Today marks 3 months since Joe disappeared and it appears we are no closer to bringing him home.
Family and police are being very tight-lipped, even after an emotional trip to LR by his former bandmate to search for him. We as of yet still do not know what direction he was seen heading after he left the night club. Was he heading home? Was he heading towards the river/lake? Was he heading towards the railroad tracks? Was he heading towards downtown where more bars awaited? Was he heading towards a liquor store? Just a basic direction would help tremendously, but this information is still being withheld from the public.
In my opinion, had he went anywhere but the river/lake and met with foul play, his body would have been recovered by now. A mugger or someone committing a random act of violence is unlikely to spend much time hiding a body. Even lifting a body up into a dumpster takes a lot of effort and time that few bother with. The one area, however, that concerns me is if he went near the river/lake. It would be very easy for a mugger to simply push him into the water, or given his mental state to fall into it. But the lake portion was the closest to him, meaning the current would be lower and less likely that a body would be pushed downstream. It would make sense that his body would have surfaced by now had this been the case.
What scenarios exist that do not involve foul play?
Some friends have said he might be in rehab. Joe had went to rehab in the past for alcoholism and it seems Joe had begun drinking again the night he went missing. Could he have decided to take his last paycheck and admit himself and cut ties with everyone until he was released? It's a possibility. Family has stated they have contacted some rehabs looking for him, but we have no information on which ones. It's also unclear whether a rehab facility would even tell you if a person has been admitted, especially if the person tells them they do not want anyone to know they are there. Rehab for alcoholism typically lasts 90 days, which if this is the case for Joe he might be released any day. Some programs, however, can last as long as 18 months. Inpatient rehabs are extremely expensive; 90 days could cost as much as $60,000. An outpatient program is much cheaper - costing only $5,000 for a 90 day program - but that would seem unlikely.
Some have pondered that Joe may have uncovered a drug ring in Little Rock related to the men he worked with at the Rehab facility. Could there have been drug Cartel connections and Joe was put into a witness protection type program? Or did Joe make one of these men in Rehab angry - possibly by sending them back to prison? Was Joe worried enough about it that he had family help him go somewhere that he could lay low? Interestingly, someone had mentioned that Joe came to Little Rock to lay low - is it possible someone from Denton had been angered at him that caused him to need to lay low and they were threatening to come after him in Little Rock? Recent posts on Facebook seem to indicate Joe was possibly being threatened by someone. The post to his nephew may have been a code to let family know that he was going to be leaving. Is it possible the inebriation at the bar he was last seen was just an act?
The day he went missing, Joe had contacted his nephew about camping. Many have indicated Joe would go into the Pacific Northwest to camp; others still have said he would go near Buffalo River in Arkansas to camp. Did he just decide to go camping without family? It's also possible this was a signal to family he simply was leaving and would be laying low for awhile. No information has been forthcoming from family or police that any camping areas that Joe frequented have been checked.
Joe had a gig in Austin in November that was related to "wizards and witches." The Craigslist ad has since been removed, but the introduction made little sense. It did indicate the possibility that it could turn into more work down the road. Is it possible Joe left early for the gig and is still working it in the Austin area? The same friend who told Joe about the "wizard" gig was sent several posts from Joe that included pictures of "wizards" in various locations throughout Little Rock. Wizards can indicate someone who is smoking marijuana, so it's difficult to tell with any certainty what the posts meant.
Another possibility is that Joe is in a hospital due to a mental or physical condition that is not allowing him to remember who he is. Family has indicated they have contacted all local hospitals without success.
Police seem to be content to work the case without any help from Joe's many friends. Many have contacted family asking about search parties and raising funds for external help, but they have all been thwarted.
I definitely hope Joe is okay and simply laying low for some reason. Hopefully whatever has caused him to do so will soon pass and he can again come home to friends and family in the very near future. He has lots of folks all over the world worried and praying for his safe return.
I really hope he went to rehab.
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