The family of 63 year-old Kenneth Wayne Jimson is still
waiting for answers in his mysterious disappearance from Shelby, North Carolina
almost two years ago. When he was reported missing back in December of 2017,
authorities issued a Silver Alert for Kenneth because they believed that he was
coping with a cognitive impairment. Like many other missing individuals with
cognitive impairments, case progress has been stalled because of the transient
nature of missing persons with those impairments.
According to the Shelby
Star, the last confirmed sighting of Kenneth was in the vicinity of Care
Solutions on East Grover Street in Shelby, North Carolina. He underwent a minor
outpatient medical procedure that was performed the day he disappeared. His
wife reportedly called a cab to pick him up after he was discharged from Atrium
Health in Shelby. However, Kenneth never caught the cab. The last confirmed
sighting placed Kenneth headed in the direction of a local Bojangles.
At the center of this frustrating search are Kenneth’s loved
ones, who only grow more desperate for answers in his disappearance. His
sister, Lauree Butler, told the Shelby Star, “It’s hard not knowing if he’s
alive or dead.” A few months after Kenneth was reported missing, there was a
ray of hope when witnesses in the southern region of the county reported seeing
a man who fit his description. However, authorities were not able to follow
through on the lead while it was still active. They failed to catch up with the
tip, and the trail once again went cold. “Every time the police would show up,
there would be nothing,” Lauree Butler told the Shelby Star. “He had been in a
wreck…His mind wasn’t what it should be.”
According to the family, Kenneth had wandered off once
before, and he was located headed in the direction of Gaffney, South Carolina. As
of March, 2019, authorities said that they believed Kenneth could be in that
same area, and have been working with his family in order to determine where he
might have gone.
Kenneth Jimson is 5-feet, 10-inches tall and weighs around
200 pounds. He has short back hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing
black jeans and a black jacket. Kenneth has a dent in his forehead from a
previous medical procedure. Anyone with information about Kenneth Jimson should
call the Shelby Police Department at 704-484-6845.
Authorities and investigators in Texas have renewed vigor in their search for four-year-old Maleah in Texas, following allegations the prime suspect knew of “a good place to dump a body.”
After chasing down multiple leads with search teams, Texas EquuSearch announced this week they would be suspending their search for Maleah Davis until they could refocus their investigation. Maleah has been missing since April.
Surveillance footage provided investigators with an insidious picture of the hours before and after Maleah’s disappearance. On the morning of April 30, 2019, a surveillance photo shows Maleah walking with her mother’s former fiancé, Derion Vence, through the backyard of their Houston apartment. Sources in the Houston Police Department told a local Houston paper it’s the last known image of Maleah before she disappeared.
An hour later, surveillance footage shows Vence returning to his vehicle, with no sign of Maleah. Surveillance footage from May 3rd shows Vence making several trips out of the apartment, carrying things like a trash bag in a laundry basket and a bottle of bleach.
Vence would later give a statement that on May 3rd, they left in the evening—Himself, Maleah, and Maleah’s young brother—to collect Maleah’s mother from the airport. They were en route when Vence claimed he pulled over to examine a damaged tire, and was ambushed by three men who knocked him unconscious and stole the Nissan Altima he was driving with Maleah inside.
Police finally located the vehicle in the parking lot of a nearby shopping mall. Vence was soon arrested for tampering with evidence after investigators found blood in his apartment that matched DNA taken from Maleah’s toothbrush. Scent dogs alerted on decomposing material found on some of the objects Vence carried out of the apartment on May 3rd. While the motive to cover up his actions remains unclear, there have been rumors it may have something to do with abuse allegations made against Maleah’s birth mother and father in August of 2018.
Now, in tandem with investigators, Equusearch will be searching an area along a mail route Vence used to work, after receiving intel that Vence allegedly once told his mother-in-law, “If I ever murder someone, I can dump a body in Rosharon that will never be found.” Vence remains in the Harris County Jail on a $45,000 bond while police continue to investigate discrepancies in his story with the help of the surveillance footage taken from the security cams.
Maleah has black hair and brown eyes, stands at about 3 feet tall and weighs approximately 30 to 40 pounds. If you have any information about her disappearance, call 713-308-3600.
Madeline McCann disappeared in May of 2003 while on a vacation with her mother, father, and set of younger twin siblings in Praia de Luz, Portugal.
