WV WV - Sgt. James Haynes, 32, Wyoming County, 7 Dec 1963

Richard

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James Lee Haynes
Missing since December 7, 1963 from West Virginia
Classification: Missing

Circumstances of Disappearance

Sergeant James Haynes was hitch hiking home to Wyoming County on December 7, 1963. He never made it.

Deputies believe he was hit by a car and buried on Bolt Mountain, but they haven't been able to find the body.

Haynes' billfold and Army dog tags were found in a wooded area in Wyoming County following his disappearance. Police believe he was fatally injured when run over by a car containing three men with whom he had fought at a tavern.

At the time of his death, police said Haynes was hitchhiking to Saulsville in Wyoming County to deliver Christmas presents.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Raleigh County Sheriff's Department 255-9300

Source Information:
The State Journal
Charleston Daily Mail
The Doe Network: Case File 3338DMWV
 
Bumping this case up.

Even though it would appear that Sgt Haynes was murdered, the US Army would still be carrying him as a Deserter, since he disappeared and no body has been found.

This means that for the past 44 years, his family has been called periodically by the Army to see if their "deserter" son has ever called home.

No military honors, memorial service, flag, or memorial headstone could be obtained. They also cannot obtain his final pay or receive his Servicemans Government Life Insurance money.
 
It has been 46 years since he disappeared. The case is still unsolved.
 
Bumping this case up.

Even though it would appear that Sgt Haynes was murdered, the US Army would still be carrying him as a Deserter, since he disappeared and no body has been found.

This means that for the past 44 years, his family has been called periodically by the Army to see if their "deserter" son has ever called home.

No military honors, memorial service, flag, or memorial headstone could be obtained. They also cannot obtain his final pay or receive his Servicemans Government Life Insurance money.
Sorry that you have been so misinformed Richard. James Lee Haynes was labeled as dead by the military and given a footplate for his plot that still remains empty. The person that was thought to have killed my Father is Ludy Trump that has since died ( none to soon for me). I don't have any other info or the others that were with him that night. Sooo.... My father was corrected as not being a awol solider or an absent Dad.
 
Sorry that you have been so misinformed Richard. James Lee Haynes was labeled as dead by the military and given a footplate for his plot that still remains empty. The person that was thought to have killed my Father is Ludy Trump that has since died ( none to soon for me). I don't have any other info or the others that were with him that night. Sooo.... My father was corrected as not being a awol solider or an absent Dad.

Welcome to websleuths and to this thread about the disappearance of Sgt. Haynes. Sorry to have provided incorrect information regarding your family.

Sources that I have seen did not state what the Army's position was in this case. My statements regarding missing service men/women being declared deserters was based on my own military experience and from having seen many similar cases.

In this case, it appears that the Army accepted the local authorities belief that a homicide had occurred and that Sgt. Haynes' body was not recoverable. The case is still open and unsolved, however, as no one was ever indicted or tried for the murder.

Perhaps now that Mr. Trump is dead, someone will come forward and provide information as to the location of the body.

It has now been 47 years since Sgt. Haynes was last seen alive.
 
Sorry that you have been so misinformed Richard. James Lee Haynes was labeled as dead by the military and given a footplate for his plot that still remains empty. The person that was thought to have killed my Father is Ludy Trump that has since died ( none to soon for me). I don't have any other info or the others that were with him that night. Sooo.... My father was corrected as not being a awol solider or an absent Dad.


I am so sorry for your loss. Your father deserved better than this and I hop and pray all those responsible will be found and that your father's remains will be laid to rest in the proper grave.
 
The known victims:

7 victims between 1962 and 1964 possibly more. only 2 bodies identified.

THE VICTIMS

1.Ernest Gwinn-July 3 1962-76 years old

Only his skull was found with a bullet hole in it.


2.Sammy Smith-October 30 1962-33 years old

Body never found


3.Mike Leo Rogers-December 19,1962- 19 years old

Mildy retarded, Mike had the mind of a 6 year old

His body was later found on gauley mountain hacked into parts, his liver had chew marks on it


4.Louis Bennett-July 27 1963-40 years old

He was found later, a victim of tnt, yep someone tried to blow him up!


5.Gene Arthur-November 22,1963-33 years old

Naval officer, body never found


6.Sgt.James lee Haynes-December7,1963-40 years old

body never found


7. Bobby Mack Agee-Febuary 1963

Body never found
 
They had one suspect who ended up in a mental hospital. He did confess to at least 1 of the murders, Mike Rogers. (Maybe more that I don't know about)

He was: Simon Chapple. He went to an insane asylum in Ohio. He never went to court.
 
I wonder if they still have that bone chip in evidence and if a DNA profile could run and compared to Sgt Haynes survivng family.

I know LE thinks that he was probably killed by those 3 guys in the car (but that doesn't mean those 3 couldn't be responsible for the other killings as well) Wasn't was the 1st missing man supposedly seen in the company of 3 men when he left the diner?

