In the late summer of 1990, a young man named David Courtney Thomas was navigating life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At 22 years old, he did not have a permanent home, occasionally staying with a girlfriend with whom he shared a three-year-old daughter. Despite sometimes being away for weeks at a time, he consistently made a point to return and visit his young child. His family last had contact with him in August of that year. On September 24, 1990, David was seen for the last time in Milwaukee. After that day, he vanished, and no one from his family or circle of friends would ever hear from him again.
As weeks turned into a month with no word from David, concern began to grow. He was on probation for retail theft at the time of his disappearance, and when he failed to check in, his probation officer took notice. It was at the suggestion of this officer that David's ex-girlfriend officially filed a missing person report in October 1990. For a time, Milwaukee police officers would periodically call her to see if she had heard anything from him, but the case remained without any significant leads. His disappearance was a painful mystery for his loved ones, particularly for his young daughter who was left without her father.
The heartbreaking truth behind David Courtney Thomas's disappearance would not come to light until the following year with the arrest of one of America's most infamous serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer. During the investigation into Dahmer's horrific crimes, authorities discovered photographs of his victims in his apartment. David's family was faced with the devastating task of identifying their loved one from among these grim images. Dahmer later confessed to murdering David, stating that David was one of his victims. Tragically, it is believed that Dahmer destroyed David's remains, and his body has never been recovered. David Courtney Thomas is one of four of Dahmer's victims whose bodies were never found. Jeffrey Dahmer was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for the murder of David and many others, and was killed by a fellow inmate in 1994. The case, while officially solved, left David's family with the unending sorrow of not being able to lay him to rest.
Last Seen: Sep 24, 1990
