MS MS - Jeffrey Hegwood, 23, Hattiesburg, 20 March 1980

Richard

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Missing for 30 years:

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Jeffrey Keith Hegwood

Missing since March 20, 1980 from Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi.

Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: February 6, 1957
Age at Time of Disappearance: 23 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'10"; 158 lbs.

Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Dark brown hair; brown eyes. Hegwood wears eyeglasses or contact lenses and also suffers from seasonal allergies, including hay fever.

Marks, Scars: He has a scar on his inner left eyebrow.

Jewelry/Items: Hegwood was wearing a gold Bulova Acutron watch with a green safety cross on its face and the name "Robert E. Bell" engraved on the back at the time of his disappearance. He was also carrying a .25-caliber RG Model 26 pistol with serial number U020365.

Circumstances of Disappearance

Hegwood was last seen in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on March 20, 1980. He has never been heard from again.

Hegwood enjoyed hunting, fishing and canoing in 1980. He was employed as a bartender at the time of his disappearance.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Hattiesburg Police Department
Detective Rusty Keyes
601-545-4974

NCIC Number: M-059130013

Source Information:
ID-Wanted
The Doe Network: Case File 1121DMMS

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1121dmms.html
 
This is a local case for me but one I'd never heard of until seeing it on here. Of course, it did happen two years before I was born. I wish I could help with it but there's just nothing to go on. The name does sound vaguely familiar though.
 
What do ya'll think of this
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll234/CCParrott/hegwood2-1.jpg

Does they look alike? Look at the dimple to on his left side of face and nose. What do you think?

There is an amazing similarity in the photos. Perhaps they are related. Who is in the more recent photo? Is there a name associated with it?

I believe that Jeffrey Keith Hegwood has a lot of relatives and family in the Hattiesburg area. There are a lot of folks by that last name, at least.

I think that he is listed as missing by his family. It is interesting that he would have such an expensive watch with another guy's name on it. What is the story there?

And the fact that he was carrying a .25 Auto pistol with a specific serial number. That info had to have come from someone with access to his personal papers and effects.

There is very little info posted, however, and there has to be much more to this story. Who did he hang out with? What kind of car did he drive and did it also go missing? Why the gun?
 
There is an amazing similarity in the photos. Perhaps they are related. Who is in the more recent photo? Is there a name associated with it?

I believe that Jeffrey Keith Hegwood has a lot of relatives and family in the Hattiesburg area. There are a lot of folks by that last name, at least.

I think that he is listed as missing by his family. It is interesting that he would have such an expensive watch with another guy's name on it. What is the story there?

And the fact that he was carrying a .25 Auto pistol with a specific serial number. That info had to have come from someone with access to his personal papers and effects.

There is very little info posted, however, and there has to be much more to this story. Who did he hang out with? What kind of car did he drive and did it also go missing? Why the gun?

I agree that the watch having a different name is weird. I wish there where more answers.

BTW, the guy in the picture his name is Jeff Hegwood also. Lives in GA and is a pastor and in his 50's. I couldnt believe how much alike they look. It blew my mind I tell ya.
 
...BTW, the guy in the picture his name is Jeff Hegwood also. Lives in GA and is a pastor and in his 50's. I couldnt believe how much alike they look. It blew my mind I tell ya.

Maybe you should submit it as a possible lead to the Hattiesburg Police or Doenetwork. And ask them for more information at the same time.
 
This is local for me too, and I'm anxious to hear more info! I'd never heard of it either, but I was two years old when it happened. :)

When I was studying journalism at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, we were assigned a cold case to dig into for our investigative reporting class (we wrote articles about Angela Freeman, missing teen from nearby Petal, Miss., which is what really spurred my interest in missing persons). If enough info exists about the circumstances of Jeffrey's dissapearance, then maybe the current crop of students could do a similar project on him!
 
I would submit it directly to the Hattiesburg PD.

I concur. You could contact them at the number in the case file. If they have this as one of their jurisdictional cases, then they will have more information on it.

These missing person cases can involve almost any kind of situation. There were at least three cases in the last year in which a living person came forward or was found and their very long term "missing" status resolved.

Of course, there are numerous missing person cases which are resolved by the person showing up days, weeks or months later. The requirement for a case getting on Doenetwork is that the person has to have been missing for nine years or more, so when one of them turns up alive somewhere, it is a rather newsworthy occasion.

In this particular case, if an investigator were to contact the man in the photo, it might resolve the case one way or another. Even if he is NOT the missing Jeffery Hegwood, he might know something.
 
