Missing From Coleman: The Christine Denese James Story

The picture I used to make this poster is the only known picture of Christie.
She was 10-12 years old here.

Missing From Coleman: 

The Christine Denese James Story

Christie's sister Maggie requested that I cover this case. There is a lot of conflicting information on this case out there. The most crucial one is WHEN Christine actually went missing. NamUS and all the other databases list various dates 1979, 1983, 1986 and so on . However, Maggie is insistent that Christine went missing sometime in 1985. But as always, I figured it all out as you'll soon read. I wanna thank Maggie Zanders for letting me tell her sister's story. I dedicated Every Time You Go Away by Paul Young to this entry. It was popular in 1985. (I couldn't use the exact month Christie disappeared to search for a  because we don't know.) It also fits the emotions in which Christie's loved ones are dealing with since she vanished. And in another example of life's little ironies, As I write this on September 3rd 2025, I sent that same song to a special someone 2 years ago today. Anyways, Here we go.....

Every Time You Go Away by Paul Young
(Popular 1985 Song)

Christine Denese James

I enhanced and cleaned up this picture

"Christie"

Missing Since:

Sometime in 1985

Missing From:

Coleman, FL

Date Of Birth:

3/27/1968 to

Lizzie Mae Williams

& Freddie James

Height & Weight:

5'6 & 120 lbs.

Hair & Eyes:

Black & Brown

Other:

Bald Spot on Top

of Head,

Gap Between 2 

Front Teeth,

Possibly Pregnant 

(Unconfirmed)

Agencies:

Sumter County Sheriff:

352-569-1600

Case Number: 

SCSO21OFF000915

NCIC:

M126140089

NamUs: 

#MP78187

Doe Network: 

5106DFFL

Early Life:

Christine Denese James was born in Florida on March 27th 1968 to Lizzie Mae Williams and Freddie James. Christine had a rough upbringing. In spite of this, She tried making the best out of what life dealt her. Her sister Maggie told me Christine was a talented clarinet player who loved music. Especially Michael Jackson who she idolized. Christine wasn't allowed to get out and do much at an early age. Her life mostly consisted of attending school and church. The household didn't even have a radio. Which is probably why Christine had such a love of music even if she didn't get to hear a lot of it. (Other than Church music) The cycle of upbringing Christine had to deal with would be rough on any child. Not only did Christine endure it, her siblings had to as well. Maggie told me that Lizzie Mae was a good mom but she had a drinking and drug problem she couldn't seem to conquer. Lizzie Mae had an even harder upbringing as a child. And we've all seen this type of problem before. It's cyclical. When the cycle isn't broken, It continues down the family line until someone breaks it. Unfortunately for Christine, Maggie and the rest of her siblings, They were in the middle of the cycle for their generation. And as you'll soon read, Christine's life continued to get more difficult for her as she grew up.....

Molestation:

As if Christie's life wasn't already difficult, She had to deal with a nightmare no child should ever have to endure. Christie had to endure years of sexual abuse from her own uncle and cousin, Robert Jackson Jr. That all came to a head on Friday May 25th 1979, when an argument broke out at the house where Christie and her family were staying. Christie and her cousin Robert Jackson Jr. got into an argument over a television set. He then proceeded to attack Christie by kicking and punching her repeatedly. In self defense and with the years of abuse she endured likely built up inside of her, Christie who was just 11 years old at the time, grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Robert in his back. That was the official story....

However, Maggie informed me that what actually happened was that Lizzie Mae was the one who actually stabbed Robert. Christie just took the blame. The reason being was Lizzie Mae was in and out of prison a lot. And she was concerned she would be charged with murder had she told Law Enforcement she was the one who killed Robert. Apparently Robert believed Christie was the one who stabbed him though. According to the news article below, He is quoted as saying "Christie stabbed me." Although, With his back being turned he probably didn't know who actually stabbed him. Regardless, No charges were filed over the stabbing or Robert Jackson's death. 

