AR AR - James Valdez, 47, car found with message asking for help, Booneville, 10 Jun 2021

[mlhenn]

Booneville man missing since June

Sept 27
Valdez was last seen on approximately June 12 in Ozark when he went to have dinner with friends, his sister Shawn Claiborne said.

Valdez told the friends that he would return to Booneville but has not been seen since.

His wife Anna Valdez reported him missing June 20, but she said for the first month, the police did not take a lot of action to find her husband.


“I don’t know if drugs were involved in his disappearance, but I do know he was clean up until the time of June the 12," Claiborne said.

Claiborne said she is appreciative of the work that the police have done including organized searches to look for Valdez.

“I have to say I am so impressed with what they do because that search was not easy. It was super high weeds and insects and snakes and ticks," said Claiborne, who left her home in Texas to attend one search.

Officer Kody Smith said the Booneville Police Department has done about 10 searches looking for Valdez and has been following up on leads.


**Note the difference in opinions

 

[whatiknow]

**Note the difference in opinions

That could just be how the quotes were cut. Someone can be annoyed that it took the police so long to get involved and also appreciative of the hard work they have put in since. The sister may be a more positive person and emphasized the appreciation or the reporter could have emphasized one moment of frustration from the wife.

 

[rwscott92]

Hello, all. I am very new to this website, but wanted to contribute to this investigation. I was a police officer in Texas, but I grew up in Booneville and now reside there. I grew up right in the area that Mr. Valdez is believed to have gone missing. I know the area very well, but have admittedly not been following this particular case. I am curious if the general consensus here is that, whatever happened, it must have been where the truck was found or if it is more likely that the truck was just dumped there.(?) I wonder if anyone knows anything about the wife's knowledge of the area (or perhaps there is a better suspect?) or if they may have uncovered an idea of where to look but aren't able to do so themselves. I saw someone posted that this is the area where he grew up? Does anyone have an address of his childhood home? There are several thousands of acres of public land where the truck was found and hundreds of thousands more of public mountainous land close to the area. Any pinpointing of an area would help greatly.

 

[mlhenn]

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James “Jamie” Valdez (47)
Booneville, Arkansas
June 10, 2021

Jamie was last seen on June 10 driving off after having an argument with family at a home in Booneville.

After around 10 days, his vehicle was found in Sugar Grove. Along with the vehicle's keys missing, the driver's seat was also adjusted and pulled forward.

Family members say parts of the vehicle engine were damaged and the keys were missing.


The family says it's unlike Valdez to not stay in contact with anyone. He would never go this long without being with his daughter.

Booneville officers and cadaver dogs have searched the area where they found Valdez's vehicle are still actively looking.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Booneville Police at (479) 675-3508.

NOTE: There are a few photos included with the post at the link above; they show the condition the car was found in (damaged engine, the driver’s seat).

 

[mlhenn]

There are several thousands of acres of public land where the truck was found and hundreds of thousands more of public mountainous land close to the area. Any pinpointing of an area would help greatly.

I live in a different part of the state and although I’ve been to Boone County numerous times I am not very familiar with the area his car was located in.
However, several links have shared a few details concerning the location (links can be found in previous posts); hope this helps a little!

1.Jamie’s vehicle was found in Sugar Grove.
2.It was first discovered by some teens (the teens were unaware at the time the vehicle belonged to a missing man) at The Bluff/Swimming Hole.
3. Jamie’s vehicle was located by his wife’s boss by the Swimming Hole off of Dry Creek Rd.

 

[mlhenn]

Booneville man missing since June

This is the article I posted Monday. I was rereading it and can’t believe I missed these details!

(From the article)
1) Valdez was last seen on approximately June 12 in Ozark when he went to have dinner with friends, his sister Shawn Claiborne said.
-June 12 is two days after he was initially said to have been “last seen”
-And the last seen location is now Ozark
IMO, this is big. It means Jamie actually did make it to Ozark where he stated he intended to go after the fight with his wife. It also shows us that Jamie was alive and well (considering the circumstances) at least 2 days after he initially left.

(also from article)
2) Valdez told the friends that he would return to Booneville but has not been seen since.
-We now know (according to those friends) that Jamie intended on going back to Booneville. If accurate, then that would make sense that his vehicle was later found back close to Booneville.

IMO, these new details make sense. Jamie travelled to Ozark like he intended, took a couple days to reflect on the argument with his wife, enjoy dinner with friends, and then return back home. Again IMO.

 

[mlhenn]

Log into Facebook Logan County, Arkansas Sheriff’s Office

@rwscott92 I found another location mentioned; the area may possibly sound familiar to you. Hope it helps!

