Thomas Joseph Couch, 33, vanished from the Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park, Illinois, on the evening of August 31, 2001. Described as having the mental capacity of an eight-year-old, a seizure disorder that required medication, and a trusting nature, Thomas had checked in at about 7:00 p.m. as scheduled but failed to appear for the next check-in at 7:15 p.m. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans and a distinctive black-and-white or gray-and-white Raiders jean jacket, and he may have been carrying a brown briefcase he kept with him.

Family and police conducted searches, distributed flyers and checked hospitals and morgues with no lead. There was a suggestion he might have tried to travel to Bonita Springs, Florida, where his father lived at the time, but nothing was confirmed. The Tinley Park Police Department continues to list him as missing.

Thomas had a small surgical scar on his back shoulder and may have worn brown-framed glasses. He wanted independence but was vulnerable because of his developmental disability and seizure condition.