Anybody know anything more about this?

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4xchampncountin

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VAUGHAN, Miss. (Feb. 20) - Bloodhounds, aircraft and the FBI scoured a wooded area of rural Mississippi Friday for a family of three missing since they disappeared Valentine's Day.

Vaughan, a small, tight-knit community about 40 miles north of Jackson, is the kind of place where residents generally don't take big-city safety precautions. Residents say they have been jarred by the disappearance of Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their young son, James Patrick.

"We don't worry about locking our doors," said Jewel Moore, who lives about a mile up the road from the Hargon family's modest brown brick home.

Rebecca Hargon's father, Bill Hirtz of Poplar Bluff, Mo., fought back tears as he stood outside the Hargons' house waiting for answers.

He said his 29-year-old daughter, a physical therapist's assistant, and her 27-year-old husband, a construction worker, have been married six years. James recently celebrated his fourth birthday.

Authorities have said little about the current investigation.

They are still treating the disappearances as missing person cases, although evidence points to something more: In the Hargons' house investigators found dried blood droplets, bullet holes and shell casings.

But there was no sign of robbery or forced entry. Rebecca Hargon's wedding and engagement rings were left behind. The family's three vehicles have been accounted for.

Now, searchers are combing roadsides and wooded areas for even the smallest of clues.

Ten years ago, Michael Hargon's father was slain on the same property, when it was a convenience store. Three men are serving prison sentences for that crime.

On Friday, experts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ran bloodhounds out from the house. The dogs sniffed pieces of clothing, then moved south on the asphalt road, suggesting the family left the home in that direction, said dog handler Joe Canfield.

Relatives have offered a $25,000 reward for the Hargons' safe return, and Hirtz and others have appeared on national television to talk about the case.


02/20/04 20:38 EST

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This is the first I have heard about this story. Any of you heard anything else about this bizarre story?
 
Pretty strange to say the least. Almost sounds like a witness protection thing that wound up in the press.
 
I'm not sure what to think happened. The witness protection thing might not be a bad guess though. I wonder if it has anything to do with his father's death and the incarceration of those responsible. :huh:
 
Police are now questioning an adopted cousin who was left out of the father's will :huh:

TAYLORSVILLE, Miss. (Feb. 28) - Investigators searching for a family of three who disappeared on Valentine's Day questioned one of their relatives Saturday and searched his property in southern Mississippi.

Earnest Lee Hargon, an adopted cousin of the missing family, was in custody and was being questioned, said Warren Strain, a state Highway Patrol spokesman.

Authorities also closed off a county road on both sides of Leaf River Veterinary Services as part of the investigation. The clinic was given as a residence address by Hargon, whose wife is a veterinarian, Strain said.

"We're very hopeful that the questioning and the search warrants will lead to a resolution about the whereabouts of the Hargon family," Strain told AP Radio. "The latest developments have been dramatic, groundbreaking. We are very confident that the resolution of this tragic and awful situation is imminent."

There has been no trace of Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their 4-year-old son, James Patrick, since Feb. 14. Lawmen reported finding blood and spent bullet casings at the family's home, but no signs of forced entry.

Strain said there were five woodframe structures in the area of the veterinary clinic and that crime laboratory teams were checking each building. Strain said officers were also searching the property, which includes woods.

Investigators have also been checking a piece of property owned by Earnest Lee Hargon's brother, Michael, which he recently inherited from his uncle, Charles Hargon, to determine if it is linked to the disappearance, said sister Jennifer Hargon. Earnest Lee Hargon, Charles Hargon's adopted son, was not included in the will, she said.

The Yazoo County Sheriff's department is leading the task force, which includes the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the FBI.

Rebecca Hargon's aunt, Trudy Duncan of Poplar Bluff, Mo., said Saturday she had talked with family members in Mississippi about the search.

"I hope that they are OK. That's all I want," Duncan said. "All we want is to see the media with some beautiful faces on there."

Authorities have received about 400 tips, dozens related to a white van, Strain said. The van had been spotted in the area around the time they believe the family disappeared, investigators said.

A reward of $100,000 is being offered from information leading to the safe return of the Hargons.


02-28-04 1540EST

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If the cousin did anything to them, it is a damn shame. :angry:
 
I'm wondering about witness protection...............pretty clean abduction with little or no clues. Hard to believe an amateur did it.
 
Originally posted by DE_Wrangler_2@Feb 28 2004, 09:33 PM
I'm wondering about witness protection...............pretty clean abduction with little or no clues. Hard to believe an amateur did it.
Who said it was an abduction?
 
Could it have been a murder-suicide? Has all the looks of it.
 
Originally posted by Happy29@Feb 29 2004, 03:00 PM
Could it have been a murder-suicide? Has all the looks of it.
Only if the suicide victim walked off somewhere.
 
Well, my understanding of the case is a bit sketchy. But I think I heard that the parents were arguing over the custody of their child, I think it was on MSNBC where I heard that, so perhaps, could this custody battle have gotten out of hand?
 
The cousin being held in Taylorsville was charged with drug possesion and firearm possesion today. Chrystal(?) Sounds like to me they got their man. He was the adopted son of the man who left the property to the person missing. The first ten minutes of the local news here is spent on the story.

I haven't heard anyone mention the witness protection or a custody fight. Everyone here says including the family says the couple was very happy. But who knows. I beleive the cousin was involved in some way.

You can visit the The Clarion Ledger for a local perspective for anyone interested. That is the local Jackson newspaper.
 
Originally posted by fordroush@Mar 1 2004, 12:35 AM
The cousin being held in Taylorsville was charged with drug possesion and firearm possesion today.  Chrystal(?)  Sounds like to me they got their man.  He was the adopted son of the man who left the property to the person missing.  The first ten minutes of the local news here is spent on the story. 

I haven't heard anyone mention the witness protection or a custody fight.  Everyone here says including the family says the couple was very happy.  But who knows.  I beleive the cousin was involved in some way.

You can visit the The Clarion Ledger for a local perspective for anyone interested.  That is the local Jackson newspaper.
Wrong address sorry. Here is the correct one.

The Clarion Ledger
 
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