Michigan man comes forward claiming to be Stephen Damman, the New York boy who disappeared in 1955

This undated photo shows Stephen Damman. Stephen disappeared in 1955 from outside a Long Island, NY bakery when he was two years old. A Michigan man has come forward to claim that he is the missing boy. (AP)

A Michigan man has come forward claiming to be Stephen Damman, the 2-year-old boy who disappeared over 50 years ago after his mother left him and his sister alone outside a Long Island, NY bakery.

According to Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police, in the 1950s, it was not uncommon for young mothers to leave their children outside when grocery shopping. 

An 81-year-old woman who had young children during that time told the Associated Press, “They [children] would all be lined up outside the supermarket. We never worried. We never thought about it.”

On Halloween in 1955, Marilyn Damman entered a Long Island bakery leaving her 2-year-old son, Stephen and 7-month-old daughter, Pamela outside with a stroller.  Ten minutes later, Marilyn came out of the bakery and could not find the stroller or her children.  Around the corner she found the stroller with only her daughter inside.
 

Stephen Damman in an undated photo. Federal officials are awaiting DNA tests to see if a Michigan man is Stephen, who went missing over 50 years ago in Long Island, NY. (AP)

Over 2,000 people assisted in the search for Stephen for 28 hours, after which the county’s assistant chief inspector, Leslie W. Pearsall, called off the search.  According to The New York Times, Pearsall decided the case should be left up to police detectives.

The Associated Press reported the family received a ransom note in Nov.  A public plea was made to the kidnappers, which emphasized Stephen's anemia and his need for medication.

Authorities are awaiting DNA tests to determine if the man who claims to be the missing boy is actually Stephen. 

According to an official inside the investigation, the man believes he never fit in with his family and began searching missing person cases around the country. 

Stephen’s father, Jerry Damman, 78, said “it’s very possible” the Michigan man could be his son and believes the man paid him a visit last fall.

The man approached the Nassau County Police and federal authorities over the past few months.  The man’s name has not been released.
 

MORE U.S. HEADLINES :  

• American Idol auditions bring thousands to Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts
• HIV outbreak in California’s porn industry
• Son of Holocaust Museum shooter says father’s ‘actions are unforgivable’
• Forensics expert says David Carradine’s death not suicide
• Slideshow: The Holocaust Museum Tragedy
• Gunman charged with murder in the Holocaust Museum shooting
• Video: Rush Limbaugh claims media trying to blame him for Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting
• Selena’s killer, Yolanda Saldivar in court on appeal
• Prison mug shot reveals a wigless Phil Spector
• Lesbians and masculine looking women segregated in “butch wing” of Virginia women’s prison
• Carrie Prejean calls her Miss California USA dethroning “a political debate”
• Teenage heart recipient arrested for planning to cut out neighbor's heart
• Video: 8 illegal immigrants killed in Arizona after SUV rolls over
• Circumstances surrounding David Carradine’s death remain a mystery
• Search is on for New York man who threatened President Obama
• Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter ego, Bruno accused of causing “life-altering” injuries to woman
  

  ---

Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. Just click "Subscribe to Email" above or below this article. 
(We'll never send you anything you didn't ask for or give your information to anyone.)

Contact us: USHNExaminer@gmail.com