Ruled out OH - Jason Fry, 16, Toledo, 4 July 1987

I can't find a physical description of Jason Michael Fry or if there was any resolution to his case, but, it sounds like it would be worth delving into his case a bit further.

Here are some details surrounding Jason Michael Fry's case:

From the Toledo Blade July 27, 1995 there is an article:

Mystery Teen Missing Since 1987 (he was age 16 when he left)

<snip from article>

Lt. Shirley Green didn't hesitate,
"Jason Fry," "I'd have to check for sure, but, I bet it's him."
She checked. She was right.

Jason Michael Fry is indeed the is oldest, unsolved juvenile runaway still on file with Toledo Police.

Gone on the Fourth of July 1987. Officially reported missing 2 weeks later.

Record Bureau # 75325387

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It goes on to talk about how Jason Fry had run away many times before but he had always come back home. He was somewhat of a loner who only wanted to listen to his music and be left alone.

LE talks about how difficult it was to even track down any family member of Jason Fry. The article asks "Was Jason an abandoned child?" then states "It depends on who you ask." It also likens him to be a throwaway child.

There were several concerts during 1986-87 Grateful Dead tour in the areas surrounding where Jason Michael Fry lived. I wonder if this could be the reason Jason Fry missed 15 school days during the 1986-87 school year?

This would make sense in several ways. It always seemed like no one was looking for the Unidentified Dead Fan. In the case of Jason Fry, it sounds like no one really was looking for him and the name adds up as well. The easiest thing would be for someone to track down a Yearbook from when he was in school since the family sounds like they are scattered and not very interested.

I agree. If anyone has a classmates.com membership they could contact someone from his class through them or post a message asking if anyone had a yearbook from that year.

ETA: Would he have been in the Class of 88 or 89? My computer is being so slow I could scream!

Pete said:

This would make sense in several ways. It always seemed like no one was looking for the Unidentified Dead Fan. In the case of Jason Fry, it sounds like no one really was looking for him and the name adds up as well. The easiest thing would be for someone to track down a Yearbook from when he was in school since the family sounds like they are scattered and not very interested.

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I just sent an email off to Toledo PD requesting their assistance regarding Jason Michael Fry.

Zabasearch lists Jason M. Fry, born Feb. 1971, with addresses in Ft. Irwin, CA; Hermiston, OR; Pendleton, OR; and Killeen, TX. I don't know if these are all one person, if the middle name is Michael, or if the missing individual was born in Feb. '71, but the age is about right.

From the newspaper article, it appears that at least when he disappeared in 1987, Jason was a heavy metal fan with a Mohawk haircut. Doesn't sound like our guy, but musical tastes can change.

It's possible the Jason listed on Zabasearch is the Jason Michael Fry from the article. It's still worth checking with the PD to make certain. I'm very certain that if it turns out that the Jason M Fry you list below happens to be the missing runaway LE would be ecstatic to learn what happened to Jason, if they do not know already.
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Helper said:

Zabasearch lists Jason M. Fry, born Feb. 1971, with addresses in Ft. Irwin, CA; Hermiston, OR; Pendleton, OR; and Killeen, TX. I don't know if these are all one person, if the middle name is Michael, or if the missing individual was born in Feb. '71, but the age is about right.

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I did send out this email, but, I haven't heard anything back from them as of yet. If anyone wants to give them a call and see if they can get a description of Jason Michael Fry and to see if he was ever located, that would be great. I would call today, but, I am waiting on an important call and wouldn't want to be in the middle of a call and have the other call coming in.

The information needed would be:

James Michael Fry
Date gone missing: July 4, 1987. He was reported missing 2 weeks later.
He was still missing at the time article was written on July 27, 1995.
Toledo, Ohio Record Bureau #75325387
Detective Ross Schaeffer was the investigating officer at the time.
Non-emergency #419-245-3340 (I'm not sure this is the correct number but I am sure they could transfer you or give you the correct contact information).

You could also give them Jason Doe's information.

RKnowley said:

I just sent an email off to Toledo PD requesting their assistance regarding Jason Michael Fry.

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I just received a reply to my email. Jason Michael Fry has been officially ruled out as being our "Jason Doe"

Here is the email reply:

Jason was taken off the Toledo Police Missing list on May 12, 1999.

Det. V. Mauro
Toledo Police
Missing Persons Unit
Vincent.Mauro@ToledH.Gov

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Forgive me if I am not following protocol. We discovered this site when my daughter noticed the mention of Jason Michael Fry on Google. I am that Jason's mother. He was missing for just a few weeks short of 20 years, or more precisely he was not wanting to be found for that time period. The article you quoted from the Toledo Blade (and I have several copies) was quite erroneous. The reporter was quite stunned when she was inundated with telephone calls from family members and friends. A friend tracked me down while I was on a camping trip heading for Canada to tell me about the story. Unfortunately she never chose to recant the article.

The Toledo Police investigation was never particularly intense. In fact until after the article they never checked to see if he had applied for a driver's license (which he did in 1989). Although the reporter was told there was no contact with me, I have correspondence from them that proves otherwise.

Our family conducted our own search and we were successful in May of 2007. Jason worked under his own name and used his own social security number since he was 18. He married, had children, served in the Army for 9 years and worked for a time for Halliburton, which required a security clearance.

He left his wife and children in much the same fashion he left his family when he was younger. He does wander in and out of our lives, but we have had to make peace with the fact that this is who he is. I have a strong relationship with his wife and children, as well as with his granddaughter.

I applaud your sleuthing efforts...I know first hand how challenging the search can be. However, this is one case that needs to be laid to rest. He's been found and he was fine all the time. (Oh, and he claims that he never had a mohawk haircut.)

Respectfully,

Rebecca Carter