**********************
James Haynes,32, Army enlisted,Vanished Dec. 7, 1963, last seen at intersection Highway 21
in Oak Hill where he was dropped off by a family (he had hitchhiked). He was from
Baltimore, but was hitchhiking to visit his parents in Pineville.Sergeant James Haynes was
hitch hiking home to Wyoming County on December 7, 1963. He never made it.
Deputies believe he was hit by a car and buried on Bolt Mountain, but they haven't been
able to find the body.
Haynes' billfold and Army dog tags were found in a wooded area in Wyoming County following
his disappearance. Police believe he was fatally injured when run over by a car containing
three men with whom he had fought at a tavern.
At the time of his death, police said Haynes was hitchhiking to Saulsville in Wyoming
County to deliver Christmas presents.


Dec. 7, 1963, White, Male, Adult,Torso found 6 miles south of Pineville in Wyoming County, off State Route 16,near Indian Creek, with 19 puncture wounds in the chest, lungs very clean, did not smoke, was not a coal miner. A
blood-stained table cloth was found nearby and a tarpaulin with sand and straw were found to contain the lower torso. It was tied with mine explosive wire. The head, both arms and legs below the knees were missing. The torso was sawed in half. The upper part of the torso was found about four feet away from the lower half in the tarpaulin.
A bone chip also was found. They said the body was "sawed." Male was 30 to 35 years of age, weighed about 170 pounds, and had been dead for two weeks. Buried "unidentified." Body was buried at Still Run Jan. 6 1964 by the Robertson-Foglesong Funeral Home. Grave has a bronze marker with the inscription "Unidentified Male A."
 
I don't know if the DNA was ever tested. Let's hope registered user, "Haynes" comes on and can give you the answers. "Haynes" is the child of Sgt. James Haynes.
 
LE should consider testing the old evidence and looking at the old files with fresh eyes. The body they found appears to be Haynes.
 
LE should also publicize this case again and they should keep the story alive for awhile. Sometimes, stories circulate in families. Someone's grandmother may have seen her husband come home with blood on his clothes back in 1963 and was afraid at the time to say anything, or a child during that time, may have seen something, but didn't know what to do about it.
 
....
...Deputies believe he was hit by a car and buried on Bolt Mountain, but they haven't been able to find the body. ...

Dec. 7, 1963, White, Male, Adult,Torso found 6 miles south of Pineville in Wyoming County, off State Route 16,near Indian Creek, with 19 puncture wounds in the chest, lungs very clean, did not smoke, was not a coal miner. A blood-stained table cloth was found nearby and a tarpaulin with sand and straw were found to contain the lower torso. It was tied with mine explosive wire. The head, both arms and legs below the knees were missing. The torso was sawed in half. The upper part of the torso was found about four feet away from the lower half in the tarpaulin.
A bone chip also was found. They said the body was "sawed." Male was 30 to 35 years of age, weighed about 170 pounds, and had been dead for two weeks. Buried "unidentified." Body was buried at Still Run Jan. 6 1964 by the Robertson-Foglesong Funeral Home. Grave has a bronze marker with the inscription "Unidentified Male A."

That is quite a conclusion about Sgt Haynes being hit and killed by a car - since there was no body found.

Note that the story about the unknown man is dated the same day that Sgt Haynes went missing and it is stated that he had been dead about 2 weeks. If that is correct, it is doubtful that they are the same person. However, it is also quite possible that dates or estimates of death could be off and that the unknown and the missing man are one and the same.
 
IMO, the best way to work on a case such as this is get the word back out. News, new articles, radio, flood media again in any/all areas he was last seen and prior.

I am confused about details of his last known activities. The posts show different origins and destinations (but, maybe not. I don't know this area).

Are there any locals here following that can give input? The littlest things could be helpful...what's the area like, best news, etc.

I'd like to know more about this body and why and if it has been ruled out 100%.

Thinking cap, ON.
 
http://junkgrrl317.blogspot.com/2010/12/james-lee-haynes.html

In 1971, William Lundy Trump was arrested in connection with Haynes' disappearance, but a lack of evidence eventually led to his release. James Paul Cozort, who was living in Oregon in 1971, was also questioned, but was never formally charged. The other suspect, James Floyd Cox was missing at the time of Trump's arrest and was never located by police. These suspects never admitted to involvement in Haynes' disappearance, but allegedly boasted to others about their crime.


Haynes was involved in an altercation with three men at a local tavern earlier that day. Afterwards, the men followed Haynes from the tavern and ran him down as he walked along the road. The suspects, unsure if Haynes was dead, backed their car over him again as he lay on the road. They put Haynes' body in the trunk of their vehicle at the scene in Raleigh County, then drove across the county line to Wyoming County. They buried Haynes in a large hollow on Bolt Mountain and nailed his dog tags to a tree. Searches of the area turned up Haynes dog tags, his wallet, and some bloody rags in a hollow tree stump, but his body was never recovered. Police stated that area was too large and the terrain too rough for a more thorough search.

Much more at the link.
 

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