Key facts
- Name: Marc James Warren Allen
- Born: May 13, 1972, Des Moines, Iowa
- Age at disappearance: 13
- Last seen: March 29, 1986 (the day before Easter)
- Location: Emma Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa (walking to a friend’s house)
- Height / build: 13-year-old boy
- Status: Still missing — never officially linked to the Gosch or Martin cases
- Investigating agency: Des Moines Police Department
The third boy
On March 29, 1986 — the Saturday before Easter — thirteen-year-old Marc Allen left his house on Emma Avenue in Des Moines to walk to a friend’s house down the street.
He never got there.
Marc James Warren Allen was the third Des Moines-area boy to vanish in four years. Johnny Gosch, 12, had disappeared from his paper route in 1982. Eugene Martin, 13, had disappeared from his paper route in 1984. Now Marc, 13, was gone on a short walk on a spring afternoon.
The media immediately called him the third missing paperboy of the 1980s. Years later, a 2013 Des Moines Register retrospective claimed Marc had never been a paperboy at all — only for his brother Chris to confirm later that Marc was indeed a paperboy, just not working his route the day he disappeared.
The distinction mattered to reporters. It didn’t matter to his mother, Nancy Allen. Her son was gone either way.
A case with fewer answers than questions
Marc’s disappearance never generated the national machinery that Johnny Gosch’s did. There were no milk cartons with his face — or at least, none that lodged him in the national memory the way Gosch and Martin lodged. What Marc’s case had was proximity: the same metro area, the same age bracket, the same four-year window, the same absence of evidence.
Authorities were unable to prove a connection between the three cases. That is the official position, and it has never changed. But the unofficial position — held by the families, by journalists, by America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh, who said he always believed “there was a serial pedophile kidnapper in that area” — is that three boys don’t vanish from the same city in four years by coincidence.
Marc’s is the thinnest file of the three: a boy walking to a friend’s house, a street he knew, a distance measured in blocks, and then forty years of nothing. No witnesses describing a man. No abandoned wagon or newspaper sack marking the spot. Just a boy who didn’t arrive.
Theories: what might have happened
Abduction. The default theory for all three Des Moines boys, and the only one that fits a 13-year-old vanishing mid-walk on a familiar street. Supporting it: the pattern — three boys, same area, same era. Undercutting certainty: no witness, no suspect, no physical evidence, and no official link between the cases.
A single offender. The theory that won’t die: one predator working the Des Moines metro through the 1980s. What supports it is arithmetic — three similar victims in four years in one city. What undercuts it is the complete absence of proof: different circumstances (two paper routes, one walk to a friend’s), no forensic ties, no identified suspect.
Runaway or accident. Thirteen-year-olds do run away, and do have accidents. But forty years without a single confirmed trace — no sighting, no contact, no remains — makes either explanation vanishingly unlikely.
Have information?
Contact the Des Moines Police Department or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST). In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- May 13, 1972 — Marc James Warren Allen is born in Des Moines, Iowa.
- September 5, 1982 — Johnny Gosch, 12, disappears from his paper route in West Des Moines.
- August 12, 1984 — Eugene Martin, 13, disappears from his paper route in Des Moines.
- March 29, 1986 — Marc Allen, 13, disappears walking to a friend’s house on Emma Avenue.
- 2013 — A Register retrospective disputes Marc’s paperboy status; his brother later confirms he was one.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Marc Allen still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Marc Allen has been missing for more than 40 years.
Was Marc Allen ever found?
No. No remains have been identified as Marc’s, and no one has ever been charged in his disappearance.
How old would Marc Allen be today?
Marc was born May 13, 1972 — he turned 54 in May 2026.
Was Marc Allen a paperboy?
Yes — though this was disputed for years. A 2013 Des Moines Register piece claimed he had never been one; his brother Chris later confirmed Marc was indeed a paperboy, but wasn’t working his route the day he vanished.
Are the three Des Moines boys’ cases connected?
Law enforcement has never officially linked the disappearances of Johnny Gosch (1982), Eugene Martin (1984), and Marc Allen (1986). Many observers believe one offender was responsible, but there is no proof.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Contact the Des Moines Police Department or NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678 with any information.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Des Moines Police Department (open case); National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
- News: The Des Moines Register (1986 coverage; August 18, 2013 retrospective on Iowa’s missing people).
- Reference: Wikipedia, “Disappearance of Johnny Gosch” — “Potentially linked cases” (retrieved Oct 2026); Iowa Cold Cases.
- Media: LaDonna Humphrey, “Who Took Johnny Gosch?” (Medium, July 2026).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.