AR AR - Dwayne Martin, 23, North Little Rock, 11 Dec 1987

After almost 30 years, investigators have reopened the case of Dwayne Martin. He disappeared in December of 1987; his mom last saw him when he was leaving to work at a diner. Foul play is suspected and his disappearance is being investigated as a homicide.

NamUs

NLRPD reopens 29-year-old cold case

After more than 25 years of dormancy, the case of a missing North Little Rock man is being reopened by police, this time as a homicide.

In 1987, then 23-year-old Dwayne Martin disappeared after telling his mom he was going to work.

She hasn't seen or heard from him since.

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“He was among friends, or among people he thought to be his friends,” she said recalling the events preceding her son’s disappearance.

“It still hurts just as bad today as it did then.”

At the time, police traced Martin's last location to the Shorter Garden Apartment complex in North Little Rock. They say he went there after cashing a $148 paycheck in Sherwood.

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“When I first looked at this case I was like how nice would it be provide information to this mom, who for 30 years has not known what happened to her son,” Dedrick said.

“Somebody still cares,” she said. “It wasn't in vain. We still are looking, we still are seeking, we still are searching and we're going to close this.”

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Some more information on his disappearance.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/feb/19/decades-later-police-reopen-case-north-little-rock/?print

Martin left Rob's Place about 10 p.m. Dec. 11, 1987, with an unknown person and has not been seen since, according to police. His mother, Brenda Brown, reported him missing days later.

Dedrick said Martin had been to Rob's Place twice that day: once in the morning to pick up his paycheck and later in the day to work a shift.

Police received reports that Martin was last seen in the area of the Shorter Gardens apartment complex at 800 N. Beech St. in North Little Rock. Martin's listed home address was 319 Elm St. in North Little Rock, about 1 mile southeast of the complex.

Dedrick said authorities at that time received unsubstantiated witness information that crack cocaine could have been a factor in Martin's disappearance, with one witness telling police that Martin had been given crack cocaine at that address.

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Charley Project



Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: December 11, 1987 from North Little Rock, Arkansas
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Age: 23 years old
• Height and Weight: 5'8, 125 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Martin's nickname is Duke.

Details of Disappearance
Martin left Rob's Place, the diner where he worked in Sherwood, Arkansas, with an unidentified individual at 10:00 p.m. on December 11, 1987. He'd visited the business twice that day, first to pick up his $148 paycheck (which he subsequently cashed) and then to work his shift. Later he was reportedly seen at the Shorter Gardens apartment complex in the 800 block of north Beech Street in North Little Rock, Arkansas. He has never been heard from again.

Martin had been discharged from the Marine Corps shortly before his disappearance, and lived in the 300 block of Elm Street, about a mile east of Shorter Gardens. Authorities think his case could be drug-related; there were reports that he used crack cocaine. Little information is available in his case, but it's uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning and his disappearance is being investigated as a possible homicide.

Updated Charley Project link:

http://charleyproject.org/case/dwayne-edwin-martin



Charley Project Blog Posting

How interesting that all of the NamUs exclusions for Mr. Martin were found in either Ohio or Virginia. I wonder if those two states just happen to be better at getting DNA from UID's.

In any case, it's a shame there is no description of Mr. Martin's clothing the last time he was seen. There are two UID's from Arkansas (UP5097 and UP2831) that match as far as estimated age and height. UP5097 has two exclusions listed, but there are none so far for UP2831.

Bumping for Dwayne...it's now been 33 years.

http://www.missingveterans.com/1987/dwayne-edwin-martin/

5059DMAR - Dwayne Edwin Martin

Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Not Available

Dwayne Edwin Martin

Dwayne Edwin Martin (AKA Duke) is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran who went missing from North Little Rock, Arkansas on December 11, 1987. Earlier in the day on December 11, 1987, Dwayne Martin picked up his paycheck from his place of employment, a diner called Rob’s Place. His check was $148 and he cashed the check that day. He would return to Rob’s Place later that day to work his shift before leaving with an unidentified person at the end of his shift at 10:00 p.m.. Police would later trace Dwayne Martin to the Shorter Garden Apartment complex in North Little Rock. Dwayne Edwin Martin has not been seen or heard from since.

9/19/2022



Dwayne Edwin MartinThe Charley Project

Brenda Brown knows pain. She has lost three sons. 23-year-old Dwayne Edwin Martin is one of them. Dwayne was discharged from the United States Marine Corps. On December 11, 1987, Dwayne told his mother goodbye and left their home in the 300 block of Elm Street North Little Rock, Arkansas for work. He left his job at Rob's Place, a diner in Sherwood, Arkansas, after cashing his $148 paycheck around 10:00 pm with an unknown individual, the Charley Project reports.

Dwayne was seen later that evening in the Shorter Gardens apartment complex in the 800 block of North Beech Street in North Little Rock. Dwayne has never been seen or heard from again.

“I can hear the wind blow during the fall and the winter seasons,” Brenda told THV11. “I get jittery; I get nervous because these are the things that were happening during the time in which I first started seeking and searching for him.”

When he failed to show up for work, everyone knew something was wrong. Dwayne was reported missing.

“The person that he worked for—that owned Rob's Place—said it was very unlike him not to show up for work,” North Little Rock Police Department spokesman Sergeant Brian Dedrick told THV11.

“I can hear the wind blow during the fall and the winter seasons,” she said. “I get jittery; I get nervous because these are the things that were happening during the time in which I first started seeking and searching for him.”

Dwayne was reported to be with people he knew that evening.

“He was among friends, or among people he thought to be his friends,” Brenda recalled the events preceding her son’s disappearance to THV11. “It still hurts just as bad today as it did then."

Dwayne was the first of three sons Brenda would lose.

“This is what you always think about, but you never want to happen,” Brenda told THV11. “His quote was, ‘We were born to die’. And, when I think about him not being here, I always think about him saying ‘We were born to die’.”

"When I first looked at this case, I was like ‘How nice would it be to provide information to this mom, who for 30 years has not known what happened to her son?’” Sergeant Brian Dedrick told THV11.

Dwayne Edwin Martin is 5'8" and weighed 125 pounds.

The NLRPD recently reopened Dwayne's case and is currently offering a $1,500 reward for any information leading to an arrest in this case.