September 23
We have been trying to locate James “Jamie” Valdez since June of this year.

We have conducted and/or assisted Booneville PD on many searches in the Sugar Grove and Lick Creek communities.
(Photos of search included with post; linked above)

 

[rwscott92]

Hello! Sorry for not responding. I've been going through this information and I am having difficulty sorting it out. Sugar Grove and Lick Creek are on opposite sides of Blue Mountain Lake. I had intially heard he was found at Sugar Creek, which is a very long Creek with multiple access points. Dry Creek Rd where, from my understanding, his truck was found is not immediately accessible from Lick Creek. It is from Sugar Grove. It turns off County Line rd (which DOES lead to Lick Creek) and proceeds to take you up towards Hole in The Ground Mountain and Hogan Mountain. I looked through the photos on Facebook, but that looks like most of the area around here. The only thing I can really say about it is that they are sticking to lower elevations. I am trying my hardest to imagine a scenario where he would have tried to make his way up one of the mountains, but I don't know. Has anyone looked at a map and compiled what they believe to be a set of possible places he could have gone, or in another scenario, where he could have been placed? I know that's asking a lot, but I'm looking at maps right now and my interpretation of the information provided is leading me all over the place.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

Yes, definitely possible to get confusion/delirium (and eventually a loss of consciousness) with low sugar (hypoglycemia). Not as common with type 2 diabetics (which I'm just assuming he is based on age n weight but who knows) with consistent diets but if he ended up in a situation where he couldn't get food he could definitely become hypo. (another way Type 2 diabetics become hypo is when they take too much insulin without subsequent glucose intake, I'd be interested in learning more about his health and when he left i.e. did he take his insulin before a meal and then storm off before he could eat?)

Jamie took oral diabetic medication. He has in the past had to take insulin, but after losing some weight was able to switch to the oral. His sugar had been very high for several weeks before the incident and his wife was trying to get him to talk to the doctor about getting on insulin to control the sugar. She said when his sugar would get off, that he'd get very agitated and cranky.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

I am a handwriting analyst, although it has been a number of years since I have taken professional cases. At one time I taught, lectured, and wrote a newspaper column on the subject. I didn't specialize in forensics, and most of my business clients used my services for hiring and other personnel situations. The only 3 forensic cases I worked were as a favor to business clients and they all had a favorable outcome; 2 were check forgeries and in the 3rd case (which was quite interesting) an employee of the company had written obscene notes on the bottoms of letters that were being mailed to clients under the signature of the president of the company. In the 3rd case I was given samples of writing of the 63 employees of the company, and I was able to identify the writer even though he had written with the opposite hand and had printed childishly. My main clues in identifying the writer were in the angles of his connecting strokes.

It would be extremely difficult to compare the writing on the window of a car with writing on paper, and chances are it would be inconclusive. There is a slight possibility, however, that there could be a distinctive trait that would carry through no matter what the writing instrument or the surface.

According to the chief, 4 young men came forward and 2 of them said they'd written on the back window. One wrote, "Help me" and the other wrote "He is near".

 

[Sclaiborne100]

Two family member’s of Jamie and a missing persons advocate were interviewed in the video above.

Information that stood out:
•Jamie had a cell phone but he didn’t have a carrier plan (only WiFi capabilities) so LE weren’t able to ping phone according to his sister
•Jamie stayed in constant contact with family including his daughter, but he has not been heard from; his sister stated she truly believes he isn’t alive.
•Jamie’s wife was called into work and he got upset because he wanted her to stay at home; the two argued at the house in front of some of her family members
•later on Jamie showed up at his wife’s workplace to continue conversation but his wife didn’t have time (she was working)
•Jamie’s wife told his sister that he then left, went back to the house, picked up some clothes & $600, and left. His family hasn’t seen him since.
•His vehicle was eventually found by his wife’s boss/boss’s husband near the swimming hole on June 19.
•The next day his wife filed a missing person’s report (which had to be edited due to several errors)
•His vehicle was found with writing on the window; it was later learned that teens wrote on it being funny two days earlier.
•According to the teens the vehicle was running when they approached it on June 17. After coming back to it a little later it was no longer running. That’s when they wrote on it.
•There was damage to the vehicle that wasn’t there prior to Jamie missing.
•LE conducted ground and water searches
•Jamie’s insurance card, some loose change, and other belongings were found near where his vehicle was found.
•Jamie is a recovering addict, but believed to be clean and sober for a year
•He was diabetic but not insulin dependent

