NC NC - Hester Keith Jr., 47, Wake County, 18 Feb 1988

[TheArtfulDetective]

Hester Maynard Keith, Jr.



Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: February 18, 1988
Location Last Seen: Wake County, North Carolina

Description:

• Date of Birth: September of 1940
• Age: 47 years old
• Race: White/Caucasian
• Gender: Male
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 200 lbs.
• Hair Color: Light gray
• Eye Color: Brown
• Nickname/Alias: Unknown
• Distinguishing Marks/Features: Burn scar on lower left leg.
• Clothing & Personal Items: Unknown
• Identifiers: Dental x-rays available

Circumstances of Disappearance:
Keith was last seen in Wake County, North Carolina on February 18, 1988. He spoke to his secretary via telephone early in the day and has never been heard from since. He planned on traveling to Sanford, North Carolina and then heading to Raleigh for a boat show that day, but he never arrived at either destination. Keith's blue and silver pickup truck was discovered in a wooded area near the Jordan Lake dam, but he was nowhere to be found. Few details are available regarding his disappearance.

Investigators:

• Wake County Sheriff's Office: (919) 856-6818
  Reference Case#: M287037564

• CUE Center for Missing Persons: (910) 343-1131
  CUE Center 24-hour tip line: (910) 232-1687

NCIC Number: M-287037564
NamUs #MP2425

Hester Keith Jr – CUE – Community United Effort
The Doe Network: Case File 76DMNC

 

[Armchair63]

This was the thread that I was going to post. I saw this on The Charlie project.
it seems at the time back in 1988 there was not much information on this put out, so I Did a little digging on my heritage and I found that he has family still in the area. A last known location is shown on a map with a picture of the same type of truck he was driving. The area I believe was undeveloped at the time of the photo. There were streets there but no buildings. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Curious_in_NC]

This was the thread that I was going to post. I saw this on The Charlie project.
it seems at the time back in 1988 there was not much information on this put out, so I Did a little digging on my heritage and I found that he has family still in the area. A last known location is shown on a map with a picture of the same type of truck he was driving. The area I believe was undeveloped at the time of the photo. There were streets there but no buildings. Any thoughts on this?

Here's the Charley Project link but there's no picture or map there. Was this info actually somewhere else? Hester Maynard Keith Jr. – The Charley Project

The area right next to the dam is still undeveloped as it is US Army Corps of Engineers property. There's some campgrounds nearby and some homes near the river area downstream of the dam. Not sure when these homes were built but likely it was after the dam project was completed in the 1970s.

Typically there are birders and people fishing near the dam most of the day, plus a visitor center. There's parking areas for that so if his truck was found in the woods, he wasn't likely there to check out the dam or fishing. More likely is someone else ditched the truck there.
ETA The dam is pretty much right along the route between Raleigh and Sanford (US 1).

 

[Caring1]

Here’s an article that has a little more detail stating that his truck was found on an abandoned railroad bed in Moncure, Chatham County. It also has another picture of Mr. Keith.

19 Feb 1989, 29 - The News and Observer at Newspapers.com

 

[Caring1]

 

[Armchair63]

The lake was finished in 1982, as I recall there was not much development at the lake during the late 80’s. I drove across that bridge on us1 quite a bit. It makes since that the was ditched in the woods and the body was put some where else and if the truck was found in Moncure that knocks out the woods altogether . Thanks for responding, this is fun.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Here’s an article that has a little more detail stating that his truck was found on an abandoned railroad bed in Moncure, Chatham County. It also has another picture of Mr. Keith.

19 Feb 1989, 29 - The News and Observer at Newspapers.com

Thanks! There's still a functioning railroad line that runs East/West through Moncure, mostly parallel to Old US1, but it looks like there was a spur from it at Moncure going North close to the dam. It was likely abandoned when the dam and lake were constructed, or maybe earlier.

Unfortunately this article makes it sound like foul play was highly suspected. I also noticed in the very recent obituary of his son that it said that Mr. Keith was believed to be deceased.

 

[Armchair63]

Here's the Charley Project link but there's no picture or map there. Was this info actually somewhere else? Hester Maynard Keith Jr. – The Charley Project

The area right next to the dam is still undeveloped as it is US Army Corps of Engineers property. There's some campgrounds nearby and some homes near the river area downstream of the dam. Not sure when these homes were built but likely it was after the dam project was completed in the 1970s.

Typically there are birders and people fishing near the dam most of the day, plus a visitor center. There's parking areas for that so if his truck was found in the woods, he wasn't likely there to check out the dam or fishing. More likely is someone else ditched the truck there.
ETA The dam is pretty much right along the route between Raleigh and Sanford
The map was on the NAMUS site
Missing Person / NamUs #MP2425

 

[Armchair63]

Thanks! There's still a functioning railroad line that runs East/West through Moncure, mostly parallel to Old US1, but it looks like there was a spur from it at Moncure going North close to the dam. It was likely abandoned when the dam and lake were constructed, or maybe earlier.

