Skeletal remains found in Cumberland County identified as man who went missing in 2022
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — The skeletal remains found on Westel Road in Cumberland County have been identified, the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office reported.
The remains were identified as Cody Ramsey-Dearing who was reported missing on August 15, 2022 in Cumberland County, a CCSO spokesperson said. At the time, 6 News reported that Dearing had told his family he was going to meet someone, but did not say who.
'First of its kind' drug treatment facility breaks ground in Maryville
A report from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS) lists Ramsey-Dearing's last known location as 1872 Westel Road.
His remains were found on February 8 on Westel Road near the entrance of the Mount Roosevelt Wildlife Management Area. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and CCSO worked to identify to remains. An investigation is still underway to determine the cause of death.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ohio bill hoping to help solve missing persons cases in the state
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A recently introduced Ohio bill inspired by a Columbus man's disappearance aims to help solve missing persons cases in the state. The FIND Act, sponsored by Reps. Christine Cockley (D-Columbus) and Kevin Ritter (R-Marietta), would require law enforcement agencies in the state to enter missing people into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) within 30 days of a report being filed with police. NamUs is a free national database of missing persons and unidentified remains. Dental records, fingerprints and DNA profiles can be uploaded to the platform, helping law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners identify remains as missing people. Since the database was launched in 2007, it has helped solve over 46,000 cases across the country. 'We are at a pivotal moment when technology can help solve cases that have remained unsolved for years,' Cockley said in a statement. 'The FIND Act will equip law enforcement and medical professionals across Ohio with the tools they need to support families of the missing, while also giving families and the public a greater voice in the process.' At the bill's first hearing in April, Cockley said every day on her drive to work, she passes a billboard on West Broad Street featuring information about Andrew 'Andy' Chapman, who has been missing from her district since 2006. She said Andy's story inspired her to introduce the legislation. 'Andy's case is not an isolated one,' Cockley said. 'There are hundreds of families in Ohio still waiting for answers. What makes that wait even harder is knowing that we are not using all the tools we have available.' While many police departments in the state do enter missing people into NamUs, it is currently not required by law. Andy Chapman's sister Aimee Chapman said when Cockley called and shared that the billboard inspired her to introduce a bill, her family was 'so happy.' 'If you are familiar with Andy's story, unfortunately he fell into opioid addiction, and I feel like we're changing his legacy,' Aimee Chapman said. 'We're changing it from a missing addict to somebody who's making a difference.' While the bill likely will not make a difference in Andy Chapman's case, which was entered into NamUs by Columbus police in 2011, Aimee Chapman said she hopes it can help other missing people. 'If we can help another family not have to go through the mishaps that we went through by getting this bill passed, that would be a huge victory for our family,' Aimee Chapman said. Currently, over 1,100 residents – including both adults and children – are missing, according to a database maintained by the state's attorney general's office. Recorded cases date to 1928, with the disappearance of 4-year-old Melvin Horst. If the act is signed into law, Ohio would become the 17th state in the country to mandate the use of NamUs in missing persons investigations. The bill has 17 cosponsors, consisting of both Democrats and Republicans. It was assigned to the House's Public Safety Committee, where residents will have the chance to testify in support and opposition of the bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Sisters Spent 17 Years Searching for Brother Before a Cold Case Project Revealed He Died by Suicide in 2007
Grieving sisters spent almost two decades searching for their brother, Jean Eli Gonzalez, who went missing after he traveled to Chicago in 2007 This spring, they learned he had died by suicide that same year as part of a cold case project Now, the family is preparing to go to his grave to give their "last goodbye"On Sept. 15, 2007, 23-year-old Jean Eli Gonzalez called his mom back home in Puerto Rico to let her know that he'd arrived safely in Chicago. Then she never heard from him again. Almost two decades later, his family — who spent years grappling with unanswered questions that only fueled their fear and despair — finally learned what happened to him. According to CBS News, Gonzalez's name was uploaded into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as part of a cold case project in February 2025, eventually leading his family to learn that their beloved son and brother had died by suicide. His body had been found hanging off a billboard in a railroad yard near the Dan Ryan Expressway on Sept. 24, 2007, just nine days after he arrived in Chicago, according to the police report reviewed by PEOPLE. Investigators confirmed the cause of death was the result of depression. 'The only relief we have is that we know now where he [died] and that we can say goodbye to him,' his sister, Vilmarilys Hernandez, tells PEOPLE. But so many questions remain, she says. Gonzalez was a kind man, who wasn't afraid to fight for others. Vilmarilys remembers once when her brother, then 15 years old, jumped in to protect middle school students from a group of older high school students when they were growing up in San Lorenzo. He was stabbed with a pocket knife and hospitalized. 'My brother saw that nobody was doing anything and he intervened,' the 45-year-old esthetician says. 'So, that was my brother.' But Gonzalez had his struggles. He was using drugs and decided to go to Chicago for a substance abuse program, Segunda Vida, which he learned about from local police officers. His mom still has the brochure. (The treatment facility is now defunct.) A week after Gonzalez arrived in Chicago and told his mom a person from the program had picked him up, Vilmarilys had a disturbing dream. 