Missing
Christian Taylor Ferguson
Christian, approximately 2003; Age when reported missing: 25 (approximately 2018); Dawan Ferguson, approximately 2003; Dawan Ferguson in 2019; Theda Ferguson Thomas (now called Theda Person)
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/11/2003
Missing location (approx) :
St. Louis, Missouri
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
Black
DOB : 10/09/1993 (27)
Age at the time of disappearance: 9 years old
Height / Weight : 4'0, 75 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A diaper and a red and blue blanket.
Medical conditions : Christian is severely physically and mentally disabled due to a rare and incurable metabolic condition called argininosuccinate synthetase deficiency, or citrullinemia, which makes him unable to digest protein. He requires a strict diet and six types of medication administered several times a day to sustain his life. He didn't have any medicine on him at the time of his disappearance, and probably hadn't been taking it as directed for months beforehand. If he isn't given his medication, he will develop hyperammonemia (high ammonia levels in the blood) and die within about a day. Christian was born with citrullinemia and, with the help of close medical supervision and a program of medications, he developed normally for the first seven years of his life. In January 2001, however, he had a seizure, fell into a month-long coma and suffered a series of near-fatal strokes which caused severe brain damAge at the time of disappearance: . He can't speak or swallow, and he can walk only very unsteadily. He wears diapers and is fed through a tube.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Christian had a short afro hairstyle at the time of his 2003 disappearance. His nickname is Chris. He has an extremely thin, frail build and he drools frequently.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Christian was last seen by his father, Dawan T. Ferguson, in St. Louis, Missouri on June 11, 2003. Photographs of Dawan are posted with this case summary. Between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m., he called the police to say that someone had driven off in his 1999 Ford Expedition SUV.
He said the car had been stolen after he got out of it, leaving the keys in the ignition, to place a phone call to Christian's doctor at a phone booth at Skinker and pageheader. Dawan had been driving Christian to the hospital at the time, and the boy was in the backseat of the vehicle when it was stolen.
The SUV was located unlocked and abandoned two hours later, at 8:00 a.m., about five miles from where it was taken, at a cul-de-sac where Ronbar Lane dead-ends at railroad tracks in the city of Ferguson, Missouri.
The vehicle contained numerous valuable times, including a laptop computer, a camera, two cellular phones and other electronic gear, and the keys were in the ignition. Christian was gone, however, and police and their tracker dogs found no sign of him in the vicinity. He probably wouldn't have been able to get out of the car without assistance.
Authorities stated Dawan refused to take a polygraph test and there have been inconsistencies in his story. He ceased cooperating with police early on in the investigation and has hired his own private investigators.
Within two weeks of Christian's disappearance, he and his family moved out of their rental home, and investigators he hired took a lot of things away from the residence. His home has been searched twice for evidence relating to the child's case. Among other things, they found urine-stained clothes and bedding. Christian's bed had a large liquid stain that had soaked through the mattress and dripped on the floor.
Dawan was employed as a bounty hunter, locating and capturing fugitives for bail bondsmen, in 2003. He had a cellular phone in his possession on the morning of June 11, so it's unclear why he would have had to use a pay phone.
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