Thomas was last seen in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 24, 1990. His family had last heard from him the previous month. He didn't have a permanent address at the time of his disappearance, but he had lived off and on with a girlfriend for years. He left behind a three-year-old daughter whom he had visited regularly. Thomas was on probation for retail theft at the time he vanished. His ex-girlfriend reported him missing at the suggestion of his probation officer.
It is believed that Thomas met serial murderer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer sometime during the day and returned to Dahmer's residence in West Allis, Wisconsin with him. A photo of Dahmer is posted below this case summary. Thomas has never been heard from again.
Dahmer was arrested for numerous murders of young men in Wisconsin in 1991. He told authorities that Thomas was one of his victims, and Thomas's family identified a photo of him found in Dahmer's apartment. Dahmer usually kept grisly "souvenirs" from the murders he committed, but apparently did not do so in Thomas's case. Investigators believe that Thomas's remains were destroyed. Among the other missing men presumed to be victims of Dahmer:
Richard Guerrero
;
Edward Smith
; and
Steven Tuomi
.
Dahmer was sentenced to life in prison for Thomas's murder and other deaths in the early 1990s. He was killed in prison by a fellow inmate in 1994.