The disappearance of Madeline McCann is arguably the most internationally famous missing child case since the Lindbergh baby vanished in 1932. The story received an unprecedented amount of media attention throughout the globe due to the international nature of the case and the public relations campaign that struggled to keep the child’s face out there in the public eye. Now, in 2019, Netflix has released an eight-episode docuseries, The Disappearance of Madeline McCann, about the case, taking a hard look at the investigation and media coverage surrounding the case since Madeline disappeared 11 years ago.
Madeline McCann was just three years old in May 2003, when she accompanied her family—mother Kate, father Gerry, and a set of younger twin siblings—on a family vacation to Praia da Luz, Portugal. During the course of their stay at a resort community, it became regular practice for Kate and Gerry to put the children down for the night before travelling less than 200 feet away from their apartment to a tapas restaurant where they had dinner with friends. The parents were not worried for their children’s safety because—according to the McCanns and their friends—the window to their apartment was in full view of their regular table at the tapas restaurant. According to statements from the McCanns and their party, the parents would walk back over to the apartment hourly to check on their children. After checking the children several times, it wasn’t until 10:00 PM that Kate McCann realized her daughter was missing, and immediately raised the alarm.
The documentary chronicles the roller coaster of investigative measures and leads over the course of the investigation. Over the years, there have been multiple leads in the case that appeared promising, such as a famous sighting by one of the McCann’s party of a man walking in the vicinity of the McCann’s apartment carrying a sleeping child. Praia de Luz local, Robert Murat, was a suspect early on in the investigation due to his inexplicable special interest in assisting law enforcement and his continued insertion of himself in their investigation. He was eventually cleared by Portugal authorities. Many angles in the investigation concern the likelihood that Madeline was abducted from her bed by a predator who had been casing the apartment during the McCann’s stay at the resort. The docuseries, The Disappearance of Madline McCann, goes into heavy detail about how simple it would be for a predator to abduct Madeline, and then—within a window of less than 2 hours—have been able to smuggle her out of the country to jump jurisdictional lines and cover their tracks, all in the interest of introducing the child into the dark world of sex trafficking.
While support for the McCann family has remained in the years since Madeline went missing, the vitriol that Kate and Gerry McCann have endured comes from allegations that they themselves might have played a role in their daughter’s disappearance. Law enforcement in Praia de Luz made note that the two smaller children sleeping in Madeline’s room remained asleep during their time in the apartment at the onset of the investigation. Despite a great deal of commotion and adults moving from room to room as they searched for Madeline, the set of young twins did not wake or stir at any time. This led to suspicions that the children might have been drugged in order to ensure they would not wake while the parents were across the way at dinner. Both Kate and Gerry McCann were physicians at the time of Madeline’s disappearance, with Kate having reportedly specialized in anesthetics before moving into private practice.
An age-progression photo of Madeline continues to circulate within the campaign to bring her home.
The docuseries makes a point to highlight the importance that media coverage can play in any missing persons case. It was a subject of note that the McCanns hired public relations representatives to help keep the campaign to find Madeline alive in the media, with high saturation of her name in the UK, Portugal, and throughout the globe. Of the thousands of missing child cases that are currently open throughout the world, Madeline’s face is one of the most famous—along with Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Dugard, two young girls who were abducted, were kept captive, and were eventually reunited with their families following a successful, albeit years-long investigation. Talking heads in the series note that although Madeline’s case was an extreme example of media coverage, the question remains how other missing children’s cases would have benefited from the same amount of attention the McCann case received. Despite hundreds of tips and leads that have surfaced over the years, the truth of what happened to Madeline McCann still remains a mystery.
Carie McMichael is the Media and Communication Specialist for Lauth Investigations International. She regularly writes on private investigation and missing persons topics. For more information, please visit our website.
The search for Savannah Spurlock is entering its 6th
week, as law enforcement continue to reconstruct the events that led up to her
disappearance. On January 4th, after spending some time with her
mother, the 23-year-old had decided to go out with friends. It would be her
first return to her social life since recently giving birth to twins. Her
mother, Ellen Spurlock, was glad to see her daughter getting out to have fun
again. She told the Lexington
Herald-Leader, “I thought she needed a little break. She hadn’t done
anything for months since she just had the twins.” The next time Ellen heard
from her daughter was 2:30 AM on January 5th, when she FaceTimed her.
“…she said, ‘Everything was fine. I’m just having fun with friends. I promise I
will be home later this morning.” Six hours later, Savannah’s phone was turned
off, and her mother has not heard from her since.
