CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Justin Sawyer’s family arrived to a crowded parking lot at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Clarksville on Saturday. Friends, neighbors and strangers alike were ready to help with the search for the remains of the 20-year-old, who went missing Dec. 17 and is suspected to have been killed as part of a robbery gone wrong.
One of the searchers found a blanket that volunteers hope might bring clues to the body’s location.
The search party was coordinated on short notice. It was announced Wednesday by Sawyer’s aunt, Angela Belcher, after police investigators revealed they had exhausted their leads.
The joint investigation between the Clarksville Police Department and Kentucky State Police resulted in the arrests of three men in early January: Dawuan Davis, 20, of Clarksville; Marquell Devont’e Sims, 22, of Oak Grove, Kentucky; and Gene “Doug” Henry, 36, also of Oak Grove.
Henry told investigators that Sawyer was dead when Davis arrived at 209 Pyle Lane in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and asked for help moving Sawyer’s body from the backseat of Sawyer’s white Honda Civic to the trunk.
Investigators also told Clarksville Now they were waiting on search warrants to come back on cell phone location data for the suspects, and that could bring new leads to help them find Sawyer’s body.
Nevertheless, about 75 people showed up to the parking lot on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard at 7:45 a.m. Saturday to help the family, and more joined in the efforts as the search continued into the afternoon hours.
Headquarters
Lois Alexander with the Bloodhound Search and Rescue Association, a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization, led much of the search coordination, in conjunction with Bob Lapointe, a retired K-9 search and rescue handler for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Sign-in clipboards, manila folders filled with maps, and verbal reminders of those final details were central to the efforts. The family wore matching, dayglow green beanies with the phrase #BringJustinSawyerHome ironed on the brim, and they stood solemnly while listening to Alexander’s advice on search procedures.
“We’re looking for anything. It could be a blanket, could be a pair of shoes. (Justin) was wearing red shoes, he was wearing a black shirt. He had black socks on, he had a jean jacket, he had jeans on,” Alexander told the crowd in the parking lot.
Then Justin’s father spoke to the group.
“I’d like to thank everyone, I’m very appreciative of all the bodies that are out here this morning,” Rick Sawyer said.
Alphonse Prather addressed the group as well.
“A wife that’s lost a husband is called a widow,” he said. “A husband that has lost a wife is called a widower. A child that has lost a parent is called an orphan. But there’s no word for a parent that has lost a child because the grief is so awful.”
Rolling out
The search party members loaded into their cars and caravanned to a location in Pembroke, Kentucky, pinpointed by the search and rescue volunteers. Lapointe met searchers on arrival as he’d already scouted the area that morning, asked landowners for permission, and set out flags marking search perimeters.
The impromptu headquarters was staged on a treelined property at 7260 Pembroke Oak Grove Road, in Kentucky. The location is less than a mile north of the Shell station on Route 115 where Davis and Sims moved Sawyer’s body.
“To know (Justin) was to love him,” Tracy Jackson, Justin’s mother, told Clarksville Now while visibly overwhelmed by the search efforts.
“He was such a good kid. He was the type of child that he would give the shirt off of his back. He would have gave them whatever it was that (the suspects) wanted,” Jackson continued.
Lasaters Coffee and Tea donated coffee, water and other warm beverages to keep the group alert and sustained throughout the day.
The party separated into groups of five to 10 people. Each group was advised to move slowly, look down at the ground, and not touch anything if they suspected it might be important. Instead, they were to take photographs and text them to Alexander, Lapointe or one of the other group leaders.
Grid search
Searching along the 2-mile stretch of roadside on Route 115 was Justin’s cousin, Destiny Sawyer. The 20-year-old had driven up with the rest of Justin’s family from Georgia the night prior.
“When (Justin) moved away (to Clarksville), we didn’t talk as much, but every time he would come back, he would see me and my mom. Last time I saw him was a couple days after Thanksgiving, a couple weeks before all of this happened. I like to cook, you know Thanksgiving; he came over and he ate my food. He tore that food up, too,” Destiny said.
