David Abbott via Facebook.Photo:Fort Oglethorpe Police Department/ Facebook
Fort Oglethorpe Police Department/ Facebook
Skeletal remains that were discovered in McMinn County, Tennessee earlier this month, have been confirmed to belong to David Dewayne Abbott, a Georgia man who was reported missing on June 23, 2016.
Fort Oglethorpe Police Department retired detective Steve Blevins, who was the assigned detective following Abbott’s initial disappearance, continued to investigate the case, Guy said.
The body was located in Athens, less than a mile from where Abbott left his car. He was 43 when he disappeared, and his family later told police that he had schizophrenia and other health issues, said the sheriff.
According to Guy, investigators found no sign of foul play. Abbott seemed to have “walked off into the wooded area and passed away shortly after leaving his truck on County Road 126,” Guy said in his statement.
“He stayed on top of this, even in his retirement,” Guy said of Blevins, perLocal 3 News. “Sometimes it’s just finding the truth out and being able to bring some resolutions to the family.”
“We are fortunate to have located Mr. Abbott, confirm his identity, and bring some peace to his family,'” Guy said.
“We feel like he was ripped right out of our lives,” Abbott’s fiancé Regina Snyder toldNews Channel 9. “Weeks turned into months turned into years with no answers.”
“How? Why? I mean, I don’t understand how locals they’re didn’t see or smell anything that close to a business, that close to a road,” Snyder said. “I feel like it’s a blessing that we found him.”
“He didn’t get to see me be a mom. He didn’t get to meet my little girl,” Abbott’s stepdaughter Mikkayla told News Channel 9,
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Blevins told News Channel 9 that the case was open for too long. “We should have got to him,” he said. “I never had a missing person case that went on this long.”
source: people.com
