SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Missing Since: January 14, 1982 from Tarentum, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: November 9, 1970
Age: 11 years old
Height and Weight: 4'10, 72 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Dabkowski has a small scar under his left eye. He has a deep cleft in the middle of his chin. His complexion is clear and he is right-handed. There are slight bags beneath Dabkowski's eyes. His nicknames are Dabbo and Jonny.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A maroon jacket and boots.
Missing Since: January 14, 1982 from Tarentum, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: October 5, 1971
Age: 10 years old
Height and Weight: 4'0, 60 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Minarcin has a mole on his right wrist. One of his upper front teeth was chipped at the time of his 1982 disappearance.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A maroon jacket and boots.
Details of Disappearance
Dabkowski was last seen at approximately 5:30 p.m. on January 14, 1982, in his hometown of Tarentum, Pennsylvania. He and his friend, Gabriel Minarcin, finished dinner at the Dabkowski home and were walking three doors down to Minarcin's family's home. The boys never arrived at the house and have not been seen again.
Authorities believe that Minarcin and Dabkowski may have fallen through thin ice near their residences and drowned, as they were last seen walking together near the Allegheny River. Footprints in the snow lead to the riverbank, but there were no prints leading away from the river. However, Dabkowski had been told by his parents to stay away from the river, and he dependably obeyed this rule. An extensive search of the water turned up no evidence that anyone had fallen in.
Neil B. Hammons stole Dabkowski's identity in 1998. He was stopped by police while driving and showed the officer a driver's license in Dabkowski's name. The officer realized Dabkowski was a missing person, but as the man was a legal adult, he could not hold him. He let the man go and notified Dabkowski's family, who thought their son had been found. It turned out Hammons had been looking for a new identity and had chosen Dabkowski off a missing persons' website which gave his information. He had nothing to do with Dabkowski's disappearance which, like Minarcin's, remains unsolved.
Police have lost touch with Minarcin's family, who moved away from Tarentum in the 1990s. Dabkowki's family still resides in the house he lived in. Due to the lack of clues in the boys' cases, their disappearances are classified as non-family abductions.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Tarentum Police Department
412-224-1515
Charley Project
NCMEC