James E. Early, 42, was reported missing to the Glen Carbon Police Department on April 29, 1995, after his father said James had not returned home from work since April 6 and had been suffering from depression. Early had some contact in the early days: on April 9 his sister Janet told their father James was with her in New York, and on April 12 she received a letter from him asking her to retrieve his car left at JFK Airport. That letter was the last known direct communication.

On April 21 Janet was contacted by a Budget Car Rental office in Paris, which said a vehicle had been rented in James Early’s name on April 13 and was due back April 14 but was never returned. The car was later found abandoned and damaged on April 25 in Toulon, France. The discovery moved the case from a local missing person inquiry to an international investigation, with the Glen Carbon Police Department handling the matter as questions remain about how and why the rental ended up in southern France.

If anyone saw James, his car at JFK, or a rental vehicle matching this description in France in mid‑April 1995, please come forward with information.