BOONEVILLE, Ark. — The sister of a missing Booneville man is raising awareness for the two-year anniversary of his disappearance.
Jamie Valdez was last seen on June 10, 2021. The last person that saw Valdez was his wife. Valdez's sister Shawn Claiborne, says Valdez left after an argument with his wife.
"He got angry because she was called into work, when they both had the day scheduled to be off, and they were planning to spend the day together,” said Claiborne.
Claiborne says Valdez was newly married and newly sober. She explained that he quit using drugs a year prior, a condition set by his then-girlfriend if he wanted to marry her.
“For the last year before he disappeared, we knew that he was clean and enjoying life, probably more than he ever had before,” Claiborne said.
Claiborne said Jamie indicated that he was going to Ozark where his daughter lives. She said he took a bunch of clothes, along with $600 in cash from his mother-in-law, and left.
More than a week later, Jamie’s car was found torn apart, with the seats ripped and parts dismantled from under the hood.
“There weren't any tools in Jamie's car, so I don't know how he could have been the one to do that,” said Claiborne.
An eerie message was written on the back windshield that said, “he is near, help me,” but investigators did not believe it was related to his disappearance after some adolescents in the area came forward and admitted they had written it.
Jamie’s family logged into his iCloud to see where his phone last pinged.
“That last phone location was in an area that was underwater at the time of his disappearance,” said Claiborne.
Two years later, the investigation continues.
"I feel like something happened to him,” Claiborne said. “I don't know if it was foul play, or if he got into rushing water and drowned.”
Both his family and police are asking those who may know what happened to Jamie to speak up, even anonymously.
“I think there's people out there that know more than what their fear is letting them say, and we just need for those people to come forward and let us know what they know,” Claiborne pleaded.
While Jamie’s sister doesn’t believe her brother is still alive, she hopes for closure to help lessen the pain.
"His wife is not doing well. She's had a lot of fingers pointed at her,” Claiborne said. “My siblings are emotional wrecks. None of us get very much sleep. We're worried and just want resolution and closure. "
Claiborne adds that there’s another missing person’s case in that same area near where Jamie’s car was found.
Thorina Watson, who is also from Booneville like Jamie, was last seen in April of 2020 close to where Jamie’s car was found.
Anyone with information on either of these cases is asked to contact the Booneville Police Department at 479-675-3508.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.