TN TN - Byron Barker, 47, Knoxville, 3 May 2005

The reward is going up for information into the disappearance of a missing hairstylist.

Byron Barker was last seen in Knoxville, in May of last year. Weeks later, police found the 47-year old's car abandoned in a Kentucky hotel parking lot.

Police have found evidence that leads them to believe Barker was the victim of foul play and the case is being investigated as a homicide.
http://www.wbir.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=31376

How sad. LE must have found something in his car that led them to believe something awful happened. I wonder if they have any ideas at all? I wonder if he had had problems with anyone around that time. We live in a scary world these days. People disappear from their homes....their vehicles...just walking down the street. Makes me leary of even leaving my house. Thank God I live in a small town where violence is rare.

I sure hope that his man is found so that his family will at least be able to have a service for him. Hope his killer doesn't get away with this too.

He's been missing since May 2005, but I couldn't find any web pages on him. I specifically searched on the National Center for Missing Adults site and nothing... but they are offering a reward?????

I did manage to find this pic in a newspaper article:

Missing Byron Barker

and in another newpaper article located here:
[size=-1]outandaboutnewspaper.com/download/archives/2005/oan05jul.pdf[/size]

I found out his stats:
Name: Byron Barker
Age: 47
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 180 lbs
Hair: Light Brown, thinning
Eyes: Blue

He avid weight lifter, is into nutrition markets, and hair styling (occupation).

Investigation Officer
Knoxville Police Department
Detective Steve Still
865-215-7014

There seems to be much made of the fact that Mr. Barker is Gay. He also may have been involved with drugs.

The police have been putting in a lot of effort into finding this man. Cadaveur dog searches, interviews, etc.

They found a small amount of blood in his car so they are thinking foul play may be involved.

***********
Could this be him?

http://www.doenetwork.us/hot/hotcase54.html


Byron Barker on left, Reconstruction of John Doe on right

1. I think the photo I found of Byron resembles the reconstruction of John Doe
2. Byron disappeared in May 2005, John Doe was found in June 10, 2005 and is estimated to have died just days before.
3. Byron was 47 when he disappeared, John Doe is estimated to be 40-50 years old.
4. Both Byron and John Doe have Brown hair
5. Byron is listed as 5'10", John Doe is listed as 5' 11.5" this is close enough for me as the information on Byron does not come from an official source.
6. Byron is listed at 180 lbs, John Doe is listed at 198 lbs - if this is Byron he could have put the extra pounds on via muscle?
7. John Doe's hair was turning grey, and he had facial hair that the pic of Byron doesn't show... but did Byron have facial hair when he disappeared? Their hair styles are similiar.
8. John Doe had EXTENSIVE tattoos. There is no mention that Byron had tattoos - so if he didn't this DEFINITELY isn't him!
9. Byron disappeared from Knoxville, Tenessee. John Doe was found in Charlston Country, South Carolina. They are about 375 miles apart (8 hours) according to google maps.

I have sent an email to the investigation Detective to let him know about the possible match.

Good Job Ponderingthings.... let us know what you hear back!

http://wbir.com/news/archive.aspx?storyid=26570

This article has a little more info, but not much. I talked with someone who knows him (he was her hairdresser) and she said he would never have facial hair, he didn't like it. But that's not to say if he were trying to disguise himself that he wouldn't make that sacrifice. Personally, I am afraid he is probably deceased. I wish LE would release a little more info. I swear, I think if LE released more info up front, a lot of these kinds of cases would be solved sooner.

Good background info Alice253, thank you for posting that.

I am still surprised his stats aren't more widely known. Perhaps LE knows something and they don't want to tip their hand? I don't know what the reason might be.

Interesting comment about the facial hair from the friend. It truly is possible that John Doe is not him. Perhaps he's with a friend somewhere getting off drugs? Or getting his head together?

I hope he finds peace, wherever he is.

The Doe Network updated John Doe's page and it says they updated the eye color but the page still says unknown nothing else appears to have been changed on the page.

I never received even a confirmation that my email was received. I've been monitoring the news (google news) and everything is strangely silent....

Don't know what that means... if anything....

It looks like the John Doe has a longer chin than Byron. They both have flat ears but I think Byron's hair line goes back further. I wish that beard and mustash weren't there. Byron looks like he almost has a clift in his chin or it might just be the picture. Bryon, it looks to me, has smaller features than the John Doe. It's hard to tell when it is someones drawing of a person though.

I wonder if LE thinks this might be a hate crime because he is gay? Otherwise I don't know what difference it would make. I wonder if they know for sure that he was into drugs? He's been gone an awful long time to just be cleaning up. I mean he had a profession and everything. Finding blood in his car is another problem.

http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0106/297594.html

This article ran about the John Doe... its slightly different from the Doe Network page - for example the "Slayer" tattoo is on the shoulder instead of the neck but basically its a good article and they'd like to know who he is.

Because I never received a confirmation that the police received my tip, I've just now submitted it to the investigators who are looking to identify John Doe.

I feel I've now done all I can. If no ID is announced I'll assume it wasn't him.

