DESCRIPTION:
- 12 years of age at time of disappearance.
- Light brown skinned.
- 125cm (4 feet 10 inches) tall.
- Light brown wavy/curly hair.
- Hazel eyes.
- Prominent buck teeth.
- Always carried a plastic hair comb with him.
- Was last seen wearing a grey sleeveless school shirt, black football shorts and was barefoot.
QUICK CASE FACTS:
- Known to family and friends as ‘Jimmy’.
- On Thursday 29 August 1974 he attended ‘Lwoys’, a local store in Derby.
- He was alone, purchased a soft drink and left the store.
- Was seen walking towards a dark coloured utility, and got in the passenger side.
- A man was seen driving the vehicle and spoke assertively towards Jimmy to get in the vehicle.
BACKGROUND:
James ‘Jimmy’ Taylor was only 12 years old at the time of his disappearance. He lived on Knowsley Street, East, Derby with his parents, five siblings and other family members. Jimmy was described as independent, spirited and determined. He was healthy and happy-go-lucky. He went to school, had friends and an extended family of cousins and other relatives. He liked music, clothes and playing with his friends.
CASE DETAILS:
On Thursday 29 August 1974, before sunset, Jimmy left his home address in Derby to attend ‘Lwoys’ which was a local store on Loch Street. The store was about a kilometre from Jimmy’s house.
Attending the local store was normal behaviour for Jimmy and he had completed the trip by himself on numerous occasions. Jimmy was co-operative in demeanour and was often trusted to complete the grocery shopping on behalf of the family.
On this occasion Jimmy was alone. He went in to the store to purchase a soft drink and left.
A witness spoke to Jimmy close to the store and watched Jimmy walk towards a dark coloured utility, this vehicle is further described as possibly having a canvas canopy. A male person described as; light skinned, 25-35 years of age with a solid build was driving the vehicle, this male was described as speaking assertively to Jimmy, telling him to get into the vehicle. He complied with this direction, entering the the passenger side of the vehicle.
This was the last known sighting of Jimmy, who failed to return home that evening.
When Jimmy did not return home, this did not raise alarm bells with his family as Jimmy had previously requested to attend the Myroodah cattle station to visit a friend. His family therefore assumed he had gone to the cattle station.
Over the following days, it became apparent Jimmy had not attended the cattle station. Once this had been established, Jimmy’s family spent a considerable number of days searching for him around the Derby town site in an attempt to locate him.
Jimmy was reported as a missing person on 5 September 1974 by his father.
Since 29 August 1974 there have been no confirmed sightings of Jimmy and he has not made any contact with family or friends. He has had no access to bank accounts and extensive searches have failed to locate him on any government databases.
The person or persons responsible for Jimmy’s disappearance have not yet been identified.
If you have any information about James Patrick Taylor’s disappearance, please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make an online report below. Please remember that you can remain anonymous if you wish and rewards are offered.
