SC SC - Johnny Lamar Brown, 44, Myrtle Beach, 3 Aug 2012 - #1

[cocomod]

raying: for Johnny. How scared and alone he must be!!! How scared his parents must be! I hope that noone takes advantage of him. Hoping that the sighting near the hotel is him and he is found soon!!

 

[MissJames]

raying: for Johnny. How scared and alone he must be!!! How scared his parents must be! I hope that noone takes advantage of him. Hoping that the sighting near the hotel is him and he is found soon!!

Family has contacted Texas Equusearch . I feel like things are moving in the right direction.
Wouldn't it be great if Johnny was found before dark tonight ???? lease:

 

[Considering]

No, that road takes one to the NW toward Conway, then Florence and from there one can go further west on I 20 to Columbia etc. It would be AWAY from south Georgia technically from there to the outlet mall, and the route from Surfside Beach to there would be on interstate/divided highways with a LOT of traffic. The kind of highways where walking is not even allowed and would have been noticed. It appears that it is definitely another person, though, so not of concern in this case.

Lol. I'm not quite that map impaired, Raeann. It the road does go toward the NW. I live in NC now and I used to live in GA and SC is between them unless it moved. I was thinking they might start on that road in order to eventually reach I-20 because I knew that I-20 went to Atlanta and from I-20 I was thinking they would get I-75 towards Chattanooga because I thinking that Cartersville was in Bartow County, northwest of Atlanta.

OK. I just checked and Cartersville is in Bartow County which is northwest of Atlanta.

That being said, I don't think that Johnny would know how to get to Cartersville. I had in mind that maybe he had written down "Cartersville" and who had picked him up had dropped him off there to thinking he could catch a ride headed that way.

 

[SyraKelly]

I hope they find him safe-I am praying for him & his family!

 

[Jan]

I can sure feel for this family and their lost son. I have a 44 year old developmentally delayed daughter who lives with us because she is not able to live on her own. We don't usually let her go anywhere without us except maybe to ride her bike around the block. I know how horrified I'd be if she were missing. I hope this man is found soon and that he is safe.

 

[BethInAK]

is this the FB or is there another one?
http://www.facebook.com/HelpingTheJohnnyLamarBrownsFamily

I am still appalled that police would drive and leave someone that obviously had special needs- good grief they could have held him locally in some fashion while ascertaining his situation.

Yes APPALLED.
They are supposed to HELP people and not ENDANGER THEM.

I actually said WTF (The words and not the initials) aloud in the office when I read that they "left" him in some random place even though he knew his hotel name?

 

[MissJames]

I can sure feel for this family and their lost son. I have a 44 year old developmentally delayed daughter who lives with us because she is not able to live on her own. We don't usually let her go anywhere without us except maybe to ride her bike around the block. I know how horrified I'd be if she were missing. I hope this man is found soon and that he is safe.

Jan,
That's why I feel so compelled to do something .

My siggie is usually a picture of my son's service dog who tracks ,among other amazing feats. When you have a child of any age,who can't communicate easily and who can't really fend for themselves,it's really scary .
No matter how much you do,there's always that one unexpected thing that happens,you turn around and the child is gone.

I keep waiting for the headline that Johnny's been found.

 

[BethInAK]

This case is really disturbing to me - partly the actions of the police, but also ..I just can't help but think if people who see/saw Johnny were compassionate and just asked him if he needed help that he would have been home long ago. Someone would immediately see that he is developmentally delayed if they just checked on him.

And I can't help but think that its because he looks like your regular old middle aged black guy that people aren't asking. HE JUST NEEDS ONE PERSON TO NOTICE HE NEEDS HELP AND TO HAND HIM A PEN AND PAPER AND HE WILL GET TO GO HOME.

I hope its not too late.

 

[MissJames]

Yes APPALLED.
They are supposed to HELP people and not ENDANGER THEM.

I actually said WTF (The words and not the initials) aloud in the office when I read that they "left" him in some random place even though he knew his hotel name?

That was my initial reaction but maybe their hands were tied .There's policy ,protocol and civil rights for the disabled. I think we need to hear what they say happened.
It's just so frustrating !

 

[BethInAK]

That was my initial reaction but maybe their hands were tied .There's policy ,protocol and civil rights for the disabled. I think we need to hear what they say happened.
It's just so frustrating !

I suppose its possible Johnny asked them to dump him in some random place, but I doubt that is what happened. If he didn't, they could have helped without violating his rights.

 

[MissJames]

This case is really disturbing to me - partly the actions of the police, but also ..I just can't help but think if people who see/saw Johnny were compassionate and just asked him if he needed help that he would have been home long ago. Someone would immediately see that he is developmentally delayed if they just checked on him.

And I can't help but think that its because he looks like your regular old middle aged black guy that people aren't asking. HE JUST NEEDS ONE PERSON TO NOTICE HE NEEDS HELP AND TO HAND HIM A PEN AND PAPER AND HE WILL GET TO GO HOME.

I hope its not too late.

