Overview

Official missing date: April 1, 2013
Missing from: Anchorage, Alaska
Reported missing to APD: February 10, 2014
Current status: Missing; unresolved
Age now: 18
NamUs: MP24314
NCMEC: 1228477
NCIC: M631827870
APD case: 14-5937

Main Circumstances

Dashawn was a young child living under his father’s legal custody in Alaska. When his father and his father’s girlfriend were arrested on unrelated charges in 2013, authorities could not locate Dashawn. His mother later obtained custody but authorities still could not find him. Accounts conflict over whether Dashawn was last seen in July 2012 or spring 2013. Investigators subsequently interviewed relatives and associates and followed leads within Alaska, elsewhere in the United States and internationally, but none publicly resulted in locating him. An allegation reported by a secondary case source suggested Dashawn may have been killed, but that allegation was denied and has never been publicly established; authorities continue to classify him as missing.

Detailed Case Breakdown

The Disappearance of Dashawn Leon McCormick: Anchorage Child Missing Since 2013

Dashawn Leon McCormick remains missing from Anchorage, Alaska, more than 13 years after the date listed in national missing-person databases. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children currently lists Dashawn as missing since April 1, 2013, from Anchorage, Alaska, while NamUs identifies his case as MP24314. Dashawn was born August 17, 2007, and is now 18 years old. NCMEC continues to maintain an active missing-child poster for him and displays an age-progressed image showing how he may have appeared at age 16.

Dashawn is biracial, Black and White, with blond or strawberry-blond hair and brown eyes. A distinctive scar in the center of his forehead has consistently been included in descriptions of him. The Charley Project also reports a burn scar on his left thigh.

What Happened to Dashawn McCormick?

The circumstances surrounding Dashawn’s disappearance are complicated by differing accounts about exactly when he was last seen.

The official NCMEC record uses April 1, 2013 as his missing date. Anchorage Police said in a 2022 public appeal that Dashawn’s mother, Jasmine McCormick, reported last seeing her son in Anchorage during the spring of 2013 before returning to the Lower 48. At that time, Dashawn was in the legal custody of his biological father, Floyd L. Lee Jr.

Shortly afterward, Lee and his girlfriend, Mary Transki, were arrested by the FBI on unrelated charges. Authorities said there was no indication Dashawn was living in the residence when the arrests occurred, even though he was supposed to have been in his father’s care.

After learning of the arrests, Jasmine sought custody of Dashawn through a court in Palmer, Alaska. Her request was granted in December 2013. Authorities then encountered a fundamental problem: they could not locate Dashawn so that he could be returned to his mother. He was formally reported missing to the Anchorage Police Department on February 10, 2014.

Conflicting Accounts of When Dashawn Was Last Seen

Other published accounts place Dashawn’s last independently reported sighting considerably earlier.

The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reported in February 2014 that Dashawn’s step-grandmother, Judy Holmes, said she had not seen him since July 4, 2012. The Charley Project similarly reports that Transki’s mother said July 4, 2012, was the last time she saw Dashawn and that he was absent during subsequent visits involving her grandchildren. The Charley Project consequently lists July 4, 2012, rather than April 1, 2013, as its missing date.

That discrepancy remains significant. For public identification purposes, however, NCMEC and NamUs use April 1, 2013, and Anchorage Police have publicly stated that Jasmine last saw Dashawn during spring 2013.

Allegation Reported During the Investigation

The Charley Project reports that after Dashawn’s father and Transki were arrested, a witness told authorities that Transki had allegedly claimed she killed Dashawn and buried him on property associated with her. According to the same source, Transki denied that such an event occurred when questioned by police.

This allegation has not been established as fact, and publicly available official records continue to classify Dashawn as missing rather than as a confirmed homicide victim. NCMEC’s current record still identifies him simply as “MISSING.”

Dashawn’s mother has publicly maintained hope that her son could have been given to another family and may still be alive. Published accounts have also suggested that he could have connections to Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

Investigation Expands Beyond Alaska

The search for Dashawn eventually involved several agencies. Anchorage Police reported that the FBI, Alaska State Troopers, NCMEC and APD had participated in efforts to develop and investigate information about his disappearance. Police also interviewed family members and associates.

By 2022, investigators said leads had taken the search well beyond Anchorage. Detective David Cordie explained that authorities had followed information into several Lower 48 states and even outside the United States. According to police, those investigative avenues had been exhausted without locating Dashawn.

The Anchorage Police Department’s Patrol Division initially handled the missing-person investigation after APD became involved in 2014. The case moved to the Investigative Division in 2017, when Cordie became the lead investigator.

During the department’s May 2022 public appeal, police said Dashawn’s father had been released from prison and was cooperating with investigators. Asked whether Lee was considered a suspect, Cordie declined to publicly characterize him that way.

Latest Publicly Available Investigation Information

As of August 2026, Dashawn has not been publicly reported found, and his NCMEC and NamUs records remain active. NCMEC currently lists him as 18 years old and continues to display an age-progression image of him at approximately age 16. His identifiers include NCMEC #1228477, NamUs #MP24314 and NCIC #M631827870.

The most substantial publicly available Anchorage Police investigation update located for this case remains the department’s May 5, 2022 appeal. At that time, police said previously developed leads had been exhausted and emphasized that new information from the public could reopen an investigative path.

Public discussion of the case has nevertheless continued. The longstanding Websleuths discussion remained active into January 2026, reflecting continued public interest, although forum posts and comments should be treated as discussion rather than verified investigative findings.

There has been no public announcement establishing that Dashawn died, identifying a perpetrator, or resolving what happened to him. He therefore remains a missing person whose fate is unknown. Anyone with firsthand information, even information that may have seemed insignificant years ago, is encouraged to contact investigators.

Very Brief Case Summary

Official missing date: April 1, 2013
Missing from: Anchorage, Alaska
Reported missing to APD: February 10, 2014
Current status: Missing; unresolved
Age now: 18
NamUs: MP24314
NCMEC: 1228477
NCIC: M631827870
APD case: 14-5937

Main Circumstances

Dashawn was a young child living under his father’s legal custody in Alaska. When his father and his father’s girlfriend were arrested on unrelated charges in 2013, authorities could not locate Dashawn. His mother later obtained custody but authorities still could not find him. Accounts conflict over whether Dashawn was last seen in July 2012 or spring 2013. Investigators subsequently interviewed relatives and associates and followed leads within Alaska, elsewhere in the United States and internationally, but none publicly resulted in locating him. An allegation reported by a secondary case source suggested Dashawn may have been killed, but that allegation was denied and has never been publicly established; authorities continue to classify him as missing.