DeKalb County

17-year-old missing for months last seen at DeKalb gas station

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a 17-year-old boy who’s been missing for four months is desperate for answers.

Jamarkus Burnside was just 16 when he was last seen in August at a Chevron gas station on North Hairston Road in in DeKalb County. His family and friends haven’t heard from him since.

“He went to the store like he normally (does) on a day-to-day basis. He was at the store between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. and he was no longer seen after 12 p.m.,” his mother, Nikki Burnside, said.

Burnside says she fears with each passing day that her son is in danger.

“It’s very emotional to see your son in the morning and not see him again,” she said.

Burnside filed a missing person’s report the very next day. She also went back to the gas station and watched her son coming and leaving on surveillance cameras.

“I just broke down crying cause it’s not normal for him to not return home,” she said. “It’s not normal for him to have a birthday and for him to be gone or not reach out, or talk to me and let me know he’s OK.”

Burnside says she for nearly two months she would go to the gas station and that area every day to see if someone saw her son.

“It’s very hard that I have to live with the fact of not knowing if he’s OK or hurt or is he no longer alive.”

DeKalb County police say they are actively investigating this missing person's case and they really need your help.

“Everything is just leading to a dead end,” Burnside said. “Nobody has heard or seen him at all. None of his friends.”

If you have any information, you’re asked to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.