NY NY - Steven Damman, 2, East Meadow, 31 Oct 1955

[ellroy1958]

Approximate route taken, door to door, from home to grocery store.

 

[ellroy1958]

1966 Aerial view of the neighborhood from http://historicaerials.com/
showing where the Damman family would have lived at the time (lower left)
and the shopping center that was the destination (upper right).

 

[ellroy1958]

"When I see a window-shopping mother leave her carriage or stroller, and duck inside to price that dress she sees in the window, I feel like going up and telling her. At East Meadow, I'm told, people do not leave their children unguarded any more."
- Marilyn Damman, in the Saturday Evening Post, June 9th, 1956 (page 128)

 

[hot cawfeee]

will go back and read this all.........I remember hearing about this .......with necessary treatment for the kidney Steven would have had to see a specialist......possible to track him that way ? The health issue would require a specialist and Steven would possibly have been hospitalized. Wow...back then kids were left outside especially if they were sleeping.

 

[Sailor Haumea]

Bumping for Steven

 

[Tabech29]

Just read this case for the first time and it sure pulls at you and makes you wonder of the possibilities, odds and coincidences. The resemblance between the boy in the box and Steven is uncanny, even though DNA ruled them out, I wonder what kind of test did they and who participated? In the other case the DNA test said that Pam was possibly related to the man who believed he was Steven, and although the resemblance was there it turned out it wasn't him. So, my point is, what if there are more secrets in this family? What if Steven or his sister were the result of an affair or adopted? Is dna from both parents available? Because I feel like this case would never be solved with inconclusive DNA.

 

[the Blindbowman]

I recall the situation quite well. The earlier case was quite famous; an infant ( Peter Weinberger) was kidnapped & ransom demands made to his parents. The child was found dead & the perpetrators captured ( I believe.) . The case occured on Long Island, shortly before Steven's disappearance ( It's not hard to find via google). Steven's mother didn't report him missing until sometime after she'd returned home, if indeed she'd gone to the store WITH Steven ( as I recall) . Neighbors were sceptical, as there was some question regarding his wellbeing previously; I was told ( by a neighbor who was an adult at the time) that there had been concerns expressed to the Post Chaplain ( it was a military installation housing area) prior to his disappearance ( perhaps there were records kept? I nevr read of any). It was a more innocent time, remember.
There were a number of theories ( held by neighbors) regarding his fate, not all of which had to do with a kidnapping. I've always wished the case were closely re-examined before it was too late, as many neighbors,etc. are in 70's & 80's by now.

I remember seeing him, sittiing on the front steps of the apartment, very quietly.

did you know the radioman ..?

 

[Richard]

Steven Craig Damman
Missing since October 31, 1955 from East Meadow, Nassau County, New York.

Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

• • Date Of Birth: December 15, 1952
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 2 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 3'2"; 32 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
  • Marks, Scars: Small scar under chin. Healed fracture on left arm. Mole like birthmark on back of right calf.
  • Medical Conditions: Steven had been under treatment for a kidney growth at the time he went missing.
  • Other: Footprints available
  • DNA: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance

Steven Damman's mother left her home in East Meadow, New York on October 31, 1955 to go to a supermarket a block and a half away.

She had her son Steven, age 34 months and her daughter Pamela, age 7 months with Pamela strapped into a baby carriage with her. She left her daughter in the carriage out in front of the store with her son standing beside it while she did her shopping. When she came back ten minutes later, both the carriage and her children were gone.

Her daughter and the carriage were later recovered unharmed by a family friend a block and a half away.

Despite a massive search involving more than a thousand persons, Steven was never seen again.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Nassau County Police Department
Missing Persons Section
516-573-5370

NamUs MP# 4580
NCMEC Number: NCMC1149544

Source Information:
America's Unknown Child
NamUs
NCMEC
The Doe Network: Case File 1275DMNY

 

[Jake479]

Bumping, I hope he was taken by someone who wanted a child and that investigators will turn to genetic genealogy to identify his descendants.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping up for Steven.

 

[516witchdoctors]

On Halloween Steven has been missing for 66 years. As an East Meadow resident the area Steven went missing has a lot of dark energy. A few years ago MS-13 executed someone maybe a football field away from his disappearance and within a mile have left other killings in the woods.

hopefully one day DNA results come back with remains or someone living of Steven.

 

[Richard]

Steven Craig Damman

Steven, circa 1955; Age-progression to age 65 (circa 2017)

• Missing Since 10/31/1955
• Missing From East Meadow, New York
• Classification Non-Family Abduction
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 12/15/1952 (69)
• Age 2 years old
• Height and Weight 3'2, 32 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description Blue overalls or dungarees, a blue polo shirt, a red sweater with blue and white ships imprinted on the front, and brown shoes.
• Medical Conditions Steven was undergoing treatment for a growth on his kidney at the time that he vanished.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Steven has a small scar under his chin and a birthmark resembling a mole on back of his left calf. He has a healed fracture to his left arm. He walked with his toes turned out at the time of his 1955 disappearance. Steven's nickname is Stevie, and some accounts spell his name "Stephen."

Details of Disappearance

Steven was last seen at a supermarket in East Meadow, Long Island, New York on October 31, 1955. The establishment was a block and a half from his home; he had gone there with his mother and seven-month-old sister.

