Found Deceased NC - Douglas Simmons, 20, Raleigh, 10 July 1990

[Satch]

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/mother_son_reunited_/ It's been suggested that this might actually be Douglas, however, his NamUs page is still up. Whether or not it's him, it gives me hope that we can find more people ❤️

Except the year is off, 1994 vs. 1990.

Satch

 

[AnonFriend]

Sadly, today marks 27 years of Doug Simmons disappearance. I went to High School and college with Doug. He was such a sweet guy. Smart, athletic and not your typical Grateful Dead, hippie/druggie fan. Like all young kids he drank, maybe occasionally, if at all, smoked weed at worst, but no-he was not a hardcore druggie. He was well liked and it is ridiculous in theory to think any of his friends killed him. Most of his friends believe this is what loosely happened that night:
Doug broke the #1 safety rule, the buddy system by leaving the concert by himself.
I think he left the concert to buy some weed or possibly LSD. (Ask any Grateful Dead fan and they will tell you doing acid and watching a Grateful Dead concert go hand in hand.) He of course intended to complete this task of buying drugs and then return back into the concert venue. I believe he found a person willing to sell him what he wanted in the parking lot but this person didn't want to do the deal in full public view. Therefore, Doug either went to meet him in the woods or the person's car/van to complete the drug transaction. Witnesses said they saw Doug walking to the woods. However, I second guess that he was killed in the woods. There wasn't any evidence found in the woods. I believe Doug was killed in the parking lot in someone's car/van and and just for the money he had on him. How much this was, I do not know. But Doug was a 20 year old college student who lived at home. He couldn't have had more than a few hundred bucks on him. Sad to think another human being would so selfishly kill another for a few hundred dollars but if you know anything about Grateful Dead concerts and the fans, you know there are many gypsy type individuals who travel from city to city to follow them on tour. These people don't have jobs and how they find the money to support this lifestyle can only be assumed. Again,this is just my opinion. The above picture of the John Doe is NOT Doug. I haven't seen him in 27 years but I can tell you that isn't him. Today I say a prayer for Doug and his family.He was a wonderful individual taken away too soon. How horrible it must be for them to not have closure of what exactly happened to Doug.
I remember the Meredith Emerson case that happened in 2008. The man who killed her, Gary Hilton was known to frequent Grateful Dead concerts. I wonder if authorities ever questioned Hilton about Doug Simmons? If it wasn't Gary Hilton who is was responsible for Doug's disappearance you can probably bet it was someone very similar in profile to Gary Hilton. Here is the link to that case:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1950486/posts

Please say a prayer for Doug Simmons. I hope no matter where he is, he is at peace and that the person(s) who committed this crime are brought to justice.

 

[Savemecastiel]

Bumping

 

[Rweikel]

Searching for MSM confirmation, but some interesting update from a family member in a social media group. unfortunately unable to link here.

 

[countrygal24]

Doug was laid to rest today June 5, 2018 in Pensacola, FL. The family said some bones and his wallet were found in North Carolina Dec 2016 and through DNA were identified as Doug. Douglas Simmons - Pensacola Memorial Gardens

 

[Satch]

Doug was laid to rest today June 5, 2018 in Pensacola, FL. The family said some bones and his wallet were found in North Carolina Dec 2016 and through DNA were identified as Doug. Douglas Simmons - Pensacola Memorial Gardens

So sad!

You wonder if he was robbed or killed at gunpoint when he went to his car? Or if Doug was really at that rest-stop that the witness reported? Maybe he was hit in the head and suffered amnesia?

RIP Doug.

Satch

 

[Argh!]

Doug's case was profiled on the TV show _Missing:Reward_ right after he disappeared. I actually saw it when it aired and that was how I was first informed that he had gone missing. It has some information that isn't mentioned in most online profiles. Somebody uploaded a copy of that particular episode from VHS to youtube about a year ago. I do not know if links are allowed here, but is isn't difficult to find - just search for "Missing Reward" on youtube and it is the one by user "cheesyvideo" with a chia pet as the picture.
Rest in peace, my friend.

 

[Rweikel]

Doug was laid to rest today June 5, 2018 in Pensacola, FL. The family said some bones and his wallet were found in North Carolina Dec 2016 and through DNA were identified as Doug. Douglas Simmons - Pensacola Memorial Gardens

Thank you for finding and sharing. RIP Doug

 

[Otterly]

So sad!

You wonder if he was robbed or killed at gunpoint when he went to his car? Or if Doug was really at that rest-stop that the witness reported? Maybe he was hit in the head and suffered amnesia?

RIP Doug.

Satch

These are the same thoughts I have. I wonder where in the state he was found and if they could determine the cause of death. It's interesting that since his wallet was found on him 26 years after he went missing, it means no one took the extra effort of taking his wallet to make it more difficult to identify him.

 

[Gwen73]

Just thought you all might be interest to know that Doug’s remains have been found and laid to rest. He was less than 3 miles from the venue.

 

[apearn]

Just thought you all might be interest to know that Doug’s remains have been found and laid to rest. He was less than 3 miles from the venue.

Thank you for the update. I wondered about him for a long time. RIP Douglas

 

[Satch]

RIP Doug. I wonder of we will get an autopsy on his remains to determine cause of death. Mods should probably mark this case as SOLVED.

Satch

 

[mistagee]

I believe he may have been found deceased, here is his obituary.
Douglas Simmons Obituary (1970 - 2018) - the Pensacola News Journal

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

The Doe Network had him listed in the 2021 resolved section.

Douglas Stephen Simmons(131DMNC) is no longer missing per Law Enforcement. No further information is available.

Located & Identified Persons

 

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

I never thought he made it out of NC.

either he was murdered, or he overdosed on drugs and his friends panicked Unfortunately, we will never know because I doubt this case will be further investigated by authorities.

 

[iko87iko]

RIP Doug. I wonder of we will get an autopsy on his remains to determine cause of death. Mods should probably mark this case as SOLVED.

Satch

an old dead fan here who has moved to the area around the stadium from the northeast and came across this case. It is odd that there is basically nothing on the discovery of his remains and wallet, nothing on whether it was suspected of an OD or murder. While I'm glad his family was able to get closure, it blows my mind that seemingly there is nothing in the press about it and everyone is apparently OK with the fact that we don't know who killed him or how he died.