TX TX - Thomas Blake, 30, Big Spring, 1 Aug 1987

Thomas Stephen Blake

Missing since August 1, 1987 from Big Spring, Howard County, Texas.

*Age at Time of Disappearance: 30 years old
*Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 6'3 (189 cm); 165 lbs. (75 kg.)
*Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Blond hair; green eyes. His nickname is "Tom".
*Marks, Scars: Thomas has a mole under his right eye and several on his back.
*Clothing/Jewelry: He usually wears a large (3 x 5 inch oval) belt buckle with turquoise studs in the center and a gold metal watch with a rectangular face and black band.


http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/643dmtx.html

I posted the following information in another thread. This one obviously is more relevant! So please forgive the redundancy. I am Tom Blake's sister, and am new to all this.Until my parents died, they preferred not to try to find answers, but I have never given up hope even though I honored their wishes.
He vanished in early August 1987, as his report states. Beyond that it is a long and weird story: highlights:
He had a huge amount of debts, had fallen for a woman who had his baby, then bribed him with his name on the birth certificate forcing him to pay her a lot of money, then vanished. She subsequently died (natural causes), leaving his daughter with a brother and no chance of ever seeing her. Broke his heart. Just before he vanished, he was hauling onions from LA to Georgia, and in the middle of this haul had a one week layover in El Paso (border town). He came through his home town just north of El Paso, and had a woman with him that supposedly was going back to California. His truck was left running for 3 days near Big Springs - finally the State Police looked into it, and he was gone but his cigarettes and wallet (no money) were in the cab. My father, my other brother and I went to Big Springs and searched for a body in nearby fields, culverts, etc. After having no luck, we stopped at a convenience store, and the clerk told us he had been in the store that morning buying picnic supplies with a girl that matched the description of his travelling companion that supposedly returned to California. We then knew that he had left on his own. Never another word. His trucking behavior strongly suggests running drugs. Could be witness protection, could be double cross, could be murder. Lots more to it, but those are the important highlights. As I said, much more to the story - long and odd.....

Welcome to WS! Do you know if they ever questioned the girl that he was with? Is she also a missing person?

She was a "person of interest". My mother and I met her when Tom came through Alamogordo a few days before he vanished. Based on the information she gave, I believe I have found her family. She is not listed as missing. Her name is Jennifer Downs and has family who are renowned veterinarians in California. I have contacted her brother by email, and have had no luck in getting a response. She does not show up on any searches I have done for missing persons. At one point, my mother and I began experiencing interesting dreams and she made an attempt to find her. She must have been close because immediately a lifelong friend of my brother's reported a "sighting" that was a very thinly veiled lie, and told her Tom was fine. She dropped it and took it as a message from him to leave it alone, and never searched or wanted to search again.

http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=33616

On August 1, 1987, 30-year-old Thomas "Tom" Stephen Blake was reported missing. According to DPS, his tractor trailer rig was found at a public rest area on August 5, 1987. His personal belongings were left in the truck.

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Another thread for an UID in Crowley, TX, (http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-1154UMTX-25-40-Ring-Numeral-1-w-Wings-Oct-87) states that Mr. Blake's DNA is on file, but Namus indicates that a DNA sample is not available. I know Mr. Blake's sister is a member here, is she aware of whether or not his DNA is on file or not?

This case is being considered currently by LEO in a UID persons case out of Nevada.

Here is the thread:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...V-35-50-Off-of-Sand-Canyon-Road-Mar-92/page64

specifically see posts #746, #1584, #1601, #1607

I would love to know if his sister knows whether he owned a t-shirt like the one found on the UID in the link above, or whether his hair was red/strawberry blonde as our UID's is.

Miss Muffet said:

Let's try to find out if this Jennifer Downs' family originates in northern California. Blake's sister says her family are renowned vegetarians, which indicates they're a high-profile family so it should be easy to find some information.

