Missing
Austin Jay Childs
Austin, approximately 2005
Date and time person was reported missing : 04/09/2005
Missing location (approx) :
Freeport, Texas
Missing classification : Lost/Injured Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 07/27/1987 (34)
Age at the time of disappearance: 17 years old
Height / Weight : 5'9, 170 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A brown leather jacket, blue jeans, flip-flops and a white shell choker necklace.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Austin has a scar on his right shoulder, a scar on his left thigh and a scar on the side of his left hip. He goes by his initials, AJC.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Austin was last seen on April 9, 2005 in Freeport, Texas. He and two other men, John Zimmerman and David Keller, went on a fishing trip on the Gulf of Mexico in Zimmerman's 28-foot pleasure craft.
They took a yellow Labrador Retriever dog, several 160-quart ice chests with white snap-on cushions, an orange life ring, a blue and red raft, and between three and six standard-sized orange life jackets on their boat. The men were expected to return the following day, but they did not and they have never been heard from again.
The men's boat was later found capsized in the ocean. It had a hairline crack in the bottom and officials believe the boat accidentally ran into something, possibly a log. A seat cushion and three life jackets were floating nearby. There was no sign of the men at the scene, and an extensive search turned up no tEthnicity : of them.
Austin, Keller and Zimmerman are presumed lost at sea. All three are from Houston, Texas. Austin attended Dobie High School and was also homeschooled. He is described as an avid outdoorsman.
Other information and links : ncy
Texas Department of Public Safety
800-346-3243
Gulf Coast Recovery Center
281-229-9172
September 2021 updates and sources
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Houston Coast Guard
KHOU 11 News
KTRK TV Houston
Project Jason
October 12, 2004. October 12, 2009; picture added, Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map