The Disappearance of Joshua Mahaffey

Name: Joshua Jerome Mahaffey
Nickname: Josh
Age: 15 years old
Last Seen: October 12, 1991
Location: Centralia, Illinois
Status: Still missing

Case Information

15 year old Joshua Mahaffey was last seen at his residence in Centralia, Illinois on October 12, 1991. He disappeared after climbing out his bedroom window and leaving with another boy.

Background

At the time of his disappearance, Joshua lived with his mother in rural Marion County and was a freshman at Centralia High School.

Disappearance

On October 12, 1991, Joshua Mahaffey got into an argument with his mother at their home in Centralia, Illinois. Following the argument, he climbed out his bedroom window and left with another boy. He hasn’t been seen since. 

Since Josh had ran away several times in the past, his mother wasn’t initially too concerned about his absence. She officially reported him missing on November 12, 1991.

Investigation

Josh was known to hang out at the Fairview Shopping center and a place known as Devil’s Playground, located off Jolliff Bridge Road. Both areas have been searched, but turned up no clues as to his whereabouts.

On the night of his disappearance, Joshua was reportedly seen with another teenage boy getting into a blue Ford Maverick with a friend, Terry Martin, and Martin’s girlfriend. 

Martin, his girlfriend, and the other teenage boy returned in the vehicle a few hours later, which was now mud splattered. Josh was not with them.

According to one report, Joshua was allegedly seeing Martin’s girlfriend in secret. Martin denies this claim.

Joshua and Martin had burglarized a small grocery store in town prior to Josh’s disappearance. Joshua cooperated with police and implicated Martin in the case.

Tonya Collins, who was in her teens in 1991, told authorities she saw Joshua tortured and murdered in the Devil’s Playground on the night he went missing. She passed a polygraph about the event in 1996, but failed a second one in 2008.

She named Terry Martin as Joshua’s killer. She took authorities to the reported burial site in 2007, but a dig of the area produced nothing. A search with ground penetrating radar in 2008 also produced nothing.

In 1999, Terry Martin was sentenced to 22 years in prison for raping a 6 year old girl. He was released in 2010, but was re-arrested after failing to register as a sex offender.

While in jail in 2003, Martin allegedly told another inmate he had killed a boy named Josh in 1991. Following that admission, authorities attempted a wire-tap operation but were unsuccessful.

Martin admits to being friends with Joshua, but denies knowing what happened to him. He says Josh often talked about running away to Kentucky where his father lived.

Authorities believe Josh is most likely deceased, but without a body the case can’t move forward.

Martin is considered a suspect in Josh’s disappearance, though authorities do not have enough evidence to build a case against him.

Appearance

White male with brown hair and brown eyes. At the time of his disappearance Joshua stood 5’2 tall and weighed 120 pounds. He has a scar on his left cheek from a dog bite.

Joshua’s two front teeth are capped and one of them is discolored.

Investigating Agency

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Joshua Mahaffey please contact the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office at (618) 594-4555, or the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at (618) 548-2141.

Resources & Further Information

Joshua Jerome Mahaffey – NamUs
Joshua Jerome Mahaffey – The Charley Project
Case of Missing Illinois Teen Allegedly Last Seen at Devil’s Playground Remains Unsolved – NBC
Joshua Mahaffey Disappearance Garnering National Attention After Dateline Feature – WMIX