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birdfam said:

She was a "person of interest". My mother and I met her when Tom came through Alamogordo a few days before he vanished. Based on the information she gave, I believe I have found her family. She is not listed as missing. Her name is Jennifer Downs and has family who are renowned veterinarians in California. I have contacted her brother by email, and have had no luck in getting a response. She does not show up on any searches I have done for missing persons. At one point, my mother and I began experiencing interesting dreams and she made an attempt to find her. She must have been close because immediately a lifelong friend of my brother's reported a "sighting" that was a very thinly veiled lie, and told her Tom was fine. She dropped it and took it as a message from him to leave it alone, and never searched or wanted to search again.

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You might want to try searching for the red word above instead.

Another bizzare irony is that there is the case of Diane Downs in Oregon who shot her 3 children in 1983. Diane escaped prison in the beginning of July 1987 in Oregon and was not apprehended for a couple weeks. They did however find her in Oregon. The irony is that she was from California and has ties to Arizona with a man she was having an affair with. Now do I think she could have hitchhiked a ride with a trucker? Yes. But to end up in Texas kill the truck driver, get him to Nevada to leave him in the desert and then return to Oregon?? Plus the month would have had to been July when he disappeared instead of August. It is ironic though.

Which brings me to the fact that the woman's real name may not of been Jennifer D (D*****) and her family may not have been the renowned vets in california. Especially if she did do something sinister to Thomas Blake. I doubt she would have given her real name.

jjohnston0827 said:

Another thread for an UID in Crowley, TX, (http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-1154UMTX-25-40-Ring-Numeral-1-w-Wings-Oct-87) states that Mr. Blake's DNA is on file, but Namus indicates that a DNA sample is not available. I know Mr. Blake's sister is a member here, is she aware of whether or not his DNA is on file or not?

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And can LE not ask the sister to submit DNA to NAMUS or would hers not help? And maybe she can give some dental info?

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/10019/0/

FWIW, someone posted in the NV UID thread mentioned above that JD was reported missing (appparently by her mother) with a last seen date in May 1991. That's almost 4 years after Thomas disappeared.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2029dfca.html

Based on her dob, she would have only been 16 when Thomas disappeared.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/blake_thomas.html

According to charley project, the woman seen with Thomas Blake was 31 years old in 1987.

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted. I am the sister of Tom Blake. He was not a strawberry blond, and I can't seem to access the pictures of the T shirt involved in the Arizona story.

Yes, DNA of my mother was submitted to the police in Big Springs. I don't have any dental records, but can report that he had severely bucked teeth and probable gum disease - He did not take care of his teeth. Last known, he had all of them.

the story of the woman who murdered her children interests me. Tom and this mystery woman were supposedly in El Paso for about two weeks before we saw them during the first week in August, but we did not see them there.

birdfam01 said:

Yes, DNA of my mother was submitted to the police in Big Springs. I don't have any dental records, but can report that he had severely bucked teeth and probable gum disease - He did not take care of his teeth. Last known, he had all of them.

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Birdfam, glad you checked back! Just wanted to let you know that the Detectives in NV did rule out Thomas S. Blake on thread 1 post 1879 of the NV case via DNA. (See alpha list post 155 on thread 2 of the NV UID). I know the alpha list is a bit confusing but info had to be condensed and the rule out is listed at the end of the line with the post number which confirms the rule out. Link here:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...35-50-Off-of-Sand-Canyon-Road-Mar-92-2/page11

Can you tell us where you last saw him with the woman? Posters are still trying to help. Has your family tried hiring a private detective?

They were in Alamogordo New Mexico at the end of July in 1987 visiting us. They only stayed one night and moved on. Tom had a load on his truck for Georgia, and the girl was with him. They told us they were parting ways down the road (can't remember where he was dropping her off). He left her a goodbye message on his company voice mail service. When his truck was found, we went to Big Springs. After searching for hours, we were at a small grocery store. The clerk told us she had seen him, and that he was with a woman. She described Jennifer to a T. So it appears they did not part ways, and had plans. I am interested in the story of the woman who killed her children because just prior to coming to Alamogordo, he was supposedly in El Paso for a week or more, but did not make the 90 mile trip to Alamogordo to see his family until after that time. I always thought he was running drugs and got murdered or went into protection. This raises another possibility. He did not have a criminal history, but he was in trouble financially and I don't think he was above doing something dangerous. His story is long and complicated.

Bump...