James Clark Creighton didn’t show up at his family’s home on Christmas Eve in 2000.
He didn’t make it to dinner on Christmas Day, either. That’s when his relatives got worried and reported the 42-year-old Prince Anne man missing.
Now, more than 10 years later, Creighton’s whereabouts remain a mystery and his name still appears in state and national missing-persons databases.
Police have said there are few leads in the case, and Creighton had been known to use drugs.
But Creighton hadn’t engaged in violence and he held a steady job, his sister, Janet Sydnor, told the Salisbury Times in 2005.
“The only person he hurt was himself,” she said. “He was gentle, kind and didn’t hurt anybody.”
Creighton, a Baltimore native who has been described as friendly and easygoing, moved to the Eastern Shore “to get away from the city,” a friend, Charles Clarkson, told the newspaper.
Authorities say Creighton was last seen in the early-morning hours of Dec. 24, 2000. When his family went to try to find him at his apartment a few days later, they found the door unlocked and two ceiling tiles missing.
But there were no signs of Creighton. He has remained missing since then and no one has come forward with information about what happened to him.
Creighton, who would now be 52 years old, is described as a white man who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 195 pounds, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. He had straight brown hair and brown eyes and had a moustache at the time of his disappearance. Creighton has acne scars on his face and his chest. He was last seen wearing a tan winter coat.
Anyone with information about his case can call Prince Anne police at 410-651-1822.