The two were close in age, and they grew up close as well.
“It’s just crazy. You never know the last time you’re going to see somebody,” Destiny said.
Several people driving along the roadway pulled over and asked what the searchers were doing. Some had heard of Justin’s missing person case and offered to join in.
After searching the area of Route 115, the party regrouped at the headquarters and discussed finds of interest. Emergency Management Services of Oak Grove had stopped Alexander, her K-9, and the first group of searchers just past the 2-mile mark after the discovery of bones, although they belonged to an animal.
Other items recovered included car keys, tattered clothing and more animal bones. All were thoroughly inspected for any sign of Justin.
The area behind Newton Apartments at 100 Mandarin Drive where Justin picked up Davis and Sims was searched, and several nearby fields were traversed by Jeeps and four-wheelers.
The find
Demetrius Hnarkais was with the search party all morning. He was a neighbor to Justin’s mom, Tracy, when she lived in Clarksville several years ago, and he brought an envelope full of collected information, handwritten timelines of the events on Dec. 17, and printed out Clarksville Now articles about Justin. Hnarkais was trying to piece it all together.
“My son is on the (autism) spectrum, which means he asks a lot questions, and he’s 6 years old. Justin was so patient with him, and because he was an older kid, I was afraid that he would become annoyed with my son. But he was so good with him, and answered every question. Justin was a just good kid,” Hnarkais said.
Since Justin’s disappearance, Hnarkais said he has been honest with his son about what happened, and he remains dedicated to giving Justin’s family some sort of closure. His son has had nightmares about what happened and can’t make sense of it.
“I just want to be able to go home and tell my son we found him,” Hnarkais said, with tears forming in his eyes.
As volunteers continued the search, one of the searchers who’d been assigned a region to search by car texted Alexander an address and photo. The photo was of a blanket that had stains.
“That’s what we’d call ‘RBS’ in court, or a reddish, brown stain,” Alexander said while inspecting the photo on her cell phone.
The blanket was found near 2901 Guthrie Road, 3 miles south of Elkton, Kentucky’s public square. Seven cars pulled off onto the narrow shoulder of the road, which was flanked by agriculture fields on both sides. Some stayed near their cars, afraid to go look at what had been found.
Alexander brought her K-9 out of the car and walked him to the blanket to see if he would pick up on anything. The dog appeared confused.
“I think he’s distracted. He didn’t not alert, but I think because of the cars, he’s unsure and he’s feeling protective (of me). We’re not used to working so close to roadways with cars and loud trucks coming through at 55 mph,” Alexander said, and then grabbed her phone to call investigators with the Kentucky State Police to come and collect the blanket for evidence.
“It’s weird if you ask me. A blanket out here in the middle of nowhere lying in a ditch. It’s weird,” Alexander said.
Shortly after the search for the day ended, Belcher posted a message on Facebook written to the family of Davis, one of the men charged in the robbery and presumed slaying of Justin Sawyer:
Dear Dwayne Davis and Dionne Council
We the family of Justin Sawyer humbly ask that you speak with your son Dewaun Davis and ask the whereabouts of our Justin Sawyer. We are not asking for much, all we want is closure and take him to his final resting place. We know that Justin is resting well with the Lord. But I know we can all agree that no mother nor father deserve to be put in such an undeserving situation; knowing their child is dead and not knowing where his body is located. I am sure you all know that we are here today searching for him and looking for clues. We all know this could be avoided if you as parents step in and ask him and not try to protect him from the truth. We are physically and mentally exhausted but as I’m sure you all can tell, We Won’t Give Up.
Thanks in advance
The Family of Justin Tyler Sawyer
The family continued the search on Sunday, but so far no finds have been reported.
Detective Brandon McPherson with KSP and Detective Tanner Pew with CPD were not immediately available for comment on Saturday’s search, or on the blanket that was recovered.
Angela Peterson contributed to this report.
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