I do think they look very much alike. The mouth is exact (look at the outline of the top lip) The smile, the jaw, the dimples. It's crazy but I think it's him. I'm going to do it. I was right about Lafreda Chrispen, so u never know.


edit-sent email last night to HPD.

Good! PLEASE keep us posted. I really think the resemblance is amazing.
 
I was contacted on my blog by someone claiming they are Jeff's brother. He said this is still an active case and that Jeff bought the watch and gun at a pawn shop sometime before he disapeared. I invited him to join us here. He also said that he does not believe that the Jeff in Ga resembles his brother.
 
I was contacted on my blog by someone claiming they are Jeff's brother. He said this is still an active case and that Jeff bought the watch and gun at a pawn shop sometime before he disapeared. I invited him to join us here. He also said that he does not believe that the Jeff in Ga resembles his brother.

Just found your blog sleuthster. Looks like I'm gonna be up all night reading... yet again. I think the pic.'s look similar too.
 
There seems to be very little substantial information regarding Jeffery Keith Hegwood and his disappearance.

Although there is an exact description of his watch and pistol, including engraved name and serial number, etc., the information which is left out begs a number of very elementary questions.

1. What kind of car did he drive? Is it missing as well? Was it found somewhere other than its usual place?

2. Who or what groups did he hang out with?

3. Was he in the habit of just disappearing or going off without notifying people?

4. What are the circumstances of his disappearance? Was he missing from work? From home? Did he miss a meeting?

5. What were his usual activities? Did he go hiking and not return? Was he out boating? Did he go off with someone and not return? Was he into illegal activities of some sort?

6. Money: Did he have a lot of cash on him? Did he often cary large sums on him? Did he make any major withdrawls of savings just prior to his disappearance?

7. Did any of his friends blow town about the same time? Or did his usual buddies claim to know nothing? Or something?

8. Was he distraught or upset about anything before going missing? Was he in trouble with the law? With any person or persons?

9. Did he leave any notes as to his departure? Was there any indication of a forced abduction? Did he pack his bags?

Most of these questions could have been answered simply by providing the information to the Doenetwork or police to begin with.
 
I assume that I can post this on here, afterall, it came from my blog.

This is what a person who said they are Jeff's brother wrote on my blog;

Anonymous said...
Hello. Jeff is my brother. The article does not give very much info at all. He is still missing since March 20, 1979. The campus police at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg are actually still somewhat involved in this case. The watch and gun were both purchased by Jeff quite sometime before his disappearance at a pawn shop. I looked at the photo of the Jeff Hegwood from Georgia and I really don't see that much resemblance. This has been a very big mystery for a very long time.
 
I assume that I can post this on here, afterall, it came from my blog.

This is what a person who said they are Jeff's brother wrote on my blog;

Anonymous said...
Hello. Jeff is my brother. The article does not give very much info at all. He is still missing since March 20, 1979. The campus police at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg are actually still somewhat involved in this case. The watch and gun were both purchased by Jeff quite sometime before his disappearance at a pawn shop. I looked at the photo of the Jeff Hegwood from Georgia and I really don't see that much resemblance. This has been a very big mystery for a very long time.

Maybe they will come back and provide more information for you. Did you submit the MS guy or do whatever it is you do?
 
I submitted it to Rocky at doenetwork. He did not feel that they looked alike enough to submit to LE. I responded to anymous and asked him if he could provide more info to help us and asked him to join us here but I did not get a response.
Like Richard, I wish there where more info about this whole case availible. Very strange case indeed.
 
I assume that I can post this on here, afterall, it came from my blog.

This is what a person who said they are Jeff's brother wrote on my blog;

Anonymous said...
Hello. Jeff is my brother. The article does not give very much info at all. He is still missing since March 20, 1979. ...This has been a very big mystery for a very long time.

This is an interesting statement, which I missed the first time that I read it. It would seem that his brother is saying that Jeffrey went missing 20 March 1979 rather than 20 March 1980? This is a descrepancy by a whole year from what Doenet has posted.

How could information about the serial number of his gun and the name on his watch be known, but not other very basic stuff?

My earlier questions remain unanswered. Somebody knows the answers, and it would help to post them.

It is hard to come up with any theories, suggestions, or ideas when so little information is revealed.

Who was his best friend, and what were his thoughts and reactions to Jeffrey's disappearance? Who saw him last, and when, and where?

What vehicle was he in? His own? A friend's?

Why was he armed with a pistol?

Where did he usually hang out? What parks or trails did he visit?

What were his usual interests and pursuits?
 

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