Jonathan Anderson thought he had found a discarded Halloween decoration when he stumbled across a skull on his family's East Knox County property.

But the skull is real and so is the rest of the skeletal remains found about 3 p.m. Nov. 26 at 2424 Midway Road.

The discovery by the 25-year-old Anderson has prompted an investigation by the Knox County Sheriff's Office and the Knox County Medical Examiner's Office.

Dr. Murray Marks, a University of Tennessee forensic anthropologist, is examining the remains, according to KCSO spokeswoman Martha Dooley.

More at link.

Not much info yet. Wonder if this is a clue?

From link posted

Based on the location, Anderson said his family probably mowed within feet of the decomposing body.

Click to expand...

This was said by the person living there...why would they say 'decomposing'..wonder how long they lived there. Wonder what was said to them by LE/CSI that could have made him state that the body would be decomposing while they were mowing.

Curious to find out, 1. M or F and 2. how long they guesstimate the remains to have been there.

Prayers for quick answers on this one for the UID and family who is missing them.

Jonathan Anderson thought he had found a discarded Halloween decoration when he stumbled across a skull on his family's East Knox County property.
But the skull is real, and so is the rest of the skeletal remains found about 3 p.m. Wednesday at 2424 Midway Road.
The discovery by the 25-year-old Anderson has prompted an investigation by the Knox County Sheriff's Office and the Knox County Medical Examiner's Office.
Dr. Murray Marks, a University of Tennessee forensic anthropologist, is examining the remains, according to KCSO spokeswoman Martha Dooley.
Anderson, who recently moved to Kodak where his family lives, said he and a great uncle, Wayne Stiles of Crossville, were walking the 25 acres of property along Midway Road the day before Thanksgiving.
"He was just showing me around, where the camp sites are and stuff like that," Anderson said.
Near the old house that hasn't been inhabited for more than 10 years, the men saw the skull under some leaves and brush.
"We thought it was a Halloween decoration," Anderson said.
They examined the skull and noted there was no hair associated with it.
"When I went to set it back down, I realized I was standing on a whole bunch of bones," he said. "It didn't look like any of it was buried."
The men called authorities, and forensic anthropologists assumed control of the scene. Anderson said the bones were in one place and had not been scattered across the property by animals.
"The detectives said they got most of it," Anderson said.
Anderson said he saw a piece of black cloth near the body that possibly was a shirt.
He said authorities found other articles of clothing, "but it was in such bad shape, there was nothing to it."
Anderson said the bones were about 300-400 feet off Midway Road. The area is quiet and is not frequented by strangers, he said.
Based on the location, Anderson said his family probably mowed within feet of the decomposing body.
"We were just going out for a stroll on the property," Anderson said. "My great uncle said he's never going out in the woods with me again."
Don Jacobs may be reached at 865-342-6345.

Anderson may not have used the exact term "decomposing body." That sentence was not a direct quote, so it would have been acceptable journalism practice to indirectly quote him when he may have said something like "we probably mowed within feet of that spot." A skeleton with scraps of clothing is still in the process of decomposition so I think the description is accurate.

If the body was already a skeleton by Thanksgiving, IMHO it would have been reasonable for him to assume it had been there at the time they last mowed in, say, late August or September.

I think it's interesting that the bones were not scattered by animals, especially if they were there long enough to be down to bare bones, with no hair left on the skull.

Could mean nothing at all, I just found it curious.

He was identified as Byron Barker, missing from Knoxville, TN since May 19, 2005.

Rest in Peace, Byron.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/05/missing-hair-stylists-remains-found/

Remains found. Murder investigation ongoing. Closure for his family after three years. Prayers for his family and justice served. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/06/remains-idd-as-stylist/

I continue to pray for this family, and for some closure and answers.

Lavanda Dolce said:

Remains found. Murder investigation ongoing. Closure for his family after three years. Prayers for his family and justice served. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/06/remains-idd-as-stylist/

Click to expand...

Looks like they've got a pretty strong suspect:
According to investigators, Baker lied about Barker's whereabouts to relatives and police, wore Barker's clothes, stole his belongings, and had hacked into the hair stylist's computer and erased every file, e-mail message or trace of Internet history that linked him to Barker.
(Lavanda's link)

All I can say is Wow!! I pray something comes out of this. Its about time.

I actually knew Byron very well. I worked as a receptionist in his salon during the mid-90's while I was in art school. He was a very interesting character who had led many lives before I met him. I had heard that his life had gone down hill since we parted ways and I can't say it surprised me. When I heard of his disappearance, I was very sad, for no one deserved the torture that he most likely endured at the end of his life. I am glad that they found his body and finally put to rest his family's anxiety about his whereabouts. I hope the person responsible for this (and it seems like this suspect may be good for it... I've heard a lot through the grapevine) gets his just desserts.

I thought of writing a book or something about Byron. He was such a complex character who surrounded himself with lots of interesting people. Working in the salon business does that... you hear a bit of everything in a salon and make contacts all over the place.

Perhaps I will share some of my Byron stories with you guys someday if you are interested.

-s-