Lyft Driver Disappears After Accident, Now Missing For A Month

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A family from Rochester still searching for a 31-year-old man that went missing from Williamsburg in January say they are worried for his health given the circumstances of his disappearance.

James Johnston, who goes by Jamie with close friends or family, was last seen the night of Jan. 29 in his apartment on Morgan Avenue. Johnston, who works as a Lyft driver, had made it home after his car was towed from an accident earlier that day, but had disappeared by the next morning, his mom, Nancy, said.

"He took a Lyft or Uber back to his apartment and was talking to his roommates that night," she said. "They woke up the next morning and he was gone."

Johnston had talked to James earlier that day after he had gotten into the accident in North Bergen, NJ. Besides being somewhat shaken up and upset about the crash, she said, he seemed fine.

But she began to worry, Johnston said, when she didn't hear from James the next two days and a message she left for him went unanswered.

"Normally this is someone who calls me anywhere from one, to two, to three, four times a day," she said. "To not hear from him — that is just so out of character."

Johnston said they reported James missing to NYPD that Thursday, three days after he was last seen.

They have since worked with three separate detectives and searched the neighborhood on their own, but have struggled to make progress. Since he is not a senior or a child and there wasn't evidence of criminal activity, the department wasn't able to subpoena James' cell phone records, despite his family's concerns about his mental health.

"That has probably been the most frustrating part for us," Johnston said. "James is bipolar, but they don’t consider that enough to worry, pretty much."

The NYPD is working on getting his cell phone records so they can ping James' phone and see where it was last used, Johnston said.

James had been stable for the last six months before he went missing, Johnston said, but was scheduled for a shot of his medication Feb. 20. Because the medication is newer, she added, they aren't sure how his body will react to going off of it.

Johnson said that she also worries because James might have suffered a head injury from the accident.

He refused medical attention at the scene, but the air-bag had deployed when he hit a car that stopped short in front of him, Johnston said. The airbag debris had made him so sick that he told her he got out of the car and threw up after the crash.

Johnston describes James as very bright — he studied computer engineering major at New York University — and a caring, funny and sweet person. Despite challenges since his diagnosis in his 20s, he has always been a joy to be around, she said.

The family has set up a Facebook page to help find James and is asking anyone who has information to contact NYPD Det. Joseph Augello at (718) 265-7488 or (929) 334-6940. James has black hair, brown eyes, stands about 5-foot-8 tall and has a large scar above his elbow.

"We just hope that he will call so we can find him, get him whatever help he might need and get him home," she said. "He is an amazing young man and I miss him horribly."