On a September evening in 1980, ten-year-old Darron Jerome Glass vanished from his foster home on Memorial Drive in Decatur, Georgia. Earlier that day, September 14th, he had gone to see an Atlanta Braves baseball game with a local church youth group. Accounts of his return are varied; one suggests he was seen getting off the chartered church bus at the corner of Glenwood Avenue SE and Second Avenue SE, while another states he made it back to his foster home before leaving again shortly after. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing khaki pants, a brown or yellow t-shirt, and tennis shoes. Darron had been in the care of his foster mother, Fannie Mae Smith, for less than three months, along with three other children. His parents were both deceased.
The hours following Darron's disappearance were marked by a disturbing and enigmatic event. His foster mother reported receiving an urgent phone call from someone claiming to be Darron. Before she could speak to him, the line went dead. Adding to the confusion, Darron's foster brother later claimed that Darron had contacted him in the weeks following his disappearance, with the calls allegedly continuing until October or November of 1980; however, these claims could not be substantiated. Some reports indicated that Darron had a history of running away, while others disputed this. Concerns were also raised by his caseworker about adults of 'questionable character' being present in the foster home.
The disappearance of Darron Glass occurred during a period of heightened fear in the Atlanta area due to the series of child murders that took place between 1979 and 1981. Many have speculated that Darron may have been a victim of the individual, or individuals, responsible for these crimes, often referred to as the Atlanta Child Murders. His physical description and the timing of his disappearance fit the pattern of other victims from that era. Despite these suspicions, no definitive evidence has ever surfaced to link his case to the convicted serial killer, Wayne Williams, or any other suspect. The investigation into what happened to Darron Glass remains open, a cold case still under the purview of the DeKalb County Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. His body has never been found, leaving his case as one of the enduring mysteries from a dark chapter in Atlanta's history.
Last Seen: Sep 14, 1980
