Ed Thomas was 72 when he was admitted to the Pine Bluff Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in January 1998. Diagnosed with dementia and legally incapacitated, he was described as a Black male with black hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 11 inches and 184 pounds. On January 24, 1998, just days after admission, he wandered away from the facility and was last seen wearing a green coat and a brown derby hat. He was never heard from again.

The Pine Bluff Police Department has kept the case open as an endangered missing person matter. His daughter and guardian, Edna Thomas Brown, later filed a negligence lawsuit against the nursing home, and the Jefferson County Probate Court declared him legally deceased in May 2003. No location or further contact has been reported, and questions remain about how he was able to leave the facility.

If anyone has information about Ed Thomas’s movements in Pine Bluff around January 24, 1998, please come forward.