Name: Daniel Mark Higgins
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: March 17, 1995
Location Last Seen: Pickering, Ontario, Canada.
Date of Birth: January 6, 1978
Age: 17 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
Weight: 134 lbs (61 kg)
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Tattoos: He has a tattoo of the word "cujo" on his right upper arm.
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown
Clothing: Blue denim pants, Black "Detroit Red Wings" baseball hat, brown shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Higgins, Jay Boyle, Michael Cummins and Chad Smith, Robbie Rumboldt and Jamie Lefebvre, were last seen walking together toward the Eastshore Marina in Pickering on March 17, 1995.
Witnesses and evidence suggest that after some spring break partying and drinking, the teenage boys went down to the beach looking for adventure. Once there, they may have taken a four-meter, imitation Boston Whaler motorboat and a three-wheeled paddle boat from separate marinas on Frenchman's Bay. Then, it's believed, they headed out for a joyride on the cold, icy waters of the lake without life jackets. Before they left at around 24:50 on Friday, the boys told a friend they were going to "goof around" on a boat.
At 01:48, a surveillance camera caught three of the boys - Michael, Jamie and Robbie - entering East Shore Marina.
Between 02:30 and 03.00, some marina residents heard a motor boat out on the lake. The next morning, two boats were reported stolen from two marinas.
The police believe the boats capsized and hypothermia gripped the boys within minutes. The boys were first reported missing by worried girlfriends on Friday, but police did not treat their concerns seriously until Saturday afternoon, when they connected the boys to the missing boats.
By 14.00 on Saturday - 36 hours after the boys were last seen - a massive search was underway. Durham police were joined by the Toronto police marine unit, the Coast Guard, Hercules C-130 aircraft and a helicopter from the air-sea rescue unit at Canadian Forces Base Trenton. They found nothing. Thousands of volunteers from across southern Ontario then joined the hunt. The only item found on the lake was a gas can belonging to the 4-metre Boston Whaler.
Agency Name: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: N/A
Agency E-Mail: canadasmissing-disparcuscanada@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Agency Case Number: N/A
Agency Name: Durham Regional Police Service
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 905-579-1520 ext 2511
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 95-26936
RCMP
Durham Regional Police Service
NCMEC
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 03/06/2023 - By: kc
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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