'He was telling me in the airport, 'Don't worry, everything's going to be okay. I love you,' ' she remembers. 'And I took that as goodbye.' Vilmarilys woke up crying and immediately urged her mom to call the program. When their mom reached an employee at the program, she was told that the family couldn't talk to Gonzalez. The program never called back as promised, according to Vilmarilys. Days later, an employee told the worried mom that Gonzalez had left the program. So began the family's desperate search. Vilmarilys recalls calling the Chicago Police Department, local hospitals and homeless shelters in the area. She was unable to file a missing persons report, despite her request to authorities. She then called any place she could think of, seeking help for days, weeks and months, which turned into years. The grieving sister says the toll on her family was great. 'Maybe he doesn't want to talk with us. Maybe he's mad at us,' Vilmarilys says of the questions Gonzalez's four siblings and mom had as they feared what had happened to him. 'Maybe he's ashamed of himself, but what's going on? Maybe he's cold, maybe he's hungry.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. It wasn't until this spring that they learned Gonzalez had died. In 2023, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office began inputting the paper files of cold cases of unidentified people into NamUs, focusing on the years from 1988 to 2014, a Cook County spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE. 'Our staff worked tirelessly to find photos, biological samples for DNA analysis, fingerprint cards and dental information for these decedents in order to create a record,' the Cook County spokesperson says. 'Law enforcement agencies have been critical partners in this process by searching their warehouses and evidence rooms for anything that could assist in identifying these decedents.' So far, more than 200 decedents have been included in NamUs and 20 cases have been resolved, with Gonzalez's case being one of them. After his case was put into NamUs, CBS News reported, Vilmarilys saw his picture on Facebook, which had been reposted by a group of mothers who wanted to help people find their missing loved ones. His identity was confirmed after Vilmarilys and her sister traveled to Chicago to provide a DNA sample. But with the confirmation came new grief. They learned that Gonzalez's body had been found with a handwritten note in Spanish, which contained the Serenity Prayer. Their brother's name was written at the top, which prompted the investigating officer to use the name for the deceased, according to the police report. After the investigating officer found a woman with the same name in Elmwood Park, who had no knowledge of the dead man, the name was changed to unknown. After that, a copy of the report was sent to the missing persons department and the case was suspended, pending identification of the deceased, the police report said. Vilmarilys was disturbed by what she tells PEOPLE was a lack of a thorough investigation, especially because she'd given authorities a description of her brother and had called to ask about his disappearance for years. The Chicago Police Department did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment about her claims. Additionally, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office would not share any specifics about Gonzalez's case with PEOPLE. Vilmarilys and her sister were unable to get Gonzalez's remains, which, according to CBS News, have been interred in Homewood Memorial Gardens, which has served as Cook County's potter's field for unclaimed bodies, since 2008. Gonzalez's family, however, was able to start a donation page, so their brother could have a proper headstone. The sisters created matching T-shirts that say 'we found you' in Spanish and plan on visiting his grave. Vilmarilys tells PEOPLE, 'We are just waiting for the day to go there and say our last goodbye to him.' Read the original article on People
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
Alleged killer dad could make ‘one mistake' that ends manhunt, sheriff says
Authorities believe they are closing in on the father accused of killing his three daughters and escaping into the Washington wilderness as local police assure the public they are ramping up their urgent search for the triple-homicide suspect. "You will see a change in our tactics as we proceed forward," Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said in a news conference Wednesday. "All we need is one mistake and one day to go in our favor and he's going to be in our custody." The comments come after the U.S. Marshals Service deployed its Rapidly Advancing Manhunt (RAM) program as authorities search for Travis Decker, an experienced survivalist and former member of the military accused of killing his three daughters, Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5. "I want to start off just [by] making sure that we're remembering why we're here," Morrison said. "That's for Payton, Evelyn and Olivia." Morrison encouraged the public to stay vigilant as authorities search for Decker throughout the Ingalls Creek area, with officials warning he is believed to be armed and dangerous. "If you're out there and you notice that you have a vacation home out there or campsite, you want to keep track of your supplies [in] your cabins," Morrison said. "If you do have things that are missing — even if it's minor items — this could be a way that he could continue his path out there." Earlier this week, authorities announced new leads in the manhunt – which began on June 2 – after a group of hikers reported seeing a lone individual who appeared unprepared for the wilderness and looked to be avoiding others. In response to the tip, authorities "spotted a lone, off-trail hiker from a helicopter near Colchuck Lake who ran from sight as the helicopter passed," CCSO said in a press release Tuesday. The wooded area authorities have zeroed in on is located roughly 30 miles from Rock Island Campground, where the three girls' bodies were found after Decker failed to return the children to their mother following a court-approved visit. Authorities are offering a $20,000 reward for any information leading to Decker's arrest. If convicted, Decker could face the possibility of life in prison without parole. "We will not stop," U.S. Marshals Service Chief Jerome Brown said. "He just has to make one mistake like the sheriff said. We will find him. He will be brought to justice so the community can heal."
