Left: David circa, 1980
Right: Age Progressed to age 39
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: December 11, 1980
Missing From: Newport News, Newport News City County, Virginia
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: November 26, 1980
Age: 2 weeks old
Height and Weight: 1’8″ and 7 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African American Male, Black hair, Brown eyes, David has a tiny mole on his right ear and birthmarks under his arm, on his back and on his buttocks
NCMEC Number: 601759
Details of Disappearance
David Blockett was abducted from his home under false pretenses on December 11th 1980 from Newport News, Virginia. He was taken by a woman who identified herself as Marie Kelly to David’s mother, Vanessa Blockett, and stated that the State Department of Social Services was sponsoring a function for children at Riverside Regional Medical Center.
The woman was able to convince David’s mother to let her take David and his older two year old brother, Frederick, to the function/party. The woman took David and his brother. Frederick would later be found wandering alone at a shopping center near Old Mallory Road in Hampton, Virginia. He had a price of paper in his pocket and on that paper was his name and address of his residence.
Frederick was returned to his mother but no trace of David was found and he has never been seen or heard from since. That same day, a woman called Vanessa to inquire about what formula David was taking but before authorities could trace the call, the woman hung up. Authorities found a diaper bag believed to have belonged to David’s abductor several days after his abduction in a parkway in Yorktown, Virginia. They also found a leather folder.
David’s kidnapper is described as being female, African American, she was approximately 32 to 35 years old in 1980, she had medium complexion and had large hips, she stood somewhere between 5’4″ to 5’8″ feet at the time and weighed approximately 145 to 155 pounds at the time. This woman has not been identified.
The DSS has stated that they never had any social worker with the name Kelly or that matched the kidnappers description. It’s likely that the woman posed as a social worker in order to gain Vanessa’s trust and take David. There was also no Christmas party at the Riverside Regional Medical Center like the woman said there would be.
Authorities believe that the person who abducted David got his information from the local newspaper which displayed recent births. The newspaper displaying this information was published 3 days before David was taken. It should also be noted that around the time David’s abduction occurred, a person posing as a social worker approached another family with a newborn. In this instance, however, the mother of the child told the person to leave the family alone.
In 1997, David’s mother died from an aneurism at age 35. She was 18 when David was taken from her. David’s brother lives in North Carolina and can vaguely remember David’s abduction. He specifically remembers how a man was driving the car which he and David and Marie Kelly were in. Marie would not look at either of the children and then he last remembered being dropped off in Hampton.
Investigators still have the diaper bag in their possession. The bag contained articles of David’s clothing and other personal effects. They hope to test it for his abductors DNA.
David’s disappearances remains unsolved and his kidnapper remains unidentified.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Newport News Police Department 757-926-8706
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children