Taj Narbonne, 9, Missing since March 31, 1981 from Leominster, MA
Taj Narbonne
Missing since March 31, 1981 from Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: June 18, 1971
Age at Time of Disappearance: 9 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'0-4'10"; 65-75 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Blond hair; blue eyes.
Clothing: He was last seen wearing a faded blue jacket with faded yellow sleeves, a light blue and orange longsleeve sweatshirt with Donald Duck's picture on it, bluejeans and moccasins.
Circumstances of Disappearance
Narbonne was last seen leaving his family's home after a verbal argument with his stepfather on March 31, 1981.
Taj left a handwritten note in his bedroom reading: "I'm going away, because I don't want to live here anymore. Nobody is going to tell me what to do anymore.
Police are checking out new information on Taj's disappearance, a dive team and dogs are searching in the woods at the end of Eugene Street. Tajs grandparents have said they do not believe their grandson left home voluntarily, because he was terrified of the dark and was not wearing socks or shoes. They say Taj was very afraid of his stepfather.
Investigators
If you have any information on Narbonne's whereabouts, please contact:
Leominster Police Department
978-537-0741
E-Mail
police@ci.leominster.ma.us
NCMEC #: NCMC603378
NCIC Number: M-875286316
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
The Boston Globe - 1/1/83
Telegram 9/7/06
Link:
http://doenetwork.us/cases/57dmma.html
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Taj Narbonne
Missing since March 31, 1981 from Leominster, Worester County, Mass.
Vital statistics: Born on June 18, 1971. Blond hair, blue eyes. Was last seen wearing a yellow jacket with blue sleeves and a yellow sweatshirt with a picture of Donald Duck on it. According to his grandmother, he was not wearing shoes at the time and was afraid of the dark. Was nine when last seen.
NCIC number: M-875286316
Circumstances: Accounts differ to where Taj Narbonne was last seen. Some say he left his house after a verbal argument with his stepfather, while others say he was found missing from bed. According to both accounts, he left a note saying he no longer wished to live with his family. His stepfather reportedly hated him. Police at first thought he had run away, but he has never been located. Classified as a Non-Family Abduction.
Theories: This case is difficult because no two accounts tell the same story. The one thing all accounts agree on is the note he left. With an older child, this would be a much simpler case because there are all the signs of a runaway child. However, Taj was only nine at the time. If he stayed away from home for any length of time, someone would surely notice him. And why would a child afraid of the dark run off? A darker theory says that he was murdered by his stepfather, who reportedly despised the boy. However, his mother appears to have a great deal of love for him, and she would have surely reported if her husband was gone for any length of time and began acting suspiciously. That leaves one large possibility open - abduction. The lack of leads is frustrating, because someone had to see the boy in the hours he was missing. That person may be the key to solving the case.
Leominster police department 1-616-537-0741.
Information used to compile this case file came from the following locations:
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
The Boston Globe
The Charley Project
The Doe Network
links:
http://forthelost.bravepages.com/tnarbonne.html
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=603378&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US
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Sep 7, 2006
Police Search Revives Leominster Cold Case
(CBS4) LEOMINSTER Investigators have been searching an area near the Leominster home of 9-year-old Taj Narbonne this week, hoping to find new leads in his disappearance. He was last seen in 1981.
The Worcester County District Attorney office told CBS4's Ron Sanders they are acting on new information in the case, but they are not hopeful that it will lead to any new developments.
The family has confirmed that investigators have spent several days searching a wooded area near where the family lives and from which Narbonne disappeared.
The police were given information that somebody saw something in that area, said Unis Narbonne, Tajs grandmother.
Unis Narbonne said that in 1981 she and her husband had been taking care of the boy for several days when the boys mother called and asked for the grandparents to bring him home.
He said no way because of who was living there with his mom who he adored. So I took him home and regretted it for 25 years, she said.
She said there had been problems near the apartment where Taj lived with his mother and stepfather.
Hed be a grown man if he were alive and I doubt very much that he is alive, because he was so close to his mother. I know he would have tried to contact her. I dont believe hes alive.
Authorities have been searching woods at the end of Eugene and Gordon Streets. Police have not said what led them there.
Narbonne was living at a home on Naples Street, when he vanished March 31, 1981.
A note, allegedly in his handwriting, was found at the time suggesting he was going to run away. But his family has never believed he left on his own.
Source Information:
cbs4boston.com - Police Search Revives Leominster Cold Case
Link:
http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_250120617.html
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Police hunt for long-missing Leominster boy
By Aaron Wasserman and J.J. Huggins
LEOMINSTER -- City and state police spent nearly all day in the woods behind Eugene Street and Hickory Road Wednesday, searching for a boy missing for the past 25 years, but their investigation produced no immediate results.
Eunice Narbonne, grandmother of Taj Narbonne, who disappeared in March 1981 from his Naples Street home, confirmed Wednesday that police are searching for her grandson.
City police and a state police K-9 unit frequently entered and exited the woods. Officials from the city and Lunenburg fire departments operated from the woods' other end, located behind Gordon Street.
All officials declined to comment, however, about what exactly they were looking for and what had prompted the extensive search.
The investigation initially began on Friday and continued through the weekend, according to a neighbor.
"Today's the biggest day by far. There are more cars here today than any other day," said Bryan Casacca, 35, of 103 Eugene St., whose property is near the woods.
Eunice Narbonne said she had not spoken to investigators Wednesday and did not go to the scene.
"Why beat myself?" she asked.
She said, however, she is cautiously optimistic this latest search will turn up new clues.
"I'll tell you, after all these years, I don't know what to think," she said.
Her grandson disappeared when he was 9 years old on the morning of March 31, 1981. Taj Narbonne had recently returned to live with his mother and stepfather at the time, after a three-month stint in a foster home.
Det. Patrick Aubuchon began working on the case in 2002. In an interview with the Sentinel & Enterprise in April 2005, he would not comment on any suspects but said he does not believe Taj Narbonne ran away.
Aubuchon was at the scene all afternoon Tuesday with other city detectives and state police. The buzz of a chainsaw occasionally emanated from the woods.
Chief Peter F. Roddy arrived at the scene at about 3:15 p.m. and toured the woods with Aubuchon and others. But Roddy declined to comment upon leaving, saying he was headed to the office of Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte. A spokesperson for Conte, Elizabeth Stammo, did not return messages left Wednesday.
The city's fire chief, Ronald Pierce, also sent some of his workers to the scene to assist investigators, but said he could not give out any information regarding the search.
"We have a regional dive team. I have a couple of men standing by with an ambulance, just to help the police," he said Wednesday.
Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella, a former city police officer, said he knew about the investigation, but couldn't release any details.
Link:
http://www.childseeknetwork.com/for...1f7fbf899d221de
