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

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  • #1,041
One more quick point. The drinking may actually work in Johnny's FAVOR! If he smells like alcohol and can't speak well he might get picked up for public intox. That might be the best thing that could happen to him!
 
  • #1,042
Hi all
Can I just mention something here, if we are talking about keeping or gaining trust from the family members, we need to remember that the forum is open to anyone to view,
We have all expressed our frustration at times (me as much as anyone) but, Its NonniBrenda who is going face to face with the family and we don't want to make her situation any more awkward than it already is.

I know we are all on the same team and are doing our best but we need to think of peoples safety here and
"its gonna take me hours to swim across the atlantic to come and save the day"
just saying!
I tried to call Julie about an hr ago, and left a voice messaage to call me so we could get started on our day.

Thank you fabgod and you're so right. I was concerned when I was posting some of the things I posted. I felt it was worth the risk because i needed to be honest with you. But, I also was concerned that some of the family might be reading here too. Thanks for bringing that thought to everyone's attention.
 
  • #1,043
Here is the flyer to Johnny that I have mounted on BRIGHT yellow poster board. At the top of the poster I have his name in bold black letters and CALL HOME the same way on the bottom. I'm going to take some out around here today and see how far I get. I don't have an entire day to devote to this this week because of other obligations, but I will get as much done as possible. I will save G-town for last in case Miss James wants to meet up with me there, possibly Thursday.

JOHNNY LAMAR BROWN(JB)
OF
CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA
RUBY POPS AND JULIE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU! BLACKIE MISSES YOU!

]PLEASE CALL HOME NOW! THE POLICE ARE YOUR FRIENDS AND THEY ARE TRYING TO HELP YOU!

CALL[/B (I PUT ALL THE NAMES AND NUMBERS HERE) OR 911!

YOUR FAMILY IS VERY WORRIED ABOUT AND THEY MISS YOU!

Then at the bottom I wrote--
If anyone else has seen Johnny please call. He is 5'6" tall and weighs about 140 lbs. He is a black male who has trouble speaking. He got lost while on vacation in Myrtle Beach. (all in caps)

Please remember that this particular flyer is aimed at Johnnyand not a regular missing perons flyer. I tried to keep it simple, bright and to the point.I hope it's ok because I'm on my way out now! Keep the faith everyone!!

It looks much better in real life--just typing fast in the interest of time!


This looks GREAT! I just had another idea. Do you have a mega phone or some kind of PA system you could take with you? If someone can ride with you, maybe when MissJames goes with you? We used that once to announce Bible School in the small community were our church is. I believe every child in the small community of White, Ga showed up! It was great.
 
  • #1,044
The fliers don't have the family's phone number,only the MBPD.

I'm not sure where the picture with family numbers was distributed .I copied it here.

oops! and then I post it all over youtube, nice one fabgod!!!!
actually its ok, I just checked the facebook page and the numbers on the poster are over there, phew!!
 
  • #1,045
Yes but, Johnny is supposed to know his home number so Watcher9 makes a good point, it looks amateurish and not that serious (a bit like a missing cat or something)

imagine the crazy phone calls they may get.

Its 5 weeks and 4 days today since he left the apartment, this is getting ridiculous that a Man that has no shelter no money and no food can somehow not be found by LE, CUE or simply by passers by

What is going on? I mean, its not like he is trying to evade the Police is he?

Good question fabgod. Could it be he doesn't want to be found? Maybe he is really enjoying his freedom and is afraid if he's found he will be forced to return home, and lose the independence he may have found.
 
  • #1,046
There is a video on the first page that has an interview with a waitress from the BBO House Restaurant in Surfside. She said they wanted to help him but couldn't understand him.

FWIW ,in some of our first conversations I was trying to get info from Julie to gauge how disabled Johnny was.
I asked if he would be considered "special needs" and she said yes,so I asked if she thought that should be on the flier and she said yes,again.

I was the first one to use the term ,it wasn't her suggestion ,but the way she agreed ,there was no hesitation or reluctance.

As we continued I asked if he could use the phone -he knew his home phone number .
Could he read or write -He could read some and he could write his name and Cartersville .
It went from there.Looking back ,maybe I should have pursued more information. Some families are very uncomfortable with labels and I was trying to be respectful.
Learning that Johnny HAD called home ,that he went to Family Kingdom by himself,shocked me based on my understanding of his abilities (and given I had ASKED about the phone) but maybe she assumed I knew or that she had given me enough info to figure out Johnny's skill level.

I don't think you can fault yourself in this, the onus is on the people who know him best to inform the rest of us of his situation.

If you ask something you can only work with the reply, what else can you do?

