MS MS - Jerry Armstrong, 18, Hernando, 23 Dec 1977

[Richard]

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Jerry Lee Armstrong, 18, Missing since December 23, 1977 from Hernando, MS

Jerry Lee Armstrong
Missing since December 23, 1977 from Hernando, DeSoto County, Mississippi
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics


Age at Time of Disappearance: 18 years old
Height & Weight: 5'6; 145 lbs
Distinguishing Characteristics: Black male. Black hair; brown eyes.
Clothing: Green suit with yellow shirt.

Circumstances of Disappearance


Jerry Armstrong was last seen on December 23, 1977. Armstrong drove to prom at the National Guard Armory in his brothers 1973 white Pontiac LeMans. The vehicle has red and black stripes down the sides and license plate #DAY485.

Several people saw him at the dance, and one saw him as he was leaving the dance. It was the last time the Hernando High School quarterback was seen.

The car Armstrong was driving has never been found.

Armstrong’s disappearance is believed by authorities to be linked to a hate crime.

Foul play is suspected.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department
662-429-1470

OR

Desoto County Crimestoppers
662-429-8477

Agency Case Number: 860403Z

Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:

MyFox Memphis
NamUs
The Doe Network: Case File 2192DMMS

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2192dmms.html

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Ohio case reminds region of its missing children

As Cleveland, Ohio, families welcome home decade-lost daughters this week, north Mississippi families still ache and wonder the fate of at least nine children.

[snip]

The region’s oldest missing child, now 52, is Jerry Lee Armstrong of Hernando.

Missing since Dec. 23, 1977, when he was 17, the youth was last seen driving a white Pontiac Le Mans.

Read more: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal - Ohio case reminds region of its missing children
​

 

[Kentuckiana]

Hey, there is a young man who was found on Christmas Day 1977 in Floyd County, IN who resembles this young man's picture. The height is off a bit. Could that have been a family member's "guesstimate" of his height? No mention of a car, but I know for a fact that cars go missing for decades in the underbrush of the Floyd's Knobs. A few years ago, a young man wrecked up there in his father's Jag and it was months before they saw the car, and that was long after they were up there actually looking for it and were unable to spot it from the road.

http://doenetwork.org/cases/843umin.html
Jerry Lee Armstrong

 

[Chocofreak13]

That UID is close, but Jerry doesn't appear to have a Widow's Peak. Beyond that, Floyd County is 2 states and over 6 hours away from Hernando, where Jerry was attending prom. The clothes also don't match. It's unlikely that he could have made it home, changed, and then left for there without anyone who knew him seeing him. I wish they had post-mortem photos, if his face was intact it'd be easier to compare. If the UID were naked, I'd be more willing to latch onto this.

If there was any connection at the time, methinks LE would have tried to interview people along the interstate (did they have rest stop gas stations back then?) to see if he had traveled anywhere.

I wish that LE had more information about his state of mind, the people around him, etc. They say that he's possibly the victim of a hate crime, but why did they come to that conclusion? Because of the area? It had been a full decade since the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, and he was also the local quarterback. In small towns, that's near celebrity status; unless the place was REALLY racist, I imagine the kid was well-liked. This is just tragic. :[

 

[Claireishere]

I saw that in 2009 DNA samples from his family was given as a possible body had been located? Any idea on the results?

 

[jpo74]

have they checked the local water areas, like ponds, lakes rivers etc. maybe he travelled a bit got lost and went into water, dont know but i wonder what conclusion they came up with possible hate crime besides his brother dating a white girl

 

[Lori_TX]

My brother was married to a girl from this area, and even in 2010, there was serious racial divide. It's like stepping back in time to another era. I bet in the 70s, that racism was even more apparent than it is now, which very hard for me to imagine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tonks118]

It would be difficult at best to check all the water around here (I'm in Hernando frequently). You have the Mississippi River about 30 minutes to the West, the Coldwater River that runs straight through Hernando and Arkabutla Lake which is a MASSIVE man made lake that runs from Hernando south into Tate County. There's a lot of water, a lot of woods and a lot of not much else. Truth be told I don't think they put much effort into looking for him. The stretch of Hwy 51 that runs from Hernando to Coldwater is just woods and a river even today with only scattered houses.

 

[DaisyChains]

Could this be Jerry? The scar above the left eye and other vitals are pretty on point. Not sure about the clothing though.
http://www.mmup.info/
Black Male
Located 12-9-1982
Skeletonized
Age:between 18 and 22 years of age.
Height and Weight: 5'6" and about 120 lbs.
Clothing: He was wearing brown pants and had a hawiian type print on his shirt. The shirt had a tag "Made in Korea". He also had on Converse tennis shoe.
Dntals: He had a strong overbite He had very poor dental and had cavities
Scars: would have had a scar on the leftside of his forehead high above the eye. .
It is estimated that he was there between 6 months and 3 yrs.
The bones were found while they were looking for baby Jane's mother. His remains were found on December 9th 1982 about 60 yards from where baby Jane was found in the Escatawpa river

Dental and DNA have been submitted

Contact:

Pascagoula PD
Det. Versiga

Though his DNA has been processed and dentals - and Jerry's has as well. So I guess there never was a match?