....
So after an argument with his wife, Jamie grabs some clothes & cash, and he disappears (June 10). His wife contacts Jamie’s sister a couple days later and tells her he’s missing and how they argued.
Question: If his wife was at work, how did she know that Jamie went home to grab clothes and $600? Did he call and tell her? Did she just notice those items were missing? Were her family members at the house and saw him getting the items before leaving?
Jamie’s sister starts asking his friends if they’ve seen him etc
On June 17, some teens come upon Jamie’s vehicle abandoned at the swimming hole. Not knowing it belonged to a missing person, they write on the windows being funny.
On June 19, the wife’s boss or boss’s spouse finds Jamie’s vehicle at the swimming hole (not knowing about the teens seeing it 2 days earlier). His wife calls his sister to tell her the vehicle was found and the sister tells the wife to file a missing persons report. The wife does so the next day (20th). According to the sister, there were several mistakes/“holes” in the report and the wife said she’d get it fixed.

The wife's mother and her brother with the brother's 2 daughters currently also live in the house and told Anna he had come by. In regards to the money, it's not been said how she noticed it was missing. The money belonged to the mother.
The police report had an incorrect date of when he left as well as the wrong residence address.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

Hello, all. I am very new to this website, but wanted to contribute to this investigation. I was a police officer in Texas, but I grew up in Booneville and now reside there. I grew up right in the area that Mr. Valdez is believed to have gone missing. I know the area very well, but have admittedly not been following this particular case. I am curious if the general consensus here is that, whatever happened, it must have been where the truck was found or if it is more likely that the truck was just dumped there.(?) I wonder if anyone knows anything about the wife's knowledge of the area (or perhaps there is a better suspect?) or if they may have uncovered an idea of where to look but aren't able to do so themselves. I saw someone posted that this is the area where he grew up? Does anyone have an address of his childhood home? There are several thousands of acres of public land where the truck was found and hundreds of thousands more of public mountainous land close to the area. Any pinpointing of an area would help greatly.

Our mother lived at 755 Dry Creek Road.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

How tall is his wife?

Nearly 6 feet

 

[CocoChanel]

TO ALL NEW MEMBERS - WELCOME TO WEBSLEUTHS

If you are close to the missing person James Valdez and the circumstances under which he went missing we invite and encourage you to apply for Verified Insider status HERE. Websleuths is fact- based, and any information members post as facts must include substantiating links to that info in mainstream media. If you can’t link it, you can’t post it and it will be removed.

However, if you are approved as a Verified Insider, you may post what you know to be true without providing links. Once approved, we may be able to restore any posts of yours that had been removed prior to your VI status.

We hope any family members who are here will consider becoming a Verified Insider. We are dedicated to helping and supporting the family and friends of missing persons during this difficult time.

CocoChanel
Administrator/Moderator

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Sclaiborne100 has now been Verified as a family member of James Valdez. As a VI, they are not required to provide links to what they state regarding their knowledge and facts in this discussion. In all other respects, our VIs are required to post in accordance with Websleuths TOS (aka The Rules, found here).

We always welcome and value our Verified members. As always, please treat our VI with respect and sensitivity at all times. It is up to members to decide for themselves how much weight to give to information provided by any VI, but if you disagree at all, do not argue or challenge them in any way. If you do happen to disagree, just scroll and roll.

Now that verification has been completed we will reinstate previous posts made by our Verified Insider.

Thank you to Sclaiborne100 for being here for your brother James, and to all others who are here to discuss this case and hopefully help in bringing resolution regarding James' disappearance.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Candlight vigil held in Booneville for missing man | 5newsonline.com

 

[mlhenn]

Candlight vigil held in Booneville for missing man | 5newsonline.com

A candlelight vigil will be held today (Oct. 23) for a man that has been missing from Logan County since June 2021.

47-year-old James Valdez also known as "Jamie" went missing on June 10 after driving off after having an argument with family at a home in Booneville.

Ten days later, Valdez's vehicle was found in Sugar Grove.

His vehicle's keys were missing and the driver's seat was also adjusted and pulled forward, according to police.

 

[bykerladi]

Seat pulled forward? I thought originally said it was back. Well, if it was all the way forward then it could've been an attempt to throw people off.

 

[mlhenn]

Seat pulled forward? I thought originally said it was back. Well, if it was all the way forward then it could've been an attempt to throw people off.

The original post to the thread by @GuyfromCanada states “the seat pulled forward/up”

 

[mlhenn]

Community holds candlelight vigil for missing Booneville man

His insurance card was located outside the vehicle. Searches, including a dive team, have turned up nothing in the way of leads.