More than 600,000 people go missing every year in the United States, and sadly many of those cases are likely to remain unsolved. Fortunately some cases do eventually get solved, giving the family some resolution. Here’s a look at 10 missing persons cases that were solved years later.

Kara Nichols

19 year old Kara Nichols was last seen at her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado on October 9, 2012, when she told her roommate she was heading to Denver for a modeling job.

Disappearance

On the evening of October 9, 2012, Kara left home telling her roommate she was heading to Denver for a modeling shoot. Minutes later, a dark sedan pulled away from the building and the roommate assumed it was her ride.

Over the next two days, Kara’s brother, who lived nearby, attempted to call and send text messages to her, but she never picked up her phone. Kara Nancy Nichols never returned home and has not been heard from since.

On October 12, Kara’s brother filed a missing person report with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office when she failed to answer his phone calls.

Investigation

Inside the room she rented, Kara left most of her personal belongings, including her purse, identification, clothes, makeup, laptop, and $300 in cash. Her phone records, bank account, and social media have shown no activity since she vanished.

The last activity on her phone were text messages sent on the night of her disappearance at 11:45 pm. Her cell phone, which has not been found, last pinged to cellular towers north of her home in the direction of Denver.

Authorities began to suspect foul play in Kara Nichols’ disappearance upon discovering her involvement in drugs and prostitution.

On November 30, 2012, a profile featuring photos of Kara Nichols appeared on MyRedBook, an online Las Vegas escort website. When police called the number on the advert, her family said the voice was not hers.

Authorities eventually concluded that the photographs were taken from another source, and that Kara Nichols was not in Las Vegas. Escorts websites often use random pictures lifted from the Internet to advertise online.

Kara’s Remains Found in 2022

In February 2022, authorities announced they found the remains of Kara Nichols, and the El Paso County Coroner’s Office ruled that her death was from asphyxia due to strangulation.

Kara’s remains were found in the 9600 block of Burgess Road in the Black Forest area, and were tentatively identified as belonging to Nichols. Positive identification was made by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office.

The discovery was made after re interviewing a witness where new “critical information” came to light, leading investigators to search the area near Burgess Road.

Joel Hollendorfer’s wife, Kristina Palmer, told the Federal Bureau of Investigation that Hollendorfer admitted he accidentally killed an escort he hired several years ago and had buried her body on his parents’ property.

She also told authorities she believed his parents knew about the murder and had been covering for their son.

46 year old Joel Hollendorfer, who resides on the property where the remains were recovered, was arrested and charged charged with second degree murder in Kara’s case. He’s also facing a felony charge of tampering with evidence.

During a court appearance on February 17, 2022, Hollendorfer’s charge was upgraded from second to first degree murder, and his bond was revoked.

Investigators believe Hollendorfer arranged to pick up Kara near her Mission Road address, and that he strangled her during their encounter. He then took her body to his parents property where he buried her.

Chioma Gray

15 year old Chioma Gray was last seen in Ventura, California on December 13, 2007. She disappeared after leaving high school with an older man in his car.

Disappearance

On the morning of December 13, 2007, Gray was dropped by her father and brother at Buena High School in Ventura.

When her mother arrived at the school to pick her up at 3:00 pm, Gray was nowhere to be found. School officials said she never went to class, and that her friends hadn’t seen her.

By 5:30 pm, Gray’s family reported her as a missing person to the Ventura Police Department.

Investigation

Investigators found out Tafoya had just been released from jail the night before Gray’s disappearance. He had served 147 days of a 210-day sentence for an unlawful sex with a minor charge.

Tafoya was put on probation for three years, with the condition that he wasn’t to have any contact with Gray or any other minor without a responsible adult present.

Police received a report that a 2008 white Acura with the California license plate 6AXX928 was missing from a car lot in Ventura. Tafoya worked at the car lot as a car washer and was last seen driving that car earlier that morning.