The first news of Savannah’s disappearance came on Monday through the Richmond Police Department. In a tremendous investigative find, law enforcement obtained a surveillance video of the young mother, dressed in a black, sleeveless top, a maroon skirt, and high heels, leaving The Other Bar in Lexington in the company of two men. “Savannah Spurlockwas last seen leaving the bar with an unknown black male and an unknown white male. The Richmond Police Department is seeking the identity and whereabouts of these two individuals. The white male was seen leaving the area in a black, Chevy S-10 pickup” Police broadcast the surveillance footage, asking the public to help identify them. The footage is a crucial find for investigators, not only because it contextualizes Savannah’s movements in the moments before she went missing, but it contains other vital information, such as an accurate physical description and manner of dress for missing person bulletins, a description of the last people to have contact with her, a time stamp for her last known whereabouts, and a description of the vehicle they left in.
In addition to law enforcement and other investigators, the Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team joined the search for Savanna Spurlock on January 27th. They’re K-9 unit specializes in missing person investigations and assists in missing person investigations all over the country. Despite their best efforts, having covered miles in their search, as of February 3rd, they had not uncovered a trace of Savannah. Just when it seemed the trail might go cold, police announced a break in the case. They confirmed that they knew the identities of the men Savannah left The Other Bar with, but did not release any names. They also confirmed that she was driven to the residence of one of these men in nearby Garrad County. They secured the vehicle she left in for forensic testing, but will not be releasing those results to the public. One of the most compelling details released by police was that there was no indication Savannah knew the men before that evening. Police were unable to corroborate an account of one of the men, who claimed Savannah left the home later that morning, but could not explain how. The Cajun Coast Search and Rescue team searched an area near the residence where they knew Savannah Spurlockhad been taken. The K-9 unit lead investigators to some discarded clothing items, “We found some jeans and a t-shirt that somebody tried to burn,” team leader, Tony Wade, told Radar. The damaged clothing was turned over to law enforcement, who were quick to point out that the clothing did not match the description. Wade further explained of the K-9 unit, “They’ll hit on clothing with blood. A month or so out, it gets hard. So much of the evidence is gone.”
Concerned pleas for information leading to Savannah’s safe return continue pouring out from friends and family. After the first 11 days of the search, Ellen Spurlock said of her daughter’s disappearance, “I’m lost.” The overwhelming support from the community and the rest of the public garnered appreciation from the family, but the fear and worry grows for them daily. In a video posted to the Missing Savannah Facebook page, her aunt, Lisa Thoma said, “Waiting is hard, not knowing answers to questions is hard…when you’re living it and breathing it, it can be crippling. If you know anything, we beg you, come forward and call the Richmond, Kentucky Police Department. If you heard something, if you saw something, I don’t care how small it was—what if that one thing is the piece of the puzzle that they’re missing? What if you hold the key to bringing her home?”
For many families across North America, the holiday season has begun—a season for spending time with family and reflecting on the blessings in your life. For Hania Aguilar’s family however, this joyous time of year has already been marred by her disappearance. On November 5th, 2018, a man dressed in black with a yellow bandana abducted the 13-year-old while she was outside her home at the Rosewood Mobile Home Park in Lumberton, North Carolina
The incident has caused a fresh surge of panic in a town already pockmarked by cases of other missing women, with the Aguilar’s neighbors keeping their children on a much shorter leash. Parents with anxieties of their children becoming vulnerable to local predators have had their every fear validated by a man in black with terrible motives. Teresa Lauderback is one of these hypervigilant parents, “I’m on top of them at the bus stop every morning and make sure they get on the bus before I walk away.” The mayor of Lumberton, Bruce Davis, also commented on the heightened anxiety in his community, citing the multiple inquiries he’s received about the case, “Everybody is concerned and they’re on edge…They ask all the time, and I have to tell them the FBI does not talk to the mayor. In fact, the FBI doesn’t talk to anybody.”
Hania had gone outside that chilly morning to start her aunt’s green SUV when the man in black appeared and snatched her from her own front yard. In the weeks after Hania’s disappearance, local law enforcement and the FBI held press conferences where they implored the community to come forward with any information they might have about the Lumberton teen. Those press briefings slowed to a staccato rhythm that eventually went quiet. As citizen inquiries in the case remain steady, law enforcement has recently suspended all future press-conferences, barring significant developments in the case.
In an effort to kick up further leads, the FBI and law enforcement implored the local deer hunters of Robeson County to check their video devices for any sign of the SUV, a stolen Ford Expedition, used to abduct Hania. “We are at a critical phase in our investigation and need the public’s help,” the press release said. “If we do not reach everyone with video soon, that video could be lost, as many systems will purge the older footage automatically.” The SUV was eventually located off of Quincy Drive, approximately ten miles from Hania’s home. In addition to deer hunters, homeowners were also asked to check any home security systems with video in order to track the SUV’s movements. Police are seeking a man seen in one such surveillance video, who was walking in the area about an hour before Hania was abducted. He was seen walking on Lambeth Street, headed towards the mobile home park in the minutes leading up to Hania’s disappearance. The search for this possible witness has only grown more desperate, as the investigation took a bleak turn.