Unfortunately this article makes it sound like foul play was highly suspected. I also noticed in the very recent obituary of his son that it said that Mr. Keith was believed to be deceased.

I found this obituary of his son here is the link
bryan-leefuneralhome.com.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Here’s an article that has a little more detail stating that his truck was found on an abandoned railroad bed in Moncure, Chatham County. It also has another picture of Mr. Keith.

19 Feb 1989, 29 - The News and Observer at Newspapers.com

"The 48-year-old Wake County contractor told his secretary by mobile phone that he would pick up some loan papers at a local bank"
These details paint a different picture. Maybe he was going to a boat show later, but also going to a bank for loan papers suggests a possible reason he might be targeted for foul play. Also, this was 1988. Did you even know anyone then who knew someone with a mobile phone? They were the size of bricks and used 1G. Maybe it was someone else's? There's no mention if one was found in the truck. I can't say if there was any market for stolen phones back then, but it could have been attractive to someone for its novelty.

 

[Armchair63]

Thanks! There's still a functioning railroad line that runs East/West through Moncure, mostly parallel to Old US1, but it looks like there was a spur from it at Moncure going North close to the dam. It was likely abandoned when the dam and lake were constructed, or maybe earlier.

Unfortunately this article makes it sound like foul play was highly suspected. I also noticed in the very recent obituary of his son that it said that Mr. Keith was believed to be deceased.

The 4th paragraph is interesting. It says a lot.that’s my opinion

 

[Curious_in_NC]

The 4th paragraph is interesting. It says a lot.that’s my opinion

Yes, it seems likely there was foul play and it's unlikely this case will be solved after all this time. FWIW I mapped out where his truck was possibly found based on the descriptions (abandoned railroad bed near Moncure and Jordan Dam). This 1993 image from Google Earth shows where the abandoned railroad was (arrow). The railroad did a slightly sharper than 90 degree turn to the left before crossing Jordan Dam Rd. You can't tell where the railroad crossing was now.

FWIW the GPS coordinates listed in NamUs are often just generic locations like the center point of a city. In this case they pointed to a neighborhood in Raleigh, which made little sense.

 

[Armchair63]

The 4th paragraph is interesting. It says a lot.that’s my opinion

Yes, it seems likely there was foul play and it's unlikely this case will be solved after all this time. FWIW I mapped out where his truck was possibly found based on the descriptions (abandoned railroad bed near Moncure and Jordan Dam). This 1993 image from Google Earth shows where the abandoned railroad was (arrow). The railroad did a slightly sharper than 90 degree turn to the left before crossing Jordan Dam Rd. You can't tell where the railroad crossing was now.

FWIW the GPS coordinates listed in NamUs are often just generic locations like the center point of a city. In this case they pointed to a neighborhood in Raleigh, which made little sense.

Thanks
That last known location was near a bank

 

[Armchair63]

Thanks
That last known location was near a bank

Which was beside a residential neighborhood

 

[citizen_sleuth]

What was his occupation? The article mentions he had a secretary and a lawyer that represented him “in business”—I wonder what kind of business(es)? He also had a mobile phone, which was definitely not common in 1998.

 

[Armchair63]

What was his occupation? The article mentions he had a secretary and a lawyer that represented him “in business”—I wonder what kind of business(es)? He also had a mobile phone, which was definitely not common in 1998.

Here is a link with the answer

Feb 19, 1989, page 29 - The News and Observer at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from The News and Observer dated Feb 19, 1989, page 29.

www.newspapers.com

 

[Armchair63]

Here is a link with the answer

Feb 19, 1989, page 29 - The News and Observer at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from The News and Observer dated Feb 19, 1989, page 29.

www.newspapers.com

Contractor

 

[citizen_sleuth]

I clipped the newspaper article so everyone can read it even if they don't have a subscription:

Ellen Clear, "Hopes dim for missing Wake man," News and Observer [Raleigh], 19 February 1989, 29A, 40A.
- Part 1
- Part 2

 

[Armchair63]

I clipped the newspaper article so everyone can read it even if they don't have a subscription:

Ellen Clear, "Hopes dim for missing Wake man," News and Observer [Raleigh], 19 February 1989, 29A, 40A.
- Part 1
- Part 2
View attachment 343875View attachment 343876

Thanks for the 2nd part. It says a lot I guess I’m analyzing too mich

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Which was beside a residential neighborhood

The NamUs googlemaps link takes you to 1501 Corporation Parkway in NW Raleigh next to where a State Credit Union branch is now. But in 1988 that was undeveloped land. So I think it's just some random or generic location someone entered at NamUs. It's ok, I've been on wild goose chases due to their map data before. I can't explain why they do this.