Dakota James was a 23-year-old graduate student who lived in Ohio. On January 25, 2017, he suddenly disappeared from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After forty days, Dakota's dead body was found floating in the Ohio River which was about 10 miles away from where he was last seen. Back then, it seemed to be accidental drowning but more investigation is going on his case.

Fast Facts:

• Full Name:        Dakota James
• Age:                      23 years old
• Education:        Duquesne University
• Parents:             Jeff and Pamela James

Dakota James: The Case

On January 25, 2017, Duquesne University graduate Dakota James disappeared at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was supposed to be walking back to his apartment from a night out drinking with his friends that night. He was last seen in the downtown area. The surveillance camera recording captured him entering an alleyway. In the recording, he was constantly looking at his phone. That sight was the last one where he was seen alive.

Forty days after he was missing, Dakota's dead body was found floating in the Ohio River which is about 10 miles from where he was last seen. Police suspected that Dakota had fallen into the river while crossing a bridge. Thus, the medical examiner also declared his death to be an accidental drowning case. But Dakota's parents, Jeff and Pamela James, could not believe that Dakota could ever drown despite being an athlete and a swimmer. Additionally, they also claimed that Dakota never drank carelessly enough that he could accidentally fall into the river.

Even after 2 years of their son's death, Jeff and Pamela are still consistent in their belief. They were very disappointed at the closure of their son's case even after knowing that there was a possibility of foul play in his case.

Recently, Former NYPD detectives and “The Hunt for Justice” hosts Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte shed light on the case. With the help of the retired NYPD detective Michael Donovan and professor of criminal justice Dr. Lee Gilbertson, the team has suspected that Dakota could be a  victim of the Smiley Face Killers, a possible  gang of serial killers that captures and murders college student before throwing their body into nearby waterways and spraying smiley face graffiti on the walls of the nearby sites.

Hoping to change Dakota's cause of death from accidental drowning to murder, the “Hunt for Justice" team pushed Allegheny County law enforcement for the release of a copy of Dakota's autopsy report. His family had never seen the report. Initially, local police declined them to grant access to the case files. However, after a lot of efforts, District Attorney Stephen Zappala agreed to have a conversation with Pamela for discussing Dakota's case and providing her with the necessary documents.

The team reviewed the official police reports as well as Dakota's autopsy and recovery photographs. In one of Dakota's photographs, there were some marks in his neck which was not noted in the written autopsy report.

After that, Gannon along with Dr. Gilbertson took the documents to forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht to know what caused the injuries on Dakota's neck. Dr. Wecht looked into it and concluded the marks could be due to ligature strangulation which might have caused his death. Additionally, he also noted that there was a distinct difference in the coloration of the fingernail beds of his fourth and fifth fingers on both hands could be consistent with someone trying to release the pressure from a ligature applied around their neck.

After examining the files and findings Dr. Wetch, Pamela, and Gannon requested a meeting with the district attorney in order to discuss Dakota's case.

On October 3, 2018, Gannon and Pamela met Zappala as well as an unidentified FBI agent and Secret Service agent. Gannon and Pamela showed their findings to Zappala and the other two agents. Right now, the investigation is further going on.