In the fourth week of the search for Hania, a body was found by law enforcement while searching for the missing teen. The body was discovered off of Wiregrass Road, approximately ten miles from Hania’s home. At that time, there were at least four investigative bodies searching: The FBI, Lumberton PD, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and the SBI. A press release from the superintendent of Robeson County Schools read, “The body is believed to be Hania, but the identity has not yet been confirmed. This is an unfortunate end to an extensive search and we are committed to supporting all students and staff as they cope with the heartbreaking tragedy.” The superintendent also assured the district that they would be increasing all available resources to support the students and staff at Hania’s school, Lumberton Junior High School. Law enforcement have stated that the remains have been sent to a North Carolina state crime lab located in Raleigh for autopsy and identification.
Unfortunately, Hania’s disappearance is another in a series of disappearances and killings that have haunted Lumberton for almost two years. In 2016, an FBI report revealed that there were 393 violent crimes in Lumberton, more than there are days in the year. The FBI’s analysts determined that a single resident of Lumberton has a 1 in 55 chance of being raped, assaulted, or killed. On April 18th, 2017, Christina Bennett, 32, and Rhonda Jones, 36 were both found dead within 100 yards of each other. Bennett’s body was discovered in an abandoned house, and the body of Jones was recovered from a trash can just across the alley. Both bodies were in an advanced stage of composition when they were found. A few months later in June, the remains of missing woman Megan Oxendine were found in another abandoned house within a two-mile radius of Bennett and Jones. Other women, like Cynthia Jacobs, 41, and Abby Lynn Patterson, 20, have also gone missing from this neighborhood, but were never found. The disappearance of Hania Aguilar has reignited community suspicion that there is a singular apex predator in their midst, targeting women for motives unknown. Community member Robert Norris told the media, “The first thing that comes to mind is that she had to have been watched or someone knew her routine. There’s a lot of possibilities…but nobody really knows until she is found and everything can be investigated. You hear these stories on TV, like in California or New York, and never think it could be right in your own backyard. It makes you get a sense of security and awareness about you that you’ve never had before.”
The community gathered on Wednesday to support Hania’s family. Hania’s mother has appeared in media coverage throughout the search, often with her priest at her side, telling the cameras, “I don’t have words to describe how I feel.” Despite the fear and confusion surrounding her daughter’s disappearance, she is a rock as she delivers a message to the abductor, in Spanish, “Return my daughter. I need her. I am suffering for her. Her sisters are, too.” Further commenting on this investigation’s ‘tragic end,’ the superintendent of Robeson County Schools declared, “We are keeping Hania in our thoughts and will continue to pray for her family and each other as the investigation continues.”
Carie McMichael is the Communication and Media Specialist for Lauth Investigations. She regularly writes on missing person and investigation topics. For more information, please visit our website.
In an effort to kick up further leads, the FBI and law enforcement implored the local deer hunters of Robeson County to check their video devices for any sign of the SUV, a stolen Ford Expedition, used to abduct Hania. “We are at a critical phase in our investigation and need the public’s help,” the press release said. “If we do not reach everyone with video soon, that video could be lost, as many systems will purge the older footage automatically.” The SUV was eventually located off of Quincy Drive, approximately ten miles from Hania’s home. In addition to deer hunters, homeowners were also asked to check any home security systems with video in order to track the SUV’s movements. Police are seeking a man seen in one such surveillance video, who was walking in the area about an hour before Hania was abducted. He was seen walking on Lambeth Street, headed towards the mobile home park in the minutes leading up to Hania’s disappearance. The search for this possible witness has only grown more desperate, as the investigation took a bleak turn.
The community gathered on Wednesday to support Hania’s family. Hania’s mother has appeared in media coverage throughout the search, often with her priest at her side, telling the cameras, “I don’t have words to describe how I feel.” Despite the fear and confusion surrounding her daughter’s disappearance, she is a rock as she delivers a message to the abductor, in Spanish, “Return my daughter. I need her. I am suffering for her. Her sisters are, too.” Further commenting on this investigation’s ‘tragic end,’ the superintendent of Robeson County Schools declared, “We are keeping Hania in our thoughts and will continue to pray for her family and each other as the investigation continues.”