On the day of Chioma Gray’s disappearance, a security camera at Buena High School captured a vehicle matching the stolen vehicle’s description pulling up at the school. The stolen car’s license plate number was later screened passing the Mexican border at around 1:20 pm.

Investigators believed Tafoya took Chioma Gray from her high school that morning and the pair took off to Mexico in the stolen car. Police began investigating the case as a felony for child stealing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, car theft and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

In 2010, a private investigator hired by the family found the stolen car parked in a compound with flat tires near Acapulco, a resort city in southern Mexico. He also discovered where the pair lived and apparently worked. Tafoya taught snorkeling and Gray worked as a waitress at a small vacation spot.

Chioma Gray Found Alive in 2011

On September 1, 2011, Gray’s mother received a call from Tafoya asking her to come pick up Gray in Mexico. She asked for a location to no avail.

On October 5, 2011, Gray and Tafoya returned from Mexico to California with US Marshals. Gray reunited with her family at the Los Angeles International Airport. Tafoya was arrested and charged with felony child stealing and felony probation violation.

On January 23, 2012, Andrew Joshua Tafoya was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to one felony count of concealing a child from her parents in November 2011.

In 2012 it was reported that Chioma, who married Tafoya while they were in Mexico, had been living with his parents since their return in October 2011.

Rosemary Christense

43 year old Rosemary Christensen was last seen in Tampa, Florida on August 26, 1999.

Disappearance

On August 26, 1999, Christensen met a client for a property showing at 5:00 pm. She spoke to a co-worker over the phone around 5:15 p.m

Temple said he saw her at home that evening, and that she left their condominium between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm to go out with someone he did not know, and that she never came home.

On August 27, 1999, Temple left with his girlfriend, Lesley Stewart, at 3:00 pm for Decatur, Illinois to visit family members. He tried to call Christensen but couldn’t reach her.

On August 30, 1999, Christensen’s coworkers at the real estate office contacted the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office when she failed to show up for work.

Investigation

Inside the couple’s condominium investigators discovered a freshly painted wall in the bedroom, a torn up carpet, and blood stains in an incense box. Her car was parked outside the condominium.

Investigators learned that Christensen consulted an attorney about a divorce shortly before her disappearance. She was also communicating online with a man in South Carolina.

On the morning after Christensen disappeared, authorities discovered through credit card statements that Temple and his girlfriend purchased $73.51 worth of cleaning products, painting supplies, large trash bags, and a storage container from a Walmart in Largo, Florida

Robert Glenn Temple

In 1974, Robert Glenn Temple pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter related to the death of his then girlfriend’s infant son. The 18 month old boy was discovered dead in the bathtub of a Californian hotel room, with wounds and bruises on his body. He served 5 years in prison.

47 year old Temple told authorities that he last saw his wife at their condo on the night of her disappearance. He suggested that she might have disappeared with another man she met online and gone back to Australia.

Temple has not been charged in connection with her disappearance, and was not named a suspect. Soon after her disappearance, Temple left the state with his girlfriend and became uncooperative with investigators.

They lived in a trailer pulled by a pickup truck and moved around the country, stopping in Illinois, Arizona, and California. Temple did not work and was receiving disability checks. Stewart worked intermittently as an apartment manager.

Christensen’s Remains Found in 2008

In September 2008, Lesley Stewart contacted police in Silverton, Washington. She said that Temple allegedly threatened to kill her and her daughter with a knife if she didn’t return from a family reunion.

Stewart eventually confessed that she believes Temple killed Rosemary Christensen. In 1999, Stewart went to the condo he shared with his wife and discovered Christensen’s deceased body in a pool of blood on the floor.

Temple told her she accidentally died in a struggle after she tried to attack him with a knife. Stewart was then convinced to help clean up the crime scene and bury the body in a property owned by her father.

On September 8, 2008, Stewart led authorities to Christensen’s whereabouts. Her body was discovered inside a storage container, buried in a wooded area south of County Road 344 along the Suwannee River in Pinellas County, Florida.

