D'Wan Sims
Case of missing boy remains unsolved after 15 years
December 6, 2009
Fifteen years ago this Friday, D'Wan Sims' mother told security guards at Wonderland Mall that her 4-year-old son was missing.
Dwanna Harris told police she lost her son in a mass of Christmas shoppers at the mall. The story generated thousands of tips, several false leads and searches by police and volunteers.
His photo appeared in newspapers and on television. But D'Wan was never found.
This week, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children issued a press release with a photo of what D'Wan may look like today at the age of 19 and urged people to call (800) THE LOST with information.
Detective Sgt. Shelley Holloway of the Livonia Police Department said that while the case remains open, no tips have been received lately.
Livonia police remain suspicious of the story of Harris, who married and is now Dwanna Jackson.
“We're confident that he never made it to Wonderland Mall,” Holloway said. “He never appeared on any video at all.”
D'Wan's mother was observed on the video. “You see her walking around, not reacting or concerned, that her son is missing,” Holloway said.
Holloway said Livonia police investigators spoke with eyewitnesses who saw D'Wan's mother arrive at the mall without her son. Their stories were corroborated with store receipts and surveillance video of their arrivals to shop there.
Livonia Police were assisted by the Michigan State Police and the Detroit Police Department during the initial investigation.
Holloway said she doesn't know for a fact that Sims is dead, but she believes “something happened to him. It could have been an accident,” she added.
Holloway has not spoken to Jackson in years, she said.
But Jackson insisted at the time of the disappearance that she and her son walked from the Target store into the mall, and that shortly thereafter he was gone, according to published reports and newspaper stories from that time.
In a 2003 newspaper story, Beverly Harris, the mother of Dwanna, said her daughter was emotionally devastated by the loss of her son and by police interrogations. She remembers the sadness of Christmas without D'Wan and his enjoyment of Power Rangers and watching televisions.
Holloway said the case was frustrating. “We exhausted just about every resource we could use,” Holloway said.
Anyone with information on the disappearance of D'Wan Sims can contact the Livonia Police Department at (734) 466-2470.
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20091206/NEWS10/912060500/1027/Case+of+missing+boy+remains+unsolved+after+15+yearsMommy Dearest knows....