At the end of the day, we have been here to help, there is nothing else in it for any of us, that should be welcomed not questioned in my opinion
 
  • #1,047
Also, a nurse who can't remember what her own brother was diagnosed with?

In Julie's defence, I believe they were all children when/if he was diagnosed,and I believe Julie is younger that Johnny. As she was growing up, it wasn't her concern as a child, and I'm sure she trusted her parents to know all that.:waitasec:
 
  • #1,048
Good question fabgod. Could it be he doesn't want to be found? Maybe he is really enjoying his freedom and is afraid if he's found he will be forced to return home, and lose the independence he may have found.


You know what? your post has just made me think of something that I admit has never crossed my mind until just this minute.

When we started out on this a few weeks back, the early concerns and urgencies were because Johnny was vulnerable, in a strange town and much less able to look after himself as far as we knew.

We almost had him at one point and were probably hours away from locating him, but then, nothing.
CUE came in and confirmed our locations but still nothing new.

Then we find out Johnny isnt as vulnerable as we all were so concerned he was, thanks to Nonni's interview, we learned a lot.

It then seemed as though the general consensus was that Johnny may have got a ride somewhere, his sense of direction probably being not that good, he could be anywhere?
Here's the problem, We now know Johnny has a whole list of abilities which we didnt credit him with early on in the search, he has had jobs, counts money, reads somewhat, can use a phone and so on.

So why can he not present himself somewhere, like a police officer? OK, we know he is apparently afraid of the Police, but if he was lost hungry cold and scared, would he still be that afraid of LE?
If Johnny struggles with his speech, why has he not been somewhere trying to beg or steal food, why has he not stood out or contacted anyone?

There are phones everywhere, there are people everywhere yet nothing. If someone is so afraid and everythng is hopeless you cry you get angry you make a show of yourself - Johnny hasnt done that anywhere.

Are we really believing that Johnny has managed to find some "New" friends and he is hanging out, that none of his friends have wondered where he came from or seen the flyers?
Something is up, for me, there are two possible scenarios, one of them is definitely not the outcome I hope for.
 
  • #1,049
Johnny has a beer now and then. I don't think that's a big deal, but what if Johnny has more than "a" beer? Remember the manager at Denny's (?) who thought Johnny was drunk and wouldn't let him use the phone? Perhaps, there is a possibility that Johnny was drunk; perhaps, he has a drinking problem that the family doesn't want publicized. Isn't Johnny's father a Baptist preacher? I grew up in a Baptist church and drinking was a big "no-no." Could Johnny be a binge drinker? Could his speech become slurred when he's driinking?


even if he is a binge drinker, he deserves to be found.

It sounds to me like the speech defect is the primary obvious feature of his delays - the taxi driver couldn't understand him at all and the police managed to figure out the hotel name, but he didn't end up in a drunk tank to sober up.
 
  • #1,050
Also, a nurse who can't remember what her own brother was diagnosed with?

So my SIL is special needs. My husband knows the general story of her birth (which is when her problems became known) but he does not know what exactly it is called because his family (parents) just do not DISCUSS that sort of thing. They don't ask questions of doctors nor research medical diagnosis on the internet, they just listen to the doctors suggestions and go on. Drives me BATTY.

I learned what was actually wrong with my SIL from my (very delayed) SIL herself - she is the only one who will talk about it and I'm assuming she learned about it from a doctor, since no one else talks about this crap.

My husband is a bright knowledgeable, reliable man. He's just not been brought up to be curious about that kind of thing. So its very possible that Johnny's diagnosis was not discussed or even that there is no real diagnosis - perhaps he's just "Delayed".
 
  • #1,051
Here is the flyer to Johnny that I have mounted on BRIGHT yellow poster board. At the top of the poster I have his name in bold black letters and CALL HOME the same way on the bottom. I'm going to take some out around here today and see how far I get. I don't have an entire day to devote to this this week because of other obligations, but I will get as much done as possible. I will save G-town for last in case Miss James wants to meet up with me there, possibly Thursday.

JOHNNY LAMAR BROWN(JB)
OF
CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA
RUBY POPS AND JULIE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU! BLACKIE MISSES YOU!

]PLEASE CALL HOME NOW! THE POLICE ARE YOUR FRIENDS AND THEY ARE TRYING TO HELP YOU!

CALL[/B (I PUT ALL THE NAMES AND NUMBERS HERE) OR 911!

YOUR FAMILY IS VERY WORRIED ABOUT AND THEY MISS YOU!

