On March 16, 1983, 2-year-old Jason Cannon went missing from the front porch of his family’s apartment on the corner of Jordan St. and 32nd St in Boise. According to his mother, she went inside to grab a jacket for him and when she returned he was gone. At the time police did an extensive search of the neighborhood including the canal and creek that ran behind the apartment complex. Jason was never located.
In 2020, Boise Police detectives revisited the cold case involving the missing or abducted 2-year-old. As part of his investigation, the current lead investigator, Detective Paul Jagosh worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, aquatics drowning experts, the local canal company, and a cold case expert to review this case and hopefully generate new leads. He also recently traveled across the country to locate and re-interview several people from 1983, including Jason’s parents. Detectives still want to speak with any neighbors who lived in the immediate area when this incident occurred and remember anything about the time he went missing.
While much of the early investigation indicated he may have wandered to a nearby canal and drowned, Det. Jagosh says that based on numerous factors, that appears to be unlikely. He believes it’s possible Jason may still be out there and he is currently investigating this case as an abduction. Boise Police detectives recently used genealogy to solve the 1987 murder of Joyce Casper, and they are hoping to use familial DNA to locate Jason as well.
If you believe you may be related to Jason or possibly be Jason and you have used a DNA testing company, we encourage you to put your results in GEDmatch to see if there are any additional connections, including those to this investigation. If you consent, please upload your profile and check the tab that allows law enforcement to see results. Idaho State Police can also do a genetic test to see if your DNA matches that of Jason Cannon’s family. The DNA test is a one-for-one test and the swab will not be run against any other databases. Please contact the Boise Police Department to obtain and submit a swab to the ISP lab.
“Our hope is that we finally find out what happened to Jason Cannon and give his family some sort of closure, or best case scenario, reunite them,” said Detective Paul Jagosh. “The Boise Police Department does not give up on investigations and we are using all the newest tools and techniques available to us today, that were not available to detectives in 1983, to give new life to this search.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Ada County Dispatch at 208-377-6790 or Crime Stoppers at: 343COPS.Com, the P3 tips app, or call 208-343-COPS(2677).
Read more about the case and current investigation:
Idaho Statesman: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article287431020.html