MS MS - Hattiesburg, WhtMale 22-28, UP4746, hit by car, 'Steve Hex (Hicks)', red hair/freckles, Dec'98

[marion]

I am the one who called the police agency in MS. and the person I spoke to said that this man was id'd as Michael Curry. Another member was not satisfied with the finding and she put it back up on unidentifieds. Doe and others have never found that he has been id'd.

I searched websites for the connection of what the police told me but to no avail, there was nothing.

Someone may want to call and see what they get on this. The more inquiries and maybe we may come up with an answer.

Can we revisit this? I am local and have been researching this case for years and I keep coming back to Michael Curry, though I can’t seem to get anyone to take it seriously. Until someone explains to me where the name Michael Curry came from though, I will not stop asking. It may not be him but the name wasn’t just pulled out of thin air. There has to be a reason, especially if the America’s Most Wanted rumor from the beginning of this thread is true because the two sources don’t seem to connect. Could it be an alias? Could he have been ID’d and no one was able to claim him?

Dec. 12, 1998: Accident occured
Dec. 13, 1998: Newspaper reports they are trying to confirm his identity
Dec. 15, 1998: Newspaper reports that his name is Michael Curry

Absolutely nothing else I can find in the news about him, either unidentified or as Michael Curry. If he was unidentified, why didn’t they ask the public to identify him?

Pre-2007: Rumor on Websleuths that he was identified as Michael Curry via America’s Most Wanted

2009: The post above.

There are so many errors and just things that have been forgotten in this case that I really feel like this all needs to be revisited. For years I couldn’t find anything in the newspapers, because the date of the accident was wrong on all the info out there. I tried contacting the officer over the case a few years ago with no response, only to find out that he had retired and the contact info was never updated. The court case was thrown out because it took too long and the original detectives were no longer available. I could go on and on. The lack of communication between everyone involved in this case is atrocious and I feel like this may be all one big communication error. I’d love to see the original files.

 

[Dogwithabone]

Can we revisit this? I am local and have been researching this case for years and I keep coming back to Michael Curry, though I can’t seem to get anyone to take it seriously. Until someone explains to me where the name Michael Curry came from though, I will not stop asking. It may not be him but the name wasn’t just pulled out of thin air. There has to be a reason, especially if the America’s Most Wanted rumor from the beginning of this thread is true because the two sources don’t seem to connect. Could it be an alias? Could he have been ID’d and no one was able to claim him?

Dec. 12, 1998: Accident occured
Dec. 13, 1998: Newspaper reports they are trying to confirm his identity
Dec. 15, 1998: Newspaper reports that his name is Michael Curry

Absolutely nothing else I can find in the news about him, either unidentified or as Michael Curry. If he was unidentified, why didn’t they ask the public to identify him?

Pre-2007: Rumor on Websleuths that he was identified as Michael Curry via America’s Most Wanted

2009: The post above.

There are so many errors and just things that have been forgotten in this case that I really feel like this all needs to be revisited. For years I couldn’t find anything in the newspapers, because the date of the accident was wrong on all the info out there. I tried contacting the officer over the case a few years ago with no response, only to find out that he had retired and the contact info was never updated. The court case was thrown out because it took too long and the original detectives were no longer available. I could go on and on. The lack of communication between everyone involved in this case is atrocious and I feel like this may be all one big communication error. I’d love to see the original files.

I completely agree — this case is haunting, and it deserves both renewed attention and a resolution. I often find myself wondering about this young man’s story and the circumstances that led him to that highway. It is deeply unsettling that the person responsible faced such minimal consequences.

I have found the 1998 article you mentioned. It details an I-59 pedestrian accident involving a person with that name. As noted, every detail in the report aligns perfectly with our John Doe, with the sole exception of the name used ("Michael Curry").

Hattiesburg American: December 15, 1998
Publication: Hattiesburg American
Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Issue Date: December 15, 1998
Page: 12

Glendale Man Out on Bond

"Carl Haag, 58, was released on a $50,000 bond Monday. He is charged with aggravated assault and DUI refusal following a Saturday accident on I-59. A pedestrian, Michael Curry, remains in critical condition after being struck by a white pickup truck."

My preliminary research has hit a few roadblocks:

Firstly, I have been unable to locate appropriate burial records for a "Michael Curry" between 1998 and 2002. There are no archived newspaper mentions of a Michael Curry’s death in Mississippi during the window of May 2002. Curiously, there appears to be almost no contemporary media coverage regarding the 2002 John Doe death itself.

If Michael Curry is indeed the unidentified young man, the lack of documentation suggests two primary possibilities:

Firstly, in many cold cases, names surface without forensic confirmation. It is possible Michael Curry was later located, meaning he is not our John Doe. (similar cases include: St. Charles County Jane Doe (1968), Guadalupe County Jane Doe (1975), Helen "Ruth" Alps (1996)). Secondly, if the victim was from a different jurisdiction or state, the official identification process may have stalled due to poor communication between agencies, leaving him in a state of "perpetual unidentified status." (similar cases include: Rebecca Hill (1984), Robby Lynn Peay (1982), Wendy Abrams-Nishikai (1989)).

For those looking to follow up on these findings, here is the agency’s current phone directory. Hopefully, this information is new to the thread and helps move the investigation forward
Hattiesburg Phone Directory