Dorien Deon Thomas was born on May 6, 1989, and he resided with his family in the 1300 block of Northwest 9th Street, Amarillo, Texas.
Dorien was nine years old, stood 4 feet tall and weighed about 60 pounds. Former Special Crimes head Lt. Gary Trupe told NewsChannel 10 in October 2008: “He knew who he was. He knew where he lived. … And he wasn’t going to be somebody who was going to go somewhere unless he was going to go of his own free will.”
Dorien was a streetwise kid who was familiar with his neighborhood and loved to ride his aqua bicycle around town.
The Vanishing of Dorien Deon Thomas
On Monday, October 26, 1998, Dorien filled his bicycle tires with air and rode around the neighborhood. He might have intended to get a snack, but that has never been confirmed. When Dorien failed to return home, his family reported him missing to the Amarillo Police Department.
Police launched an extensive search that included volunteers and neighbors. Searchers combed the neighborhood and vacant fields, and the police knocked on doors, questioned residents, and followed up on all leads that came into the police department. However, they never found any sign of Dorien or his bicycle.
According to The Charley Project, Dorien’s bicycle resembled a girl’s. It was aqua with white handlebars, a black seat, small white tires and rims, and a pole extending from the seat to the frame. The bike also had a rusty chain. Imprinted on the side of the bike were the words “Free Style.”
There is no report regarding any witnesses to Dorien’s abduction or sightings of the boy after he disappeared.
Linda Gale Jackson and Gloria Ann Covington Murders
About 14 months before Dorien vanished without a trace, Gloria Ann Covington, 45, was murdered on August 5, 1997. Dorien was one of the children who discovered Gloria’s partially-clothed body while playing in Hilltop Park around 1 p.m. Dorien and his friends found the remains behind the YMCA building (now the Charles E. Warford Activity Center). Gloria had been stabbed to death.
“You could tell she truly fought for her life,” said Detective Jimmy Rifenberg, head of APD’s Cold Case Unity. “Where she grabbed the knife, she had lots of defensive wounds.” (Burch, 2023)
Rifenburg also said that Gloria suffered “numerous sharp force injuries.”
Police estimated she died sometime after 3 a.m. in Hilltop Park. She was last seen alive, walking alone at 3 a.m. in the 1600 block of North Marrs Street, Lt. Ed Smith of the Potter-Randall Special Crimes Unit said in August 1997. (Kelly, 1997)
A woman told the police shortly after Gloria’s murder that she saw something lying in the park around 7 a.m., but she did not realize it was a body. (Kelly)
One of Gloria’s friends allegedly witnessed her murder, and the killer also assaulted her during the crime. Why she could not ID the assailant is unclear. She told police that Gloria was attacked inside a light-colored pickup truck before her murder.
Gloria’s husband, Robert Earl Covington, 41, in 1997, was arrested shortly before his wife’s murder in connection with the attack and robbery on July 18 of Rev. Francis Crowe, 79, a priest at St. Martin de Porres Church, 1501 N. Adams St.
At 7:15 a.m. on September 11, 1997, Amarillo police were dispatched to 3100 N. Wilson St. after receiving a report of a partially unclothed body face down on the roadway. The victim was later identified as 35-year-old Linda Gale Johnson.
Johnson’s original cause of death was vehicular manslaughter because she had been hit by a car. However, a medical examiner discovered signs of sexual assault before Johnson’s death, and detectives ruled the case a homicide.
Witnesses saw Jackson getting into a light-colored pickup truck, similar to the one spotted in Gloria’s case. Both women were known prostitutes, and both homicides remain unsolved.
In September 1998, one of Gloria’s friends (it’s unclear whether it’s the same one assaulted on the day of her murder or another friend) was attacked by an unidentified white male with red hair pulled into a ponytail, blue eyes, and a mustache. After the incident, the woman stopped at Dorien’s mother’s home for assistance. Dorien was home at the time, and the suspect saw the boy, the woman said. The victim told the police that the man threatened to harm her again and believed the man might have been involved in Dorien’s disappearance.
Investigators have never been able find evidence linking Dorien’s disappearance to the murders.
Bones Found 2005 and 2023
In 2006, a set of human remains of a boy were found in 2005 at Yellow House Canyon in Lubbock County, and Lubbock investigators said Dorien could have been a match. They said, “The age of the body, the race, and the similarities from the sketch all make Dorien a very possible lead to uncovering an identity,? But Amarillo said, “The timing did not add up.” (KCBD, 2006)
According to the APD, Dorien would have been kidnapped and kept alive all of those years – from 1998 to 2005.
KCBD compared a sketch created by forensic artists of what the deceased boy might have looked like against an age-progression sketch of Dorien and found physical similarities. The DNA lab at the University of North Texas worked on the case for months, but no match could be made.
Fast forward to December 2023, when Amarillo police found another set of human remains. Amarillo Police Department’s Homicide Unit received a tip that a body might be buried near Smelter Road and Hastings Avenue.
However, they turned out to be animal bones.
“Of course, we’re a little dismayed. We’re a little sad and as usual, but we’re not going to give up. And we hope that APD doesn’t give up,” said Brandon Thomas, Dorien’s brother. (Burch, 2024)
Anyone with information regarding Dorien’s disappearance should contact the Amarillo Police Department at 1-806-378-3038.
Sources:
“Agencies Disagree About Possible Lead in Human
Remains Case.” KCBD. February 17, 2006. https://www.kcbd.com/story/4519459/agencies-disagree-about-possible-lead-in-human-remains-case/
Remains Case.” KCBD. February 17, 2006. https://www.kcbd.com/story/4519459/agencies-disagree-about-possible-lead-in-human-remains-case/
Burch, Jamie. “‘She truly fought for her life’: Amarillo police highlight unsolved 1997 murder in podcast.” ABC7. March 7, 2023. https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/amarillo-police-highlight-cold-case-murder-from-1997-in-latest-podcast-gloria-ann-covington-stabbed-north-branch-ymca-detective-jimmy-rifenberg-lt-jim-clements-dorien-thomas-linda-jackson
Burch, Jamie. “‘We’re not going to give up’: Family of boy missing for 25 years sad bones are not his.” ABC7. January 28, 2024. https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/were-not-going-to-give-up-family-of-boy-missing-for-25-years-sad-bones-are-not-his-dorien-thomas-brandon-thomas-bone-fragments-smelter-road-amarillo-police-animal-not-humna
“Cold Case File: Linda Jackson.” KFDA. April 27, 2011. https://www.newschannel10.com/story/14528324/cold-case-file-linda-jackson/
“Dorien Deon Thomas.” The Charley Project. September 23, 2021. https://charleyproject.org/case/dorien-deon-thomas
Kelly, Kris. “Body Found in Park” and “Wife of Man Jailed in Assault Found Dead in Amarillo Park” via ABC7.com. https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/amarillo-police-highlight-cold-case-murder-from-1997-in-latest-podcast-gloria-ann-covington-stabbed-north-branch-ymca-detective-jimmy-rifenberg-lt-jim-clements-dorien-thomas-linda-jackson
“The Case of Dorien Thomas Still Haunts the Amarillo Police Department.” KFDA. March 3, 2015. https://www.newschannel10.com/story/28243019/the-case-of-dorien-thomas-still-haunts-the-amarillo-police-department/