Autopsy results showed that Christensen had been stabbed and that she died from sharp-force trauma. The sweater she was wearing contained three slits which were not consistent with having fallen on a knife.

Husband Charged With Murder in Death of Rosemary Christensen

On September 5, 2008, Robert Glenn Temple was arrested in Redding, California on suspicion of making terrorist threats and assault with a deadly weapon.

On September 10, 2008, Robert Glenn Temple was charged with first degree murder in the death of his wife, Rosemary Anne Christensen. Stewart received immunity in exchange for her testimony against Temple.

On July 30, 2011, Robert Glenn Temple was found guilty of first-degree murder in Rosemary Anne Christensen’s death. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

On December 11, 2018, Robert Glenn Temple died in prison. The cause of death was not listed.

Denise Bolser

24 year old Denise Bolser was last seen in Raymond, New Hampshire on January 17, 1985. When her husband came home he found a note that read “We’ve got your wife,” and no trace of Denise.

Disappearance

On January 17, 1985 Denise Bolser vanished from her home in Raymond, New Hampshire.

She shared the home with her estranged husband, and when he came home he found a note that read “We’ve got your wife,” along with some footprints in the snow. Denise was nowhere to be found.

Earlier in the day she had dropped him off in Manchester, and driven back home in his truck, as hers was in the shop for repairs.

Investigation

Several days after Denise went missing police found her husband’s pick up truck abandoned at Logan Airport, with her social security card, birth certificate, and credit cards laid out on the front seat. No evidence as to where Denise had went, or what had happened to her was found.

The note left at her home offered no additional clues; there was no ransom demand or any attempted contact by whoever had written it.

Authorities pursued the theory that she may have been kidnapped and possibly murdered, but could find no real evidence aside from the anonymous note.

They later came to believe that perhaps she had left on her own accord, but her family with whom she was very close with believed foul play was involved.

After she disappeared her husband filed for divorce. He was never pursued as a person of interest in her disappearance.

Embezzlement Accusations

In 1986 she was charged with the crimes in absentia, giving police a reason to believe she may have ran off on her own accord.

The embezzlement charges against Denise were eventually dropped in 1993, and over the years her family continued to hope that she would contact them.

Although investigators continued to pursue the case, no credible leads could be found.

Denise Found Alive in 2002

In 2002 a private investigator named Shirley Casey gave authorities a credible lead about a Denise who was living in Florida that shared the same date of birth as Denise Bolser.

Authorities tracked down the lead, and on May 13, 2002 discovered Denise Bolser living in Panama City Florida, under the name Denise James. She had started a new family who were unaware of her past.

When questioned, Denise admitted that she had decided to run when her ex-boss had threatened her life. She said during the 17 years she was missing she had also lived in the Bahamas, California, South Carolina and Hawaii.

Following her discovery Denise had an emotional reunion with her family.

19 year old Danice Day was last seen in Monte Vista, Colorado on January 9, 2002. She disappeared after leaving the Dos Rios restaurant where she was employed as a waitress.

Disappearance

On the afternoon of January 9, 2002, Day finished her shift at work and returned to her residence.

Day allegedly told her boyfriend that she was going out with a friend that evening. She never returned home that night, and has not been heard from again.

On January 12, 2002, Day’s family reported her missing to the police.

Investigation

Braun told investigators that he and Day had argued that night because he was not familiar with the man with whom she was planning to go out with.

Friends and family said that Danice had been planning to leave her boyfriend and was gradually moving out of their ranch, but stated that she would never abandon her two children.

Day left behind all of her personal belongings at the ranch, including her vehicle, keys, wallet, cellular phone and clothing.

Victor Braun

26-year-old Victor Braun lived with Danice Day, in Monte Vista, Colorado along with their young daughter and a son she had from a previous relationship.

Braun was said to be very possessive and insecure. During the course of their two year relationship Day moved in and out of their home and had rented her own apartment in Monte Vista.