The police did call the hotel and and ran through a data base . The waitress at the BBQ House said they just couldn't understand him.She's distraught because she knows that was an opportunity ,lost.
It is disturbing and hopefully some people are becoming better educated to know when to call help.
The reason I even mentioned those incidents was to show something of a timeline and that there have been confirmed sightings,not to criticize anyone.
Oprah always quoted Maya Angelou "When you know better you do better".

 

[MissJames]

I suppose its possible Johnny asked them to dump him in some random place, but I doubt that is what happened. If he didn't, they could have helped without violating his rights.

I agree .I have a Johnny ,but he's only 10 now. I would hope people would rise to the occasion ,but then,how many times did I pass by ,wondering ,but not doing anything?
But right now I really hope we can put the focus on finding Johnny . This is one missing person who has a chance to be found alive.

There's a woman here in my area ,who disappeared 5 mos ago . It's been labeled a homicide (the family agrees) and her husband is officially being called a suspect,yet a search group just put up a big billboard with her picture saying Missing : if seen please call....

She's not coming home alive,but there's still a good chance Johnny can be found alive ,he just needs the public to know what and who to look for.

 

[MissJames]

It's getting dark. Johnny ,ask for help .Go inside .Go back to the BBQ House .

 

[Considering]

Is anyone here (here at WS) at Myrtle Beach? I'm wondering if his picture has been put up at restaurants and gas stations. There are many tourists at Myrtle Beach right now that would see them. Faxing his picture to desks of the hotels/motels might be a good idea, too, in case he should wander inside of one. Another thought is (a few years ago, anyway) there was a TV channel there that just ran ads (it was only pictures on the screen as I remember) for nearby places to visit around town, the weather, etc. It would be good if they could put his picture on there for people to see, too (I think a better picture is needed, BTW). I don't know if he would wander out on the beach but if the family thinks he might, giving the lifeguards his photo and info could help him as well.

I wish someone would find Johnny. I'm a speech pathologist. Sometimes, people have a tendency to say, "uh-huh" or something similar when someone with a severe speech impairment attempts to communicate with them. Then, they walk away. I'm afraid something like that may be happening to Johnny. It makes me want to drive to Myrtle Beach and search for him myself.

 

[Steely Dan]

lease:

 

[MissJames]

Is anyone here at Myrtle Beach? I'm wondering if his picture has been put up at restaurants and gas stations. There are many tourists at Myrtle Beach right now that would see them. Faxing his picture to desks of the hotels/motels might be a good idea, too, in case he should wander inside of one. Another thought is (a few years ago, anyway) there was a TV channel there that just ran ads (it was only pictures on the screen as I remember) for nearby places to visit around town, the weather, etc. It would be good if they could put his picture on there for people to see, too (I think a better picture is needed, BTW). I don't know if he would wander out on the beach but if the family thinks he might, giving the lifeguards his photo and info could help him as well.

I wish someone would find Johnny. I'm a speech pathologist. Sometimes, people have a tendency to say, "uh-huh" or something similar when someone with a severe speech impairment attempts to communicate with them. Then, they walk away. I'm afraid something like that may be happening to Johnny. It makes me want to drive to Myrtle Beach and search for him myself.

I think you're right.People are turning away because they don't realize he needs help.
There is another picture on his flyer but I would want it to shout special needs in the biggest letters at the top.
His sister said many places are putting the flyers up behind cash registers and counters so they aren't easily noticed.
I'm riding up tomorrow and if there isn't an organized search I'll ride around the areas near all spots where he was sited.
This happened 3 weeks ago. I wish there had been a boatload of publicity in the beginning.

 

[MissJames]

Well ,this day didn't turn out as we hoped. I pray Johnny has shelter and someone is helping him,even if they don't realize he is missing.

 

[summer_breeze]

Well ,this day didn't turn out as we hoped. I pray Johnny has shelter and someone is helping him,even if they don't realize he is missing.

Ditto for me MissJames. Praying for Johnny's safety.

 

[katydid23]

I TOTALLY agree with this analysis! If they were able to ascertain the hotel name, then instead of calling, how about driving over there! They might ask, "Have you seen him before?" "Could he be a vacationer here?" This is prime time for vacations in Myrtle Beach. Why not drive Mr. Brown over there and do just a bit of research?! How sad.

Why would they think he 'worked' there if he could not speak clearly enough to answer questions?

 

[Considering]

He could be anywhere by now, but making more people aware of him in Myrtle Beach seems important to me. Many people come to Myrtle Beach and from different places but a lot of those people originate from the same town/area. It's always possible that someone gave him a ride and would remember it if only they saw his picture or someone mentioned him. This case needs publicity and a lot of it. Remember the girl that was dropped off at a bar in TN a few months ago and couldn't tell anyone her name? We're dealing with another person with a disability in this case, Johnny, but it's the opposite situation. We know who Johnny is. We don't know where he is. He could be in a homeless shelter, a park, a church service, a soup kitchen, etc., in any state, especially if he got a ride with a trucker. His picture behind a counter is helpful, but not nearly as helpful as having it on public display and, I agree, MissJames, I would put "Special Needs" in huge letters above his picture and that he has a severe speech impairment, too. People need to understand who Johnny is. This is such a sad situation. I wish his picture could be on national television, even if only for a minute or two.