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| 2006 Freeman , Byron June 2006?; From LA. but was in TX | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 17 2006, 07:27 PM (180 Views) | |
| ELL | Sep 17 2006, 07:27 PM Post #1 |
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Updated August 18, 2006 3:12 AM Family seeks leads in search By CRAIG KAPITAN Eagle Staff Writer B. FREEMAN Lauris Freeman spent most of Thursday afternoon driving east on Texas 79, stopping every chance he got along the 75-mile stretch between Franklin and Palestine to distribute fliers containing information about his uncle. Since his arrival in Texas on Wednesday, the Los Angeles resident and his father, Vernon, have had one purpose: To revive interest in a missing persons case that has waned as leads have dried up. Byron Freeman - a 70-year-old Army veteran and retired Los Angeles County animal control officer - disappeared in June while driving along the highway in Robertson County. He was following a friend to a high school reunion in Palestine when he apparently took a wrong turn. His rental car was later found abandoned along the roadway - his keys and cell phone still inside. Byron Freeman hasn't been seen since. "It's been 50-some-odd days now since he's been missing, and there's been no real trace of him," Lauris Freeman said Thursday while pulled over along the highway. "When investigators run out of things to investigate, you end up with no answers. "That's the most frustrating part. It's like he vanished. And if it's not a sensational case, families just feel like they don't have a lot of resources." After starting out in the Bryan-College Station area, Lauris and Vernon Freeman spent Thursday morning meeting with a Robertson County Sheriff's Office investigator before tracing the route to Palestine. They plan to meet with investigators and residents there Friday, they said. The "baby brother" of eight children - many of whom, like him, eventually settled in California - Byron Freeman regularly took trips to Texas to attend annual high school get-togethers. "He was just a well-loved man, by friends from here to California," Lauris Freeman said. "He was excited every summer about getting out to this reunion. When he didn't show up to the picnic, people started to wonder where he was." The search for Byron Freeman peaked in July when Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit agency specializing in mounted searches of missing persons, scoured a 15-mile swath of wooded area in Robertson County, near where the abandoned rental car was found. Since then, family members said, there hasn't been much else to go on. Although Byron Freeman has never been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the family now believes he had been showing early signs of dementia before the trip and could be lost and confused. "There's no question he got disoriented once he got to Texas," Lauris Freeman said. "Maybe being outside his home area caused more confusion." In addition to police stations and hospitals, the family has contacted homeless shelters and mental health facilities throughout the area in hopes they might find a new lead. Because Byron Freeman was last seen walking along the highway about 11 p.m., family members also wonder if he might have hitchhiked to another area. If that's the case, he could be anywhere, Lauris Freeman said. But the family has to start somewhere, he said, so it makes sense to focus on the immediate area first. Foul play is also possible, he conceded, but the evidence doesn't seem to suggest that. There hasn't been any activity on Byron Freeman's credit cards and there was no sign of a struggle in or around the rental car, he said. "As time passes, it just gets harder and harder for our family," Lauris Freeman said Thursday, expressing sympathy for his father and his uncle's other surviving siblings. "For them to lose their baby brother at this point in their lives is just terrible. "I just want to remain hopeful. I believe he's out there, and I want to make sure I can do anything possible to help my family keep this story alive." The Freemans will be meeting with Palestine residents Friday evening at the Palestine Civic Center. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the discovery of Byron Freeman's whereabouts. Residents with information on the case have been asked to call the Anderson County Sheriff's Office at (903) 729-6068 or the Robertson County Sheriff's Office at (979) 828-3299. To download a missing persons poster for Freeman, visit: www.texasequusearch.org/missing_persons/ ByronFreeman.pdf. • Craig Kapitan's e-mail address is craig.kapitan@theeagle.com. |
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3:45 AM Jul 11