In 2009, Braun was held at the Rio Grande County jail on charges of burglary, drugs, and motor vehicle theft. He agreed to reveal to police the location where Day’s body was hidden in exchange for pleading to manslaughter and dismissal of other charges.

Danice Day’s Remains Found in Lyman Lake, Arizona in 2009

Authorities found two barrels at the bottom of Lyman Lake in the Arizona mountains some 400 miles away from the San Luis Valley.

One of them contained charred small pieces of bones, oil, glass, skeletal muscles and a femur.

Forensic examination of the remains determined the body was burned before it was stuffed in the barrel and thrown in the lake. The cause of death remains undetermined, as there was very little soft tissue left.

On September 18, 2009, a DNA analysis from the El Paso County Coroner positively identified the remains as belonging to Danice Day.

Braun claimed that he came home on the night of December 1, 2002, to discover his girlfriend Danice Day dead from an alleged drug overdose. He reportedly panicked as he was on probation at the time of her death and decided to dispose of her body into a lake.

Man sentenced to 12 years in death of girlfriend

On December 31, 2009, Victor Braun was sentenced to twelve years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for the death of Danice Day.

He was also given a $1,000 fine, two years mandatory parole and ordered to pay over $7,000 in restitution in the two burglary cases that were dropped as part of his plea bargain.

22 year old Michael Bradyn Fuksa was last seen in Olathe, Kansas on July 16, 2009. He disappeared after abandoning his car on the side of a Wyoming highway.

Disappearance

On the evening of July 14, 2009, Fuksa spent the night with his girlfriend.

On July 15, 2009, Fuksa told his roommate that he was heading to Olathe to his parent’s house. He left the town driving his 1996 maroon Ford Explorer.

On the morning of July 16, 2009, Fuksa got a flat tire near Wheatland, Wyoming. He got it fixed by a repairman from an auto-repair shop nearby, and was captured by surveillance cameras at the service station. This is the last known sighting of Fuksa.

At noon his abandoned vehicle was found by a Wyoming Highway Patrol State Trooper along northbound Interstate 25 near mile marker 122 in the Wolf Creek area north of Wheatland, near Douglas, Wyoming.

Fuksa was nowhere to be seen, and has not been heard from since.

On July 19, 2009, Fuksa’s parents filed a missing persons report with the Olathe police when they were unable to make contact with him.

Investigation

Police initially speculated that Fuksa ran away due to the arrest warrant on the felony theft charge, as he was due in court on July 16, 2009.

Inside Fuksa’s car police found the vehicle’s key beneath a floor mat and a laptop computer hidden under clothes. The Ford Explorer had three-quarters of a tank of gas left, no mechanical problems, and a newly installed tire.

Fuksa’s Remains Found Near Wolf Creek in 2015

On May 3, 2015, skeletal remains were discovered by two hikers near the Wolf Creek area of Casper, Wyoming by two hikers. A backpack and a 9 mm Beretta were also recovered from the scene.

On May 8, 2015, the remains were positively identified as Michael Bradyn Fuksa, nearly 6 years after he was reported missing. Authorities connected the gun’s serial number to Fuksa, and his identity was confirmed through dental records.

The cause of death was ruled a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Michele Whitaker

Michele Whitaker was last seen in Spartanburg, South Carolina on August 16, 2002. She disappeared after getting dropped off at a truck stop by a friend, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Disappearance

Michele “Shelli” Whitaker was last seen alive on August 16, 2002 in Spartanburg, South Carolina at a Truck Stops of America off I-85.

The friend who dropper her off at the truck stop was questioned by police, and after passing a polygraph he was ruled out as a suspect.

Michele had recently been arrested for a DUI, and had fought with her mother over it.

She disappeared after mistakenly being released from jail, instead of attending court ordered treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.

According to police, checks on her credit report and social security number showed no activity for years after her disappearance.

Investigators were suspicious that Whitaker may have been met with foul play at the truck stop, though they didn’t have any evidence to support that theory.

