out and (put) boots on the ground," Longoria said. "We have the rest of the team that are in communication with the family. We pray with the family, some families, we take them food.”

They search on their days off in various areas, from wooded areas to abandoned homes across the Region. Longoria's dog Thor, a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois, has been trained to identify human remains using a SOKKS kit, which includes compounds meant to mimic the scent of human bodies in various states of decay. Longoria avoids sharing live videos of search efforts and generally only posts video clips a matter of weeks after they have been taken. This is to avoid fueling online speculation and the spread of inaccurate information about sensitive cases.

One of their searches has been successful: in December, the team found the body of missing Valparaiso woman Jamie Vlamos-Jones, who was missing for approximately one week before she was found. 

Multiple law enforcement organizations have told Times reporters they don't support the idea of the group because of safety concerns that come with searching these areas. 

“We have zero red tape unless we've been instructed or advised, ‘Hey, leave this alone,’” Longoria said. 

He said the group would honor a request from law enforcement to suspend search activities, but they have not been told to do so. 

Families of missing persons told Times reporters they celebrate the work of Team Canine. 

"They are doing the work police have not done," one of Emma Baum's family members said in January.

Baum's sister, Abigale Smith, said in January that she has scoured the city of Gary searching for her missing sister. She has put up flyers, looked through buildings and talked to neighbors and residents without success. Lake County's second-most populous city has the highest number of missing persons in all of the Region at 131, while Hammond follows behind with 49 missing persons cases. Michigan City, LaPorte County's largest municipality, places third with 11 missing persons cases. 

Families of individuals missing from Gary have lamented their frustration with police, both because of what they said is a lack of communication and indifference. Like Team Canine, some have taken searches into their own hands.

Wardrip advised that any community group or citizen who wants to conduct search parties first contact their local police department so they can work in tandem. 

"We share a common goal of finding people and bringing them home," he said. 

Message in flight

Boudah's advice to those who are missing loved ones? Pray, she said. A lot. Have someone to advocate and support you throughout the process. 

"You're so mind-boggled when this happens," she said. "You need someone to speak for you."

Allen was an animal lover; he would often send Boudah photos of wildlife he saw day-to-day and was known to bring home injured animals or stray cats. She remembers a time he brought home a baby squirrel who climbed up to their third-floor apartment in Hammond.

Boudah said she believes Allen is "gone." He once told her when he died, he wanted to be reincarnated as a bird. One day, when she was feeling lonely, a bird happened to fly through her window and into her vehicle — a sign, she believes, that her son will always be with her.

"The bird flew right in my car and sat right on my dash," Boudah said. "I took a video of it. And he used to say 'Mom, if I'm ever gone, I'm going to be a bird.' The birds, when they just soar all over, especially when I'm feeling really down, he just shows me cool stuff to make me laugh."

Times reporter Bob Kasarda contributed to this report.