James was last seen in the evening hours of August 5, 2004 at a family member's residence in the vicinity of the 1300 block of Kensington in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. He has never been heard from again, but there was activity on his credit cards in Indiana and Illinois at after his disappearance.

James's black 2001 Chevrolet Malibu was found abandoned at a rest stop at mile marker 142 on Interstate 64 in Moorehead, Kentucky on September 1, 2004, three weeks after his disappearance. There was no sign of him at the scene, but witnesses reported seeing a man matching his description sitting on a bench at the rest stop.

Investigators believe James could be traveling with Deborah Montgomery. She is described as a 49-year-old African-American female and claims to be a church minister; photographs and additional details about her are unavailable. Police have been unable to locate her since James vanished. James is believed to still be in Kentucky; without a vehicle, authorities do not believe he has gotten very far away from Moorehead. His case remains unsolved.