Possible Connection to Jonathan Vick

A month after Michele disappeared one of her co-workers, 21 year old Heather Sellers, went missing.

In September of 2002, 21 year old Sellers, who had worked with Michele Whitaker at the Waffle House was reported missing. Police immediately focused on her boyfriend Jonathan Vick, who they already suspect is responsible for the 1995 unsolved rape and murder of a local hairdresser named Dana Satterfield

When police discovered the link between Vick and Whitaker her missing person’s case turned into a homicide investigation.

Investigators were unable to tie Vick to Whitaker or Sellers’ disappearance, but they were able to get a conviction in the Dana Satterfield case. In 2006 he was found guilty in the 1995 murder of Dana Satterfield, and remains a suspect in the other two cases.

On October 13, 2005 an anonymous letter arrived at the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office. The letter stated that Michele Whitaker had been murdered, and that her body was buried near a pond in Landrum, South Carolina. Police conducted a search using cadaver dogs, but were unable to find anything.

Michele’s case went cold, and it wasn’t until six years after her disappearance that a tip came in that changed everything.

Michele Whitaker Found Alive In Oregon in 2008

In the summer of 2008 a woman was watching an episode of Forensic Files that featured the murder conviction of Jonathan Vick. The program showed a photo of Michele Whitaker, who police believed had been murdered by Vick.

The woman was shocked. That photo wasn’t of a woman who had been murdered by Vick, it was a photo of her neighbor. She called the police to let them know Whitaker was living in Oregon.

In August of 2008 Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright announced that Michele Whitaker had been found alive and well in Oregon. He did not release Whitaker’s current location or reason why she left the area out of concerns for her privacy. Wright said it didn’t appear Whitaker knew her disappearance had became the subject of a homicide investigation.

She had been living in that location for two years under the same name.

Michele Whitaker contacted her family a short time later, and attended her sister’s wedding. Michele told family members she disappeared because she wanted to start a new life.

A public records search shows that a woman with the same name, date of birth, and social security number was living in Victorville, California in 2006.

Jerry Michael Williams

31 year old Jerry Michael Williams was last seen in Tallahassee, Florida on December 16, 2000. He disappeared after going duck hunting at Lake Seminole in Jackson County.

Disappearance

On the early morning of December 16, 2000, Williams awoke early and left his house on the 5000 block of Centennial Oak Circle in Tallahassee, Florida to go duck hunting at Lake Seminole in Jackson County, Florida.

Denise called her father at noon, telling him that Mike had not returned. The couple had plans to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary that evening.

Williams never returned home, and has not been heard from again.

His 1994 Ford Bronco was later found by Brian Winchester’s father near a remote boat launch in Jackson County, Florida.

Investigation

An extensive search of the lake in Jackson County found no trace of Williams, and the search was called off after 44 days. Authorities initially speculated that Williams drowned and was eaten by alligators after falling from his boat on Lake Seminole.

In June 2001, Williams was declared legally dead by a Leon County judge at the request of his wife. The court decision allowed her to collect around $1.75 million in life insurance benefits.

On December 3, 2005, Denise Merrell married her late husband’s best friend, Brian Winchester. The marriage fell apart in 2012, reportedly due to his sex addiction, and she subsequently filed for divorce in 2015.

Brian Winchester accused of kidnapping wife at gunpoint

On August 5, 2016, Winchester snuck into Merrell’s SUV and held her at gunpoint for about an hour as she was on her way to work. He was arrested and charged with kidnapping, domestic assault, and armed burglary, with two of the charges being felonies.

On December 19, 2017, Winchester was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the kidnapping of Denise Merrell, with credit for 502 days time served, and 15 years’ GPS-monitored probation once released.

Jerry Michael Williams’ Body Found in 2017

On December 20, 2017, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced that the remains of Jerry Michael Williams had been found at the dead-end of Gardner Road in northern Leon County, just five miles from where he grew up.

Authorities did not initially state when the body was found, or who the suspects were in his death. They provided no details, but said new evidence proved he was murdered.

