Cherita Janice Thomas

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Oscoda Township Police Department Mi (MI)

Missing From:

Ausable Township, Michigan

Summary:

Cherita Janice Thomas was a 21-year-old mother who disappeared on August 3, 1980, in Ausable Township, Michigan, while returning from a social outing to pick up her daughter from a babysitter. Her borrowed car broke down twice along the way, and witnesses reported seeing her enter a blue pickup truck driven by a white male. She has never been found.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On August 3, 1980, Cherita Thomas and her friend and next-door neighbor, Patricia Call, attended the Hilltop Bar and then a baseball game in Mikado. They had left Thomas's four-year-old daughter and Call's two children with Call's sister. Thomas left the game before Call, driving Call's brown AMC Matador, intending to pick up the children from the babysitter and return home. The vehicle stalled at the intersection of U.S. 23 and River Road. Three passersby helped her get it started again using duct tape to plug a radiator leak and refilled the radiator with water. The car stalled once more on Sunset Street, about two blocks from the babysitter's home and barely a mile from the local police station. At approximately 11:15 p.m., several witnesses reported seeing a blue pickup truck parked grill-to-grill with the disabled Matador. One witness stated she saw Cherita get into the blue truck, which drove off in the direction of Old U.S. 23. Call returned home at 2:30 a.m. to find her car was not in her driveway. She called her sister and learned the children were never picked up. Call went next door to tell Thomas's fiancé, who immediately went looking for her. The AMC Matador was found parked on the roadside. The car keys were missing, but Thomas's cigarettes, house keys, and a note with directions to the babysitter's home were inside the vehicle. Thomas has never been seen or heard from again.

Additional Details:

For over two decades, investigators initially pursued other suspects, including a violent federal fugitive believed to be in the area. Thirteen years later, investigators interviewed this fugitive in prison, but he had an alibi for the time Thomas disappeared and was ruled out. Initial investigation also involved a cadaver dog handler whose planted evidence in 2001-2002 was later revealed to be fabricated; the handler was subsequently convicted on federal charges. In April 2004, investigators arrested Jimmie Allen Nelson in Houston, Texas, and charged him with lying to police and obstructing the investigation. Nelson was the brother-in-law of Patricia Call (the babysitter was his sister-in-law). He had lived on Sunset Street near where Thomas's car stalled and worked at a local logging company in 1980. Nelson owned a 1976 blue Ford pickup truck at the time and sold it shortly after Thomas disappeared; police were unable to locate the vehicle. Multiple sources indicated Nelson harbored racial prejudice against Black people and had criticized his sister-in-law for associating with Thomas. Between 1980 and 2003, Nelson was interviewed by police at least a half-dozen times, providing conflicting statements about whether he had seen Thomas on August 3, 1980. He initially denied seeing her, but later admitted he was alone with her. In his final account, Nelson claimed he saw her at the Hilltop Bar, gave her a ride to help with her broken-down car, took her to Patricia Call's house to retrieve her keys and wallet, and then dropped her at Wiltse's Restaurant (which was closed, but employees were cleaning inside). He stated he had not mentioned this earlier because Thomas asked him not to. Witnesses reported Nelson asked them to lie for him, and he attempted to convince the bartender his truck was red rather than blue. In January 2005, Nelson was charged with Thomas's murder as well as additional counts of perjury. In October 2005, a district court judge dismissed the murder charge and nine of the perjury charges due to insufficient evidence, but the case was appealed. In October 2006, Nelson was convicted of five counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice and sentenced to one year in jail and two years probation. In April 2009, Nelson was again charged with Thomas's murder. He was convicted of second-degree murder in October 2010 and sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison. In August 2012, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned Nelson's murder conviction, ruling that the evidence did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Nelson caused Thomas's death, despite showing he may have been the last person to see her alive. The court noted that Nelson may have been racially biased and may have painted the inside of his truck, but there was no direct or circumstantial evidence, no bloodstains, no DNA, no fingerprints, no weapon, and no evidence of violence against Thomas. In February 2014, the murder case against Nelson was overturned at the prosecutor's request, with the court noting that newly discovered evidence implicates another individual in Thomas's presumed murder. This evidence was sealed from public view, and the identity of the new suspect has not been disclosed. Nelson cannot be charged again with the same crime due to double jeopardy. As of the most recent updates, it remains unclear whether anyone else will face charges in Thomas's case. Authorities theorized Thomas's death was a racially motivated hate crime. Her body has never been found. Her family includes her mother, sisters, daughter (who would be in her mid-50s as of 2012), and her fiancé at the time of disappearance.

Case Last Updated:

Apr 16, 2026