cnmccarthy
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They did. She answers this in a later post!
TN TN - Michael Hearon, 51, Happy Valley, 23 Aug 2008
- Thread starter bluestarzz
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karenbbmiller
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I just listened to this story on a podcast, and can not stop thinking about Michael. I don't think he stumbled upon meth or pot houses. Searchers would have also stumbled upon those you would think. So it makes me wonder about his neighbors along that road or the road the ATV was found. Did he see something he shouldn't have? Was he seeing a neighbors wife? Was he meeting someone down the road to buy something? Did he smoke or do any drugs? So many things that could have happened. We may never know. But I pray his family gets closure ASAP!!!
Plumber101010
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Wow! Amazing story. Sometimes hearing everything for the first time versus following it can give you a fresh perspective. As I pondered this story I’ve always noticed when I answer these here on the website it helps me to focus myself as I put it in words. Sometimes even helps me come to my own conclusion by writing down. I do better figuring it out as I write lol.
The first thing that went through my mind is whatever happened didn’t take place at his house because they would have taken the items in his truck AND he left the house happy waving to neighbors on a four wheeler. That tells me it took place away from his land. All is good at that point.
So “something” happen ON his ATV ride. That’s where the mystery starts. I don’t think it’s bizarre he would have went for a ride after getting there, probably to check on that land they talked about that needed mowing because the people weren’t around. Just to do a looksee to see how bad it had grown and just a general idea of everything else.
Also, let’s not forget they found his gun in the truck. Anybody who was planning on “meeting” someone for a deal or expected to be gone long and owns a gun would have grabbed his gun before he left. Leaving a gun behind in the truck, leaving it open with valuables inside and waving to neighbors signifies to me that in his mind, he was going to be gone ONLY a short few minutes.
That rules out many possibilities such as meeting someone’s wife, seeing something on his drive there in the truck and going to investigate, seeing something suspicious when he got to his property, meeting someone for his own deal or the many other speculations.
Now there’s only three possibilities with the location of the ATV. I don’t allow the fourth possibility of casually leaving it there and then walking off on a hike because it’s been stated many times the ignition was on, it was left in gear and it was kind of hidden out of the way.
So either he chased someone there, or someone chased him there, or he was killed or kidnapped at another location and it was stashed there to move it from the area the crime took place