Jamie Nicole Peterson, in 2011, was a mother who adored her two children. She encouraged them to do good in school and be well-rounded with extra-curricular activities. She was a very involved mom.
Jamie had also worked hard to become an auto mechanic, a non-traditional career for a woman, but Jamie loved working on cars. This was a trait she had picked up from her father, and it allowed her to provide for her two children.
In the spring of 2011, Jamie had to have knee surgery and would go on workers comp to make ends meet for a while.
In early September of 2011, Jamie and her live-in boyfriend had an argument, and she made him leave their house.
On September 26, a few weeks later, Jamie took her two children to school and then went grocery shopping. She was supposed to pick her kids up that afternoon at swim practice.
However, when swim practice ended that day, Daisy Peterson couldn’t find her mom anywhere.
Jamie Nicole Peterson hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
Where is Jamie Peterson?
Jamie Peterson grew up in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, and even though she had moved out of the area a couple of times, in 2011, she was back living in Ross Township. Ross Township sits just next to Pittsburgh city limits.
She was an attentive mom and encouraged her kids to do well in school, take part in extracurricular and just take time to enjoy life.
Jamie had also gone to school and received a degree in auto mechanics. A non-traditional job for a woman, but she really enjoyed working on cars and I have to say, I think it’s awesome she followed her passion and I think it sets a wonderful example for her kids.
In early 2011, Jamie was working at an auto dealership. Something happened in the spring, however, and an injury at work caused her to have to get knee surgery. She also went on worker’s comp and would be out of work for a while.
Jamie lived in a home on North Freemont Avenue, in Ross Township, with her live-in boyfriend and her two kids. It was nice, because her mother lived just down the street from them and was able to help out with the kids a lot, and they were just a close family anyway.
In early September, Jamie and her boyfriend had a fight. Not just any fight- a BIG fight. He ended up moving out, and Jamie would get a restraining order against him.
On Monday, September 26, Jamie took the kids to school. She went grocery shopping at the local Giant Eagle store and then returned home. She was still on worker’s comp, so she didn’t have work. The plan was, she would pick up her son and daughter at swim practice that afternoon.
Daisy said her mom was almost always early to pick them up, and Daisy would see her waiting while they finished up their practice. She noticed that day, that her mom wasn’t there early.
In fact, her mom never showed up at all. All calls to her mom went unanswered as well.
Daisy finally called her grandma, who came and got the kids.
Daisy, her brother, and her grandmother arrived at their home on North Freemont Street. Jamie’s car was parked in the drive as usual. The house and car were locked, and Jamie wasn’t home.
Jamie’s purse and cell phone were missing, but the groceries she had purchased at Giant Eagle grocery store were there in the home.
They didn’t think she had walked anywhere, due to her recent knee surgery. It was as if Jamie had left with someone else.
So where was Jamie Peterson?
Police did start looking into the case, but it didn’t really make sense.
They also claimed that Jamie had disappeared once before, eight years earlier, although the family claims that was not a true statement at all, that Jamie had never gone missing.
Was that fact keeping the police from investigating her case to the fullest extent?
Police started talking to neighbors, who let the police know that they did see Jamie’s ex-boyfriend over the house that day and that he and Jamie were talking to each other in the front yard. They also said that Jamie did not get in the car with him, at least as far as they could see.
Investigators did question this ex-boyfriend. He admitted he did go over there that day, but it was to get the rest of his belongings- clothes and things- from the house. But he also said he left the home after, and Jamie was still there.
The police are able to ping Jamie’s cell phone. The last signal from her phone came from a tower near the Northview Heights housing complex. Police searched the area, as did a private search party led by Jamie’s father, Jim Peterson, in October. Neither search produced any clues, however.
Jamie’s father and other family members and friends, step up and organize searches, concentrating on the area her cell phone had pinged at and the Bellvue area. Occasionally they would find a random item, a pair of glasses, a flip flop…but nothing that really could be linked to Jamie.
Meanwhile, the children would go on to live with their grandmother, while praying every day that their mother would be found and brought back to them.
Searches would continue to lead nowhere.
Slowly, as people in the area start to hear about Jamie’s disappearance, people start coming forward with information on this ‘ex-boyfriend’. In addition to previous assault and battery charges, neighbors have said he was a very angry guy- starting fights and arguments over things as trivial as their trash cans.
Police have also said they do have a ‘couple of persons of interest they are looking at, but they need more evidence.
While the ex-boyfriend seems to be a likely person of interest, which is pretty typical in cases like these, we don’t know anyone else who might be.
In January 2012, there would be an arrest made in Ross Township that did get people talking and wondering.
Arthur Lamont Henderson was arrested and charged with raping 2 women in Ross Township. He would also be charged with a third rape that happened in another nearby town.
So people started talking. This was just four months after Jamie vanished. Could he possibly be connected to her case?
Arthur’s victims did testify against him. So could have been responsible for Jamie Peterson’s disappearance? It didn’t really seem likely, but people were talking and wondering.
Arthur would be convicted and sentenced to 61–122 years in prison. The judge stated in his sentencing hearing, that his case was “one of the most horrible” that she’s ever seen.
Ross Township, which sits just next to Pittsburgh city limits, has a population of around 30,000 people. Jamie and her family lived on North Freemont Avenue in Ross, which has a Pittsburgh mailing address. It’s a city- a very populated area and just about a mile to the Ohio River.
So what are the possibilities here?
Possibility #1: I think the main thought here is the ex-boyfriend. If he’s innocent of any wrongdoing here, the timing of their breakup is very unfortunate for him. Just a few weeks before Jamie disappears, they have a huge fight and she gets a restraining order against him.
He also has a history of some violent behavior, and he was the person that was seen with Jamie.
But there’s no evidence, at least that police have alluded to, to the public. Some think they have a lot more info than they have said, and I hope that’s true because we don’t know much.
Possibility #2: Someone else is responsible for Jamie’s disappearance. No one thinks Jamie would leave on her own. And she wasn’t struggling or depressed. Not to mention, her children were her world- she wouldn’t leave them.
So if it wasn’t her boyfriend, and she wouldn’t leave on her own, it had to be someone else. And since her car was at the house, she must have gotten into someone’s car.
But there’s just so many questions here- such as, was it, someone, she knew? Surely she wouldn’t get into someone else’s car?
And whatever happened must’ve happened in daylight hours, since it happened while the kids were at school.
No matter what, this is a family that needs and deserves some answers.
Authorities have said this case is still very much an active case and has never been considered a cold case. They continue to work leads, and they do admit, the circumstances are suspicious here.
Jamie Peterson is described as a caucasian female, 5’3 inches tall, with shoulder-length brown highlighted hair, and green eyes.
Jamie wears eyeglasses- the frames she had are black frames with pink speckles. She does have several tattoos- a purple rose on her left breast, a cross with the name “Elijah” on her left shoulder blade, a large purple bear on her left upper arm, a daisy with the word “Daisy” on her right shoulder blade, and a large butterfly on the back of her neck.
Police have said multiple times, they just need that one tip that can lead them to answers.
Ross Township Detective, had this to say : “We have narrowed the case to some degree and have located some people that we think are possibly involved. We have most of the puzzle pieces that we need but we’re just missing a few to finally bring this to justice so again, we’re asking anyone from the public, if you have any information or knowledge, we would love to hear from you.”
Anyone with information on the disappearance of Jamie Nicole Peterson is asked to contact the Ross Township Police Department at 412–931–9070 x148.