Denise Merrell charged with murder of late husband

On May 8, 2018, Denise Merrell was arrested in her office at Florida State University on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and accessory after the fact. After her arrest authorities disclosed that Williams’ body was found on October 18, 2017.

On October 19, 2017, Winchester had entered a plea agreement with prosecutors that guaranteed him immunity from prosecution for his role in the murder in exchange for his confession and the whereabouts of Jerry Michael Williams’ body

Winchester admitted to shooting Williams in the face on Lake Seminole, but said the murder was Merrell’s idea to free her from the marriage and collect nearly $2 million in life insurance money. Brian and Denise had been having an affair for three years prior to the murder.

Denise Merrell found guilty of murder

On December 14, 2018, Denise Merrell was found guilty in the murder of Jerry Michael Williams. She was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and accessory after the fact.

On February 06, 2019, Denise Merrell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She received an additional 30 years for conspiring to the murder committed by her ex-lover, Brian Winchester.

Aftermath

On November 25, 2020, the murder conviction of Denise Merrell was overturned by the Florida First District Court of Appeals, but the charge for conspiracy to commit murder will remain, as will its 30-year sentence.

Kara Kopetsky

17 year old Kara Kopetsky was last seen in Belton, Missouri on May 4, 2007. She disappeared after she walked out of Belton High School, skipping third period.

Disappearance

On the morning of May 4, 2007, Kara’s mother dropped her off at Belton High School. Her mother later returned to the school to bring her a textbook and her work uniform, dropping them off at the front desk.

Around 9:19 a.m, Kara was captured by security video walking down the hall of the school, likely to skip third period, which she did quite often. Kara never returned to school or home, and has not been heard from since.

That evening Kara’s mother filed a missing persons report to the Belton Police Department when she failed to return home after school.

Investigation

Kara left behind all her personal belongings at her house, including an entire carton of cigarettes minus one pack and an iPod she had just gotten for Christmas.

Her debit card was found in her school locker, and there has been no activity on her bank account since her disappearance. Her cell phone and purse were missing.

Kylr Yust

18 year old Kylr Yust had recently broken up with Kara Kopetsky and she had filed an order of protection against him, four days before she went missing.

On May 6, 2007, Yust told police that he didn’t have any contact with Kara on the day of her disappearance. He said he had a missed call from Kara around 11 a.m that morning, but she didn’t answer when he tried to return the call.

However, phone records revealed that Kara made a phone call to him at 9:13 a.m, and he called her back at 9:20 a.m, just one minute after she was last seen leaving high school on surveillance video.

Yust denied involvement in her disappearance, and subsequently refused to answer any questions about the discrepancy in the information he had given. He passed a lie detector test and had an alibi for the morning she went missing.

On November 22, 2013, Yust was convicted for an unrelated drug trafficking charge and sentenced to four years in federal prison outside of Oklahoma City.

Between 2010 and 2016, several witnesses, including a former roommate, ex-girlfriend, and cell inmate told police that Yust admitted to strangling Kara to death and hiding her body in an undisclosed wooded area.

Jessica Runions

On September 8, 2016, 21 year old Jessica Runions disappeared after leaving a party at a home in Grandview, Missouri at approximately 11:00 pm. She was last seen accompanied by Kylr Yust, who was a childhood friend of her boyfriend.

According to witnesses, Yust, who had been released from prison two days prior, was drinking heavily at the party and he and Reunions were seen arguing.

On September 10, 2016, Runions’ vehicle, a black 2012 Chevrolet Equinox, was found abandoned and burned in a wooded area of 95th Street and Blue River Road in south Kansas City, Missouri.

On September 11, 2016, Yust was arrested and charged with knowingly burning Jessica Runions’ vehicle. He pleaded not guilty and awaited trial in Jackson County Jail.

Kopetsky & Runions Remains Found in 2017

On April 3, 2017, human remains were discovered by a mushroom hunter in the area of 233rd Street and Y Highway in Belton, Missouri.