Miami Herald: May 26th 1979

Juvenile Detention & The Correct Date:

Christie ended up doing some time in Juvenile Detention for stealing from a Family Dollar. She was arrested for this on February 11th 1983.  So we know by that date, and the subsequent time she spent in Juvenile Detention afterwards. That Christie was still alive and well through most of 1983. NamUS has May 16th 1983 as being the last time Law Enforcement had contact with Christie. So that explains why that date is in their database. And it correlates with her arrest on February 11th of the same year. Christie spent roughly 90 days in Juvenile Detention for the theft charge. I spent the better part of a day piecing this timeline puzzle together. This explains why so many articles featuring this story have the incorrect date. Since there is so little information available, Lots of articles written by bloggers likely assume the Stabbing and the Juvenile Detention Arrest were related to the same incident. And they are NOT. The incidents were 3 years apart. Also, Even tho Law Enforcement's last known contact with Christie was on May 16th 1983 when she was released from Juvenile Detention, That's not when she went missing. Christie just stayed out of trouble and wasn't booked again.....

Details Of Disappearance:

I'm just gonna say it now. The details regarding Christie's disappearance are lacking. All we have been able to determine is at some point in 1985 Christie told her best friend at school she had planned on running away and never coming back. She also stated she could possibly be pregnant....with twins. Christie's friend tried talking her out of leaving and even threatened to tell Christie's mom. This apparently didn't work because Christie vanished not long after. The 85-86 School Year would have been from August 26th 1985 to January 7th 1986. So it puts Christie's disappearance in that window. From what I've been told by Maggie, Law Enforcement has spoken to this friend....

Suspects

"Pete": The Only Known POI

Pete was Christie's boyfriend at the time and we know very little about him. Here is what we do know. He is described as a 

• Approximately 18 Years Old
• Light Skinned Black Male
• From Brooksville, Florida
• He at one time worked for Johnnies's Truck Wash on I-75 in Wildwood, Florida

Maggie also added he had Curly Hair and Green Eyes. Green Eyes are an unusual occurrence in AA Males. Green Eyes is the rarest of all eye colors in general. I couldn't find any statistical data on this so I had to be lazy and use AI. 

Needless to say, With all due respect to Maggie, I am unsure of the Green Eyes aspect. However, Having said that. Maggie did confront Pete in the years after her sister's disappearance. She told me she would never forget his face. So it's very possible he does indeed have Green Eyes. The only thing that would account for this not being the case in this instance is a faulty memory.

I did end up finding a record of the business Pete might've worked at. This is a lead I will attempt to track down in the future. I am unsure if the owners would even remember someone named Pete all those years ago. But it is worth a try.

This is a lead I am pursuing at the moment.

My Attempts To Track Down "Pete":

In one of my attempts to locate "Pete". I scoured the yearbooks for the High Schools in Brooksville Florida that would match the corresponding years with his estimated age of 18. My search turned up no results. This Pete is elusive. No one in Christie's family remembers his last name. I even searched the Wildwood High School yearbooks they had online thinking he could have been a classmate of Christie's. Still no matches. No one even knows where this guy might have lived at the time. Here are my search results in case anyone is curious....

Springstead High School: 

1979 to 1988

Peter Carsillo

Peter Carroll

Peter DePalma

Peter Desmaris

Peter Frantzis

Peter Labarbara

Peter LeBlein

Peter Morton

Peter Preteroti

None of these were a match.

Hernando High School:

1979 to 1988

Peter Romano

Peter Grey

Neither were a match.

Central High School:

No Yearbooks for the 80s

Opened in 1988

Nature Coast Technical High School:

No Yearbooks

Opened in 2003

Wildwood High School:

John PETERs: 

Appears to be Light Skinned AA Male/ But name doesn't match (1981)

I only thought of verifying when the schools opened after I tried scouring the yearbooks. So Central High School and Nature Coast would've been off the table from the beginning.

Analysis

This case, As with all my cases, is a continual working process. My main objective in this entry, As with all of them, Is to provide my readers with the best and most accurate information regarding the cases I profile. And to make sure I give you something new with each entry. I refuse to use others' research. I do my own. This entry will be continually updated as new information comes to light. I did create more posters and even a few age progressions to give us a look at what Christie might look like today. The first one below I am very proud of. Maggie said it really resembled their mom Lizzie Mae. I will continue to try and locate Pete. There are so many questions I wish I had answers to. A few being, How and why did Christie believe she was pregnant? Did she visit a hospital? Or a doctor? If so there is no record of this at the moment. Which isn't uncommon for the time period. Back Alley Doctors were very prevalent and available. Where is this Pete? Is he even still around? Keep checking in for updates. As always, I miss you Irena....So much. Until Next Time....

Age Progression Poster-1

Age Progression Poster-2

Visit These Sites For More Information

• Florida Department Of Law Enforcement
  
• Charley Project
  
• International Missing Persons Wiki
  

Official Missing Poster