Steven's mother left him and his sister, who was in a carriage, outside the supermarket for about ten minutes while she shopped for bread. When she came out, both children were gone. Steven's sister was recovered still inside her carriage a few blocks away, but her brother has never been heard from again.

In late November 1955, a student at Queens College in New York City wrote three letters demanding money from Steven's parents in exchange for the toddler's safe return. Each letter asked for a larger amount: first $3,000, then $10,000, then $14,000. Steven's parents attempted to comply, but the student turned out to be an opportunist who had nothing to do with Steven's presumed abduction.

It was suggested that Steven might be the "Boy in the Box" or "America's Unknown Child", a small boy who was found dead inside a cardboard box in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1957. They both were blond and blue-eyed and both had the same scars, but the unidentified boy did not have a healed arm fracture as Steven had and Steven's footprints, taken when he was a baby, did not match the Philadelphia child.

In 2003, the police compared the unidentified boy's DNA with DNA from Steven's sister to make sure, and conclusively proved that Steven was not the Boy in the Box. The child remains unidentified in spite of a major investigative effort that continues today.

Steven is originally from Iowa; his father was in the Air Force in 1955 and the family was stationed on Long Island. His father left the Air Force a few months after Steven's abduction and the family returned to Iowa. His parents divorced in 1957 and both of them later remarried. His father still lives in Iowa and had two sons by his second marriage; his mother now lives in Missouri.

The case received additional media attention in 2009 when a Michigan man claimed he was Steven, but DNA tests ruled out this possibility. There is very little evidence available to indicate Steven's fate and his case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

• Nassau County Police Department 516-573-7000

Source Information

• NewspaperArchive
• America's Unknown Child (the Boy in the Box mystery)
• The Doe Network
• The Associated Press
• The Detroit Free Press
• The Southern Ledger
• The New York Times
• KCCI Des Moines
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Steven Craig Damman – The Charley Project

 

[hot cawfeee]

bumping.........being treated for a kidney growth would create some kind of trail right ??? How many pediatric kidney (renal ?) specialists are out there especially in the late 50's thru 60's ??

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Steven Craig Damman – The Charley Project

 

[neesaki]

Vanished from the grocery store? The disappearance of Steven Damman​

 

[LeeBee]

I first read about Steven maybe 40 years ago in an article in a NY newspaper. My advice would be for a family member of any missing child to make sure to send in a dna sample to a data base like Ancestry or 23 and Me. Its possible some of these missing babies/children were taken by someone who just wanted to be a mother and the missing child who is now an adult or maybe their child could also do a test just for fun and find matches they don't understand. I wonder if any cases have been solved this way. Has anyone heard of any?

 

[na19]

How would the kidnapper know about the kidney issues? Most likely only if Steven started showing signs of being ill. Would the kidnapper be too scared to seek medical treatment for him?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Two-year-old Steven Damman went missing from East Meadow on Halloween almost 69 years ago, sparking one of the largest police searches in Nassau County and Long Island history.

It remains the Island's oldest unsolved missing persons case.

It started on Oct. 31, 1955, when Steven's mother, Marilyn Damman, took the toddler and his 1-year-old sister, Pamela, to a Food Fair store on Front Street, leaving them in the stroller just outside the establishment while she shopped. When Damman exited the store, both children were gone. A quick search turned up Pamela nearby in the stroller. But Steven — clad in dungarees, a blue shirt, red sweater and brown shoes — was nowhere to be found.

Newsday reported at the time that a massive search was launched. Volunteers and police combed woodlands, dragged swamps and creeks and went door to door to ask if anyone had seen Steven. The child’s father, Airman Jerry Damman, was set to leave the service from his base at Mitchel Field but extended his enlistment by about two months to aid in the search

Months passed and Steven was never found. His disappearance became the most publicized Long Island missing persons case since 1937, when Cold Spring Harbor socialite Alice Parsons, 37, disappeared and a ransom note was delivered asking for $25,000. Although the ransom was offered, it was never collected and Parsons was never found.

A $3,000 ransom note was delivered to Steven’s parents as well, but it was likely a hoax, police said at the time.

Interest in the story was rekindled in 2007, when a Michigan man named John Barnes told authorities he believed he was Steven Damman. The sudden appearance of Barnes, who reportedly bore a slight resemblance to Steven, ignited hope that the mystery would be solved. The story again made national news and the FBI stepped in to do a DNA comparison to determine if Barnes was in fact Steven. But the results came back negative.

“It wasn't easy when it happened more than 50 years ago,” Jerry Damman, 78, told Newsday from his home in Newton, Iowa, in 2007. “It's not easy now. Naturally, I'm disappointed that this man wasn't our son.”

Social Security indexes show that Jerry Damman and his former wife, Marilyn, are deceased. Steven’s sister, Pamela, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Nassau police said Steven’s disappearance is still an active case

Long Island's unsolved missing person cases include toddler snatched while shopping with mom

Exhaustive searches were launched to try to find these seven Long Islanders, but their cases remain unsolved.

www.newsday.com

 

[Diavola]

Why take the older child? Why not both?

 

[Richard]

Steven Craig Damman, age 2
Missing since 31 October 1955