On April 4, 2017, police conducted an extensive search of the wooded area and recovered a second set of remains that appeared to be much older.

On April 5, 2017, the first set of remains were identified as Jessica Runions by the Kansas City Medical Examiner’s Office and Kansas City Crime Lab.

On August 16, 2017, the second set of remains were identified as Kara Kopetsky at the FBI Crime Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

Kylr Yust charged with murder in deaths of Kopetsky and Runions

On October 6, 2017, Kylr Yust was charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of abandoning a corpse related to the disappearance and murder of Kara Kopetsky in 2007 and Jessica Runions in 2016.

On April 15, 2021, Kylr Yust was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in Kara Kopetsky’s death and second-degree murder in Jessica Runions’ death.

On June 7, 2021, Kylr Yust was sentenced to 45 years in prison after the judge accepted the jury’s recommended maximum sentence in his murder trial. His 15 year sentence for Kara Kopetsky’s death and life imprisonment for Jessica Runions’ will be served consecutively.

Brandon Lawson

26 year old Brandon Lawson was last seen leaving his San Angelo, Texas home on August 8, 2013 at approximately 11:55 pm. He left after getting into an argument with his girlfriend, with the intention of going to his father’s home.

Disappearance

On the night of August 8, 2013 Brandon got into an argument with his longtime girlfriend, Ladessa Lofton. Looking for some time to cool off, he called his father and told him he was coming over. He left in his truck to head off to his father’s house at approximately 11:55 pm.

About 45 minutes later Brandon called his brother, Kyle, stating that he had run out of gas on Highway 277 near Bronte, Texas. After the call Kyle and his girlfriend headed out to bring him a gas can.

Brandon then made a call to 911 at 12:50 am, stating he was stranded. “Yes, I’m in the middle of a field (inaudible) pushed some guys over, right here going toward Abilene, on both sides,” Lawson says, according to a transcript of the 911 call. “My truck ran out of gas, there’s one car here, the guy’s chasing (inaudible) to the woods, please hurry!”

When the 911 operator asked if he needed an ambulance Brandon replied no, he needed police to respond.

A Deputy arrived at Brandon’s truck around 1:10 am, after a 911 call reported Brandon’s F-150 obstructing traffic on U.S. 277 by being over the white line. Kyle and his girlfriend arrived at the same time, but there was no sign of Brandon.

The truck was located on U.S. 227, approximately four miles south of Bronte, Texas. The gas tank was empty, and there was no damage to the vehicle. His keys and cell phone were also missing.

While talking with the responding deputy, Kyle received another call from Brandon, telling him he was “ten minutes up the road,” and that he was bleeding; after that his phone went dead. His cell phone was going in an out during the call, making it hard to understand him.

Kyle, not aware of the 911 call Brandon had made at this point, assumed he may have been hiding due to an outstanding warrant he had, so didn’t mention it to the deputy.

According to reports the Deputy then drove up and down the road to see if he could spot Brandon, but found no signs of him. Kyle and his girlfriend left the gas can in the bed of the truck, so if Brandon came back he would be able to get gas.

Brandon hasn’t been seen or heard from since. His case remains unsolved.

Investigation

There has been no activity on Lawson’s bank accounts or cell phone since the night he disappeared.

An extensive search around the area of where Brandon’s truck was located was done on October 24, 2013, but no signs of Lawson were found.

Brandon Lawson’s Remains Found in 2022

On February 4, 2022, it was announced that the remains of Lawson had been found by a small search party, close to the area where he went missing nearly 10 years ago.

The Help Find Brandon Lawson facebook page, which is ran by his family, made the announcement while they awaited DNA testing.

Our main focus throughout this entire ordeal has been to bring Brandon home so that he can finally rest in peace and our family can have the answers we have prayed for. I know that many of you will have questions, but at this time we do not have those answers. We will keep everyone notified of all new developments. I ask that you please, respect our family’s privacy at this time while we wait for results.