In the winter of 1987, an eleven-month-old infant named Male Maurice Lorenzo Miles became a face of a heart-wrenching mystery in Baltimore, Maryland. His life began with hardship; born on October 3, 1986, he was hospitalized multiple times with severe injuries, including fractures to his left thigh, right arm, right shoulder socket, and right shoulder blade. These injuries led to the intervention of Maryland's Department of Social Services in February 1987, when Maurice was just three months old. He was placed in foster care after being hospitalized for what was described as a broken femur. Concerns about his well-being were amplified when his mother, Jacqueline Louise Bouknight, was reportedly seen treating him roughly while he was in a body cast at the hospital. Despite these troubling signs, no child abuse charges were filed at the time. After his mother attended parenting classes, Maurice was returned to her care in July 1987, under the condition that a social worker would conduct monthly visits.
The last confirmed sighting of young Maurice was on September 8, 1987. On that day, a social services aide visited the family's home on North Washington Street and reported that the child appeared to be in good health. Following this visit, a pattern of evasion began. Bouknight started canceling scheduled appointments with the social worker assigned to her case, Phillip Maguire. On the rare occasions that social workers were able to make contact with her at home, she claimed Maurice was staying with a relative or friend and would not allow them to see him. For a period between December 7, 1987, and March 22, 1988, the social worker ceased his attempts to locate the child. His efforts only resumed after Maurice's paternal grandmother informed him that the baby's father had been tragically murdered and that Bouknight was in a state of distress. It wasn't until April 12, 1988, a full seven months after he was last seen by a professional, that Maurice was officially reported as a missing person to the police.
The subsequent investigation and legal proceedings plunged Maurice's case into a complex and protracted battle. When a court ordered Jacqueline Bouknight to produce her son on April 20, 1988, she failed to appear, leading to her arrest. Bouknight provided conflicting stories about Maurice's whereabouts, which authorities were unable to verify. Citing her own traumatic experiences within the foster care system, she refused to definitively state where her son was, leading to a charge of civil contempt. This refusal sparked a significant legal fight that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 1990 that she could not use the Fifth Amendment to avoid questions about her son's location. Despite this ruling, Bouknight remained silent and was incarcerated for seven and a half years for contempt of court. She was eventually released in November 1995, with the judge stating that continued imprisonment was no longer a useful tool to compel her to speak. Upon her release, Bouknight maintained that Maurice was alive and that she intended to find him herself. The case of Male Maurice Lorenzo Miles is a deeply troubling story that involves the intersection of child welfare, parental rights, and the justice system. Despite the extensive legal efforts and the passage of decades, Maurice has never been found, and what happened to the little boy after September 1987 remains a profound and unanswered question. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance, leaving a community and a family with a painful void and an enduring sense of loss.
Last Seen: Sep 08, 1987