Then at the bottom I wrote--
If anyone else has seen Johnny please call. He is 5'6" tall and weighs about 140 lbs. He is a black male who has trouble speaking. He got lost while on vacation in Myrtle Beach. (all in caps)

Please remember that this particular flyer is aimed at Johnnyand not a regular missing perons flyer. I tried to keep it simple, bright and to the point.I hope it's ok because I'm on my way out now! Keep the faith everyone!!

It looks much better in real life--just typing fast in the interest of time!



Thanks for everything you are doing.
The poster sounds good to me and maybe it will be the ticket to finding Johnny and getting him home.
Did you take a picture to share?
 
  • #1,052
You know what? your post has just made me think of something that I admit has never crossed my mind until just this minute.

When we started out on this a few weeks back, the early concerns and urgencies were because Johnny was vulnerable, in a strange town and much less able to look after himself as far as we knew.

We almost had him at one point and were probably hours away from locating him, but then, nothing.
CUE came in and confirmed our locations but still nothing new.

Then we find out Johnny isnt as vulnerable as we all were so concerned he was, thanks to Nonni's interview, we learned a lot.

It then seemed as though the general consensus was that Johnny may have got a ride somewhere, his sense of direction probably being not that good, he could be anywhere?
Here's the problem, We now know Johnny has a whole list of abilities which we didnt credit him with early on in the search, he has had jobs, counts money, reads somewhat, can use a phone and so on.

So why can he not present himself somewhere, like a police officer? OK, we know he is apparently afraid of the Police, but if he was lost hungry cold and scared, would he still be that afraid of LE?
If Johnny struggles with his speech, why has he not been somewhere trying to beg or steal food, why has he not stood out or contacted anyone?

There are phones everywhere, there are people everywhere yet nothing. If someone is so afraid and everythng is hopeless you cry you get angry you make a show of yourself - Johnny hasnt done that anywhere.

Are we really believing that Johnny has managed to find some "New" friends and he is hanging out, that none of his friends have wondered where he came from or seen the flyers?
Something is up, for me, there are two possible scenarios, one of them is definitely not the outcome I hope for
.

BBM - As time goes on, it does become more and more apparent that this case may have factors that we really were not considering early in the investigation. I wonder how involved LE is back in Cartersville? I am sure they are aware of the situation. My mind has also conjured up unpleasant scenarios, and I have closed the door on some of those - for now. I actually have my morning cup of coffee and go to google, and then select the "news" feature, and search with some variation of these words: "unidentified man found Myrtle Beach", "unidentified man found South Carolina", "unidentified man arrested Myrtle Beach", "unidentified man arrested South Carolina". I am looking for news articles about events that COULD be Johnny in other jurisdictions. It sure seems likely that if Johnny is out on the streets, he has interacted with non-homeless people, and from our perspective, those people should have called. Not everyone is aware of this case, however. It would be interesting to just do a poll of 20 random people on the streets in Myrtle Beach and see if they even know about it! In other words, Johnny COULD be wandering around looking for help, and no one is paying attention. (The rest of the world is not like us - :p ). One of the worst case scenarios I have is that someone who is street savvy has taken Johnny in because when they heard him speak, and realized he had a disability. I fear that they smelled an opportunity to pull some sort of scam, and Johnny is being held someplace. There have been instances where disabled people were held against their will so that the evil people holding them prisoner could collect some sort of disability check for them. Long story short, I can think of scenarios that I am willing to put in writing here that explain why we haven't seen anything from Johnny. I can also think of some I am not willing to put in writing. :twocents:
 
  • #1,053
Reannan, I agree and I know we are not alone in our thoughts or indeed searches on google.
I absolutely check the news hoping Johnny has been located safe and sound but also have a nagging worry or dread that I will come across bad news.

I am hoping more and more that he is better equipped to deal with life than we are thinking, but the bad thoughts and doubts are there more the longer it goes on
 
  • #1,054
Has anyone asked his family if he has done something like this before? Not necessarily out of town, but in his home area. Could Johnny have a bit of "wanderlust"? Perhaps he has gone off before and made his way home not much worse for wear. Although that is worrisome, (actually much more than worrisome), but maybe in his mind he's on an adventure. At least that's a safer scenaro. Could that explain why some of the family are being reticent about helping/talking with the angels on WS trying to help?
Please don't beat me up about my little theory, like I said, it's just a "safer" theory.
 
  • #1,055
Has anyone asked his family if he has done something like this before? Not necessarily out of town, but in his home area. Could Johnny have a bit of "wanderlust"? Perhaps he has gone off before and made his way home not much worse for wear. Although that is worrisome, (actually much more than worrisome), but maybe in his mind he's on an adventure. At least that's a safer scenaro. Could that explain why some of the family are being reticent about helping/talking with the angels on WS trying to help?
Please don't beat me up about my little theory, like I said, it's just a "safer" theory.