 

[Gardener1850]

Armstrong was last seen dropping his girlfriend off at her home after a school dance in Hernando, MS on December 23, 1977.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/10070/

 

[Fede]

Here is Jerry´s Charley Project site: http://charleyproject.org/case/jerry-lee-armstrong
Here it says that "One theory is that Jerry was targeted by the local Ku Klux Klan in a case of mistaken identity. His brother James was dating a Caucasian woman, which could have made the Klan angry at him. It's possible that Klan members attacked and murdered Jerry, believing he was James. James died of a gunshot wound to the chest in 1984. His death was ruled a suicide, but his mother and his other brother, Johnny, doubted that explanation. Johnny criticized the police, saying they failed to thoroughly investigate Jerry's disappearance in 1977. The current investigating officer said valuable documents were missing from Jerry's police file."

Here is Jerry´s profile in FBI-VICAP: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/jerry-lee-armstrong-1

And on this 2007 article they blame Jerry´s murder on a man from the Ku Klux Klan: http://www.desototimes.com/news/man...cle_9650ca65-5850-5a2c-8bda-824776949866.html

 

[sluethermac]

Unidentified Person Case

 

[Richard]

Jerry Lee Armstrong, 18, Missing 23 December 1977

Jerry, circa 1977; 1973 Pontiac LeMans

• Missing Since 12/23/1977
• Missing From Hernando, Mississippi
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 08/01/1960 (60)
• Age 17 years old
• Height and Weight 5'6, 145 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A dark green suit, a yellow shirt, a green tie and black shoes with stacked heels.
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Jerry has a scar over his left eye.

Details of Disappearance

Jerry was last seen in Hernando, Mississippi on December 23, 1977. That day he borrowed his brother James's white two-door 1973 Pontiac LeMans and drove to his school prom at the National Guard Armory. He was a senior at Hernando High School, and a quarterback on the football team.

Jerry disappeared after he took his girlfriend home. He has never been heard from again and the car he was driving was never recovered. It has red and black racing stripes on the side and the Mississippi license plate number DAY 485. A photo of the vehicle is posted with this case summary.

One theory is that Jerry was targeted by the local Ku Klux Klan in a case of mistaken identity. His brother James was dating a Caucasian woman, which could have made the Klan angry at him. It's possible that Klan members attacked and murdered Jerry, believing he was James.

James died of a gunshot wound to the chest in 1984. His death was ruled a suicide, but his mother and his other brother, Johnny, doubted that explanation. Johnny criticized the police, saying they failed to thoroughly investigate Jerry's disappearance in 1977. The current investigating officer said valuable documents were missing from Jerry's police file.

Authorities stated they hadn't ruled out anything in Jerry's disappearance, but they described him as an ordinary teenager who had no enemies and no reason for anyone to want to hurt him. He had a steady girlfriend and a job at a gas station.

Jerry's mother died in 1987, but Johnny is still alive and hopes for answers in Jerry's disappearance. His case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

• Mississippi Bureau of Investigation 662-934-3029
• DeSoto County Sheriff's Department 662-429-1470

Source Information

• MyFox Memphis
• The DeSoto Times Tribune
• NamUs
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Jerry Lee Armstrong – The Charley Project

 

[Atombudd]

News story with Jerry's family speaking from 2019. Family wants answers in teen's 1977 DeSoto County disappearance

 

[spartanx]

I have the impression that the police have something to do with this... in small towns they are more abusive but we know that the truth will never come to light... too much time has passed
rest in peace

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Jerry Lee Armstrong – The Charley Project

 

[Pennysmom1]

https://ucr.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/jerry-lee-armstrong-1/armstrong_jl_updatedjune2015.pdf

Missing Person / NamUs #MP10070

View NamUs missing person case MP10070 for Jerry Lee Armstrong missing from Hernando, Mississippi. Date of last contact: Dec 23, 1977. NCMEC case number: 1169791.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

Jerry Lee Armstrong

Left and Right: Jerry circa, 1977 Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance Missing Since: December 23, 1977 Missing From: Hernando, DeSoto County, Mississippi Classification: Endangered Missing Da…

rcccmcc.com

<< It’s also been noted that many Caucasian guys were unhappy with the fact that Jerry was the head quarterback of the schools football team. They did not agree with it and they resented the whole thing.

Jerry’s girlfriends home is located in the eastern DeSoto community of Dark Corners, just south of the Byhalia and Craft Road intersection. It’s believed he was stopped on Craft Road and was attacked and killed. Johnny believes the murder was planned out by the Klan including the plan to bury the car and they planned to block off the road so he couldn’t get away.

Multiple rumors have spread regarding Jerry’s presumed murder. Investigators have also stated that multiple witnesses in the case have been intimated by the presence of law enforcement. Jerry’s family has also received death threats and such and have been told to back off from the case. It’s possible Jerry’s remains were buried in a landfill after his presumed death.

Johnny has criticized the police for mishandling the investigation into Jerry’s disappearance and said they did not thoroughly investigate the case when he was reported as missing in 1977. More current investigators have revealed that valuable documents were missing from the missing persons file on Jerry.

In 2009, the case received media exposure after human skeletal remains were discovered along a riverbank in Poinsett County, Arkansas. The remains matched Jerry’s description but subsequent DNA tests revealed the remains did not belong to him. He remains missing.>>

<<At the time of his disappearance, Jerry had a steady relationship with his girlfriend and a good paying job at a Coldwater Has Station. He was a senior student at Hernando High School and was the head quarterback of his football team. Jerry was described as an ordinary teenager at the time of his disappearance and had no real enemies at the time and no one who wanted or harm him.>>