Missing
Duane Robert Talmon Jr.
Duane, approximately 1974; Michael Thurman
Date and time person was reported missing : 10/30/1974
Missing location (approx) :
Clarence, New York
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 08/03/1958 (63)
Age at the time of disappearance: 16 years old
Height / Weight : 5'8, 145 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A shirt, blue Wrangler jeans and black boots.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Duane was a student at Williamsville North High School in 1974. On October 30, he called his mother and told him not to pick him up at school because he was going out with a friend to Akron Park.
He asked his mother to pick him up at Miles Road. Duane's mother went to Miles Road as instructed, but Duane never showed up. He has never been heard from again.
A Tonawanda, New York man named Michael Thurman confessed to Duane's murder in 1986. A photograph of Thurman is posted with this case summary. He first became a suspect in Duane's disappearance in 1986.
Thurman, who was 18 years old in October 1974, says Duane met him on October 30 at County Road in Clarence, to complete a drug transaction. The two of them began to argue over money and the argument escalated in to a fight. Thurman shot Duane to death and buried him near north French Road in North Amherst, New York.
Police spent months digging at that location after hearing the confession, but never found any remains. For many years Thurman remained a free man because authorities did not feel they had the evidence to convict him of Duane's murder without a body.
However, in recent years the courts have become more lenient in prosecuting homicides where there is no body, and the presumption of Duane's death was great. Since his disappearance he has not contacted his family or any of his friends, and he left all his personal belongings behind.
Authorities made the decision, in June 2003, to charge Thurman with second-degree murder in Duane's death. They elicited statements from witnesses who say they heard Thurman talk about killing him. Thurman was offered a plea bargain by prosecutors where he would face five to fifteen years in prison. He took it, pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
Duane remains missing; no tEthnicity : of him was ever located.
Other information and links : ncy
New York State Police
716-759-6831
September 2021 updates and sources
WKBW Crimestoppers
Niagara Frontier Today
The Doe Network
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
October 12, 2004. March 12, 2011; middle name and Description, clothing, jewerly and more : added.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