From what I understand, his sister said she has never gone missing before.
 
  • #1,056
First of all, I just saw how the poster/flyer looks in a post and I must reassure you that the ones I put out did NOT look like that jumbled mess!!

Second, people here drive like complete maniacs. (sorry, that was a bit OT, but I'm still frazzled).

I put the posters (and in some places just in flyer form) starting in Surfside. I put them on the sides and backs of buildings where the homeless trails are. There's one on the defunct Taco Bell next to the Jiffy Lube close to where I spotted Johnny, too. I also went up by the flea market and put some up on buildings near there. Then I went to the Burgess Community which is in Socastee Township. Burgess used to be mainly a black community, but is now filled with new housing developments, schools, etc. Some of the original families are still there. I talked with the very nice man who owns the little store and laundromat there. He's seen the story about Johnny on the news. He said I could put up as many posters as I needed to. I asked him to please pass the word on through the community and he said he would.

Next, I headed over to the Office Depot to get more flyers made. A customer over-heard me talking about Johnny and she said the posters really work because she found someone's dog from a flyer. I thanked her for her most encouraging story lol.

I headed over to the main part of Socastee and taped some up near where there are some rough areas. I tried to make them visible in areas where I've seen people hang out. Most of the time I hung BOTH of the flyers--- Johnny's and the police one.

I did concentrate as much on stores as I did buildings themselves, light poles, and other places where people congragate. Some of the store people were not all that receptive to hanging a neon poster in thier window, but his picture and story are out there.
I tried to pick some places where there are short cuts to stores from the woods. Lots of those folks walk, so I figured they would be seen there, too.

I don't know why I am obsessed with Georgetown, but I am. I want to go back there and hopefully this time someone will be at a few of the churches, so I can talk to them. There's a larger population of African-Americans there than in the Surfside to Pawleys Island section. I feel that someone there could've taken him under their wing and there are more black churches there, too.

If anyone else from Horry County would like to concentrate more on the Myrtle Beach or Conway areas, that would be great because I am more familiar withe south end to Georgetown. Plus, my driving skills leave much to be desired and I don't like the Myrtle Beach traffic (and it doesn't like me).

So, all in all it was good day. I have more NEON poster board and lots of flyers (both kinds) so I'm ready to do a few more places tomorrow. I plan to keep heading south, little by little, and then spend a good part of one day in Georgetown.

I haven't read any posts since I left, but I'm hoping we got some kind of information from Julie today via Nonni Brenda.

You know you've spent way too much time on a case when you're driving around singing "Me and Johnny Brown" and slamming on the brakes whenever you see someone who even faintly resembles him. One brakeslam incident turned out to be a real bust (no pun intended) when I got a good look and it was a WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
  • #1,057
I'm only going by what I've always heard was the Hill. It was originally in a different place, but that was redeveloped. The Hill is now the area where Carver, Dunbar and other streets are kind of behind OaK St. I could call the police to verify that, but I'm pretty sure that's correct. they don't list it in any of the Tour Guides, :what:

I know, I checked them all :floorlaugh:.

Seriously, though, I wasn't in that area looking but near there, and I have a vague idea where that it although I don't know the exact streets Carver and Dunbar. I would definitely agree there are some rough spots, and even larger areas, in that general vicinity. I even saw a girl, waiting for a bus, not too far from there...perhaps someone going home from work. I wanted to jump out and tell her she was crazy to wait for a bus there at that time of night. Even my husband mentioned it. But then the response tends to be fear that you are crazy and the one they should get away from !
 
  • #1,058
Thank you soooooo much, Peekerfoo! I think fliers and posters are key, and I know it takes a bunch of work to put them up everywhere!
 
  • #1,059
This looks GREAT! I just had another idea. Do you have a mega phone or some kind of PA system you could take with you? If someone can ride with you, maybe when MissJames goes with you? We used that once to announce Bible School in the small community were our church is. I believe every child in the small community of White, Ga showed up! It was great.

That's a great idea, but I couldn't do it. I had enough troubles just yelling into the woods. I must be flawed, but I'm not the girl for that job. I'm too shy for that. :what:
 
  • #1,060
Thank you soooooo much, Peekerfoo! I think fliers and posters are key, and I know it takes a bunch of work to put them up everywhere!

I felt kind of hopeful today and the weather was beautiful. This sounds silly, but I don't have the "feeling" he's in Surfside anymore. I guess it's a combination of it being such a small town and no sightings, or maybe intuition, but i just don't feel like he's here. I do feel the need to keep going south. I've had this feeling since last week. I feel pulled to go that way (if that makes any sense).
 
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