Overview

Date last seen: November 10, 1993
Last known location: Claiborne Pell (Newport) Bridge, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island
Main Circumstances
Convicted of second-degree murder for the 1990 road rage stabbing death of Jason Bass.
Released on bail pending sentencing on November 10, 1993.
Disappeared with his wife, Elena Emery, just hours after the conviction.
Their abandoned vehicle was discovered on the Claiborne Pell Bridge with apparent suicide evidence.
Elena Emery’s skull was recovered from Narragansett Bay in 1994, but Adam Emery has never been found.
The FBI has long maintained there is reason to believe Emery may have survived and fled, possibly to Italy, where he has family connections.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Adam Charles Emery: Convicted Killer Who Vanished After His 1993 Murder Conviction
Very Brief Case Summary
Date last seen: November 10, 1993
Last known location: Claiborne Pell (Newport) Bridge, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island
Main Circumstances
Convicted of second-degree murder for the 1990 road rage stabbing death of Jason Bass.
Released on bail pending sentencing on November 10, 1993.
Disappeared with his wife, Elena Emery, just hours after the conviction.
Their abandoned vehicle was discovered on the Claiborne Pell Bridge with apparent suicide evidence.
Elena Emery’s skull was recovered from Narragansett Bay in 1994, but Adam Emery has never been found.
The FBI has long maintained there is reason to believe Emery may have survived and fled, possibly to Italy, where he has family connections.

Adam Charles Emery Case
Adam Charles (Adam C.) Emery disappeared on November 10, 1993, after being convicted of second-degree murder in one of Rhode Island’s most infamous road rage homicide cases. His disappearance transformed a completed murder prosecution into a decades-long fugitive investigation that remains unresolved.
The case began on August 31, 1990, outside Rocky Point in Warwick, Rhode Island. After Emery’s vehicle was sideswiped by an unknown driver, he and his wife mistakenly pursued another vehicle they believed responsible for the collision. The occupants were innocent.
When the vehicles stopped, Emery confronted 20-year-old Jason Bass. During the confrontation, Emery fatally stabbed Bass with a military-style knife. Forensic paint analysis later confirmed Bass’s vehicle had not struck Emery’s car, proving the attack stemmed from mistaken identity. Emery maintained he acted in self-defense and rejected a plea agreement that would have reduced his prison sentence.
On November 10, 1993—his 31st birthday—a Rhode Island jury convicted Emery of second-degree murder. He remained free on bail while awaiting formal sentencing, where he faced up to 25 years in prison.
Within hours of leaving court, Emery and his wife Elena purchased exercise weights, sweatsuits, socks, and later ate at Burger King. That evening, their Toyota Camry was found abandoned on the Claiborne Pell Bridge spanning Narragansett Bay.
Investigators discovered the engine running, headlights on, clothing neatly folded inside, cut-up credit cards, cash, identification, and personal belongings. Suicide letters mailed to family members initially suggested the couple had jumped from the bridge.
An extensive search of Narragansett Bay using divers, sonar, and dredging equipment failed to locate either body.
The investigation changed dramatically in 1994 when Elena Emery’s skull was recovered from the bay below the bridge. While her remains supported the possibility that she had entered the water, no trace of Adam Emery was ever found.
As years passed, investigators increasingly questioned whether the apparent suicide had actually been an elaborate escape.
Authorities received numerous reported sightings of Emery, beginning in Connecticut before shifting toward Florida. Later reports suggested he may have traveled to France and Italy. Because Emery had family ties in Italy and had reportedly studied Italian before his conviction, investigators considered the country a plausible destination. The FBI has worked with Italian authorities over the years, but none of the reported sightings have resulted in his capture.
Although a Rhode Island court declared Emery legally dead in 2004 for civil purposes, investigators continued pursuing him as a fugitive. In 2010, the FBI publicly renewed efforts to locate him, emphasizing they had no definitive evidence he had died. Age-progressed images were later produced to aid the investigation.
Today, Adam Emery remains one of Rhode Island’s most recognizable unresolved fugitive cases. Law enforcement has never recovered his remains, and officials have never closed the investigation. While some investigators believe he likely died after leaving the bridge, others continue to consider the possibility that he escaped and lived under a new identity overseas. The FBI has consistently maintained that credible investigative leads have prevented them from concluding he died on the night of his disappearance.
Latest Investigation Information
The case remains officially open.
Adam Emery has never been located despite decades of investigation and numerous reported sightings. The FBI has historically stated there is insufficient evidence to conclude he died in Narragansett Bay and has investigated leads placing him in Florida and Italy, where relatives reportedly lived. Rhode Island State Police and federal authorities have continued reviewing tips over the years, but no publicly announced breakthrough has been made, and Emery has never been apprehended or conclusively identified among unidentified remains.