Search continues for missing student Dakota James

Courtesy of Pittsburgh Police
Duquesne graduate student Dakota James was found dead March 6 in the Ohio River in Robinson. He was 23.
Courtesy of Pittsburgh PoliceDakota James, 23, of the North Side, has been missing since last Wednesday.
Courtesy of Pittsburgh Police
Dakota James, 23, of the North Side, has been missing since last Wednesday.

 

Brandon Addeo | News Editor

UPDATE 12:45 p.m. 3/6/2017

Police confirmed that a body found this morning in the Ohio River is that of missing Duquesne student Dakota James. Read more here.

2/2/2017

It has been over a week since Duquesne graduate student Dakota Leo James was last seen, and family and friends continue to search the city.

James, 23, of the North Side, who is pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration, disappeared, Jan. 25, after meeting coworkers for drinks in Market Square. He was last seen in surveillance footage at 11:49 p.m. on Jan. 25 at the intersection of Liberty Ave. and Smithfield Street, according to Pamela James, Dakota’s mother.

“I just can’t understand why this is happening,” Pamela James said in a Feb. 1 Facebook post. “[Dakota] needs all of our help to bring him home … we will not stop looking!!!”

Pittsburgh Police have launched an investigation into James’ disappearance. Members of Pittsburgh Police’s Missing Persons Unit are tracking down leads on James’ location and patrol officers are “on the lookout,” according to Pittsburgh Police spokeswoman Emily Schaffer.

Police describe James as a white male with brown hair and blue eyes, standing 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds. He has a thin chin-strap beard and both of his ears are pierced. According to a missing person’s poster, James also has a triangle-shaped Deathly Hallows symbol from “Harry Potter” tattooed on the inside of his left ankle. He was wearing blue jeans, an olive-colored hoodie and tan moccasins the night he disappeared, according to police.

Police ask anyone with information to contact the Pittsburgh Police’s Missing Persons Unit at 412-323-7141 or Duquesne Police at 412-396-2677.