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

[bykerladi]

Based on the seat position, I suspect James was NOT the one driving the car.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Based on the seat position, I suspect James was NOT the one driving the car.

Or was not the last person driving the car.......

 

[Happypetitvieux01]

Same here.
It’s one aspect that I keep going back to for whatever reason, always in the back of my mind when reading about his disappearance

Right on ... it's my first big red flag in this story. Not sure what to think about the fact that wife's boss is first one to find the car, alone. New boss since a few days only. Something is weird with that part of the strory.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

BBM

But LE is attempting to get the phone records, correct?
Does it normally take this long to obtain them?

Just heard from LE today and still no phone records. This is beyond frustrating.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

So when the car was found by the 4 teenagers two days before being discovered by his wife's boss, someone was sitting inside the car with the engine running ?

That's what the chief told me after the 4 young men went in to talk with him after the newscast. When they got to the bluff hole, the car was running and they didn't notice who was sitting inside. I went to the area and you would have to walk RIGHT by the vehicle to get to the bluff hole as the vehicle was parked in the way. When they came back from swimming (although there was very little water so could not have been much of a swim - maybe a foot or so of water if that) the car was off and that's when they decided to have some fun and write the messages on the back windshield. It rained between the time his wife took photos on the 19th and the police went out there to search. The writing on the back window was gone when the police went out.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

So, James went missing on the 10th, his car was found on the 17th by a group of teenagers and then on the 19th James's wife's boss and her husband came across his car and reported it to LE.

It is interesting that his car was found by someone close to his wife, were they actively searching for James or his car, or did they just happen to come across it ?

Most interesting of all is that the teenagers who found the car 7 days after James went missing reported that the car was running and someone was sitting inside it, but that person had left the vehicle when they returned to it a few hours later.

Who was sitting in the car ? If it was James he had already been missing for 7 days by that point. I haven't seen any mention of food wrappings found in or near the car. If it was James in the car on the 17th surely there would be evidence of him having had food and drink for the past 7 days. He had money with him to buy food, as he apparently took $600 cash with him.

Having diabetes and no medication with him he would be becoming very unwell by that point and probably wouldn't be far from the car if he left it. However, he has not been found nearby, so where is he ?

It seems unlikely that it was James sitting in the car given the length of time since disappearance, so who was that in the car, and why was it running.

The wife's boss is a woman. It was her husband who found Jamie's vehicle. There is a family cemetery in the area and he goes to visit his deceased daughter. Her boss and boss's husband were both aware that Jamie was missing and were keeping an eye out for him and his vehicle. The boss's husband also knew Jamie very well and they'd been friends for years.
No reportings of any wrappers and no photos of any wrappers or drinks in the car. That's a VERY good point that I hadn't thought of! I've seen photos the wife took and photos the police took and there was not any fast food trash or any type of food trash at all! Jamie liked to eat!!

 

[Sclaiborne100]

If you haven't seen the interviews of Jamie's wife that I posted in the Facebook group JAMES “JAMIE” VALDEZ MISSING, you should go watch.

 

[mlhenn]

James Valdez - Disappeared

Posted April 5, 2022


Disappearance
On June 10, 2021, Valdez got into an argument with his wife at their residence in Booneville. Following the argument, he picked up some clothes, $600 in cash, and other personal belongings before driving off in his vehicle.

On June 12, 2021, Valdez was seen in Ozark, Arkansas, when he had dinner with friends and said that he would be returning home to Booneville.

Valdez never returned home, and has never been heard from again. He disappeared without his diabetes medications.

On June 19, 2021, his vehicle, a 2010 Chevy Equinox, was found abandoned by his wife’s boss near the Swimming Hole off of Dry Creek Road in Sugar Grove, Arkansas, about ten miles southeast of Booneville.

On June 20, 2021, his wife filed a missing person’s report with the Booneville Police Department after James failed to come back home.

Investigation
Authorities conducted an extensive search of the area where his vehicle was discovered with the help of search parties, cadaver dogs, and a dive team, but found no signs of James Valdez were found.

Authorities found some of his belongings outside of the vehicle, including his insurance card, some loose change, and clothes, but his cellphone and car keys were missing.

The driver’s seat was seemingly adjusted and pulled forward, and parts of the vehicle engine were damaged. A cryptic message which read “Help me, he is near” was found traced into the dirt on the back glass of the vehicle.

According to Valdez’s sister, the handwriting on the back of the window doesn’t match some of his old letters.

It was later revealed that four teens in the area first came across the vehicle still running on June 17, 2020. When they came back later, it was no longer running and they wrote the cryptic message as a joke.

Whereabouts
A $1,000 reward is currently being offered for information leading to his safe return, or to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for his disappearance.

The circumstances of James Valdez’s disappearance remain unclear and his case is currently classified as missing. His case remains unsolved

 

[mlhenn]

James Valdez - Disappeared

Investigating Agency
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of James Lubin Valdez please contact the Booneville Police Department at (479) 675-3508.

Resources & Further Information
James Lubin Valdez #MP81844 – National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
James Valdez – Arkansas Crime Information Center
Help Find Missing James Lubin Valdez– Facebook

News & Media Links
Missing Person: James Valdez has been missing from rural Logan County since June 17 – Today in Fort Smith 07/21
Family still searching for missing Logan County man – KFSM 5 News 08/21
Have you seen Jamie Valdez, Booneville man missing since June – Southwest Times Record 09/21

 

[#JUSTICE4WILDER]

Has it been discussed here yet what " parts of the vehicle engine were damaged "?

 

[mlhenn]

Has it been discussed here yet what " parts of the vehicle engine were damaged "?

@Sclaiborne100 may have insight on this.

 

[bykerladi]

I wonder if the engine was damaged because it was running (when the teens saw it) and perhaps ran out of gas or oil? (and an excuse to bump)

 

[Sclaiborne100]

Has it been discussed here yet what " parts of the vehicle engine were damaged "?

Pieces of the engine were disconnected such as the part that has the computer components as well as the battery and a couple of other things. The car was repossessed and taken to Florida where the lender was located, so I don't know if anything further was found out about the vehicle.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

I wonder if the engine was damaged because it was running (when the teens saw it) and perhaps ran out of gas or oil? (and an excuse to bump)

I had the opportunity to talk the young man (not a teenager as I was told by BPD) who was one of the ones to write on the back of the vehicle. He stated the car was NOT running as we were told by BPD. They didn't see anyone inside at all. He said all the car doors were locked.

 

[Sclaiborne100]

Here is quite an extensive video interview that people may find a lot of answers and it may bring up even more questions.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=284439690474519

 

[ashhouston]

No updates? This one's strange

 

[#JUSTICE4WILDER]

I will never understand how a human being can dispose of another person and have no shame, no regards for the mourning loved ones and not even lose sleep knowing what happened to Jamie and every other loved one who has never been brought home and laid in peace. EVER

 

[ashhouston]

I will never understand how a human being can dispose of another person and have no shame, no regards for the mourning loved ones and not even lose sleep knowing what happened to Jamie and every other loved one who has never been brought home and laid in peace. EVER

I know i keep checking on this case just because I feel like it could be solved

 

[Sclaiborne100]

No updates? This one's strange

I really wish there were updates!! We're working on raising the reward in the hopes that will bring someone forward!!
I have succeeded in making Jamie's wife mad at me by offering to pay for her to take a lie detector test through an independent agency. Then she commented on one of my Facebook posts and got verbally confronted by people who knew and loved Jamie and she ended up blocking me on Facebook.
We thought we had a major breakthrough on the case, but it ended up being a dead end, so are still fighting to find answers.
There's been some charges recently filed on the brother who lived with them which are very interesting. I'm hoping to post more about that at a later date.
If you haven't already joined the FB group James "Jamie" Valdez Missing, that's where we share some information. We don't share everything because of the ongoing investigation, but hope to one day be able to.

 

[bykerladi]

I'm so happy to hear LE is still investigating. She couldn't have done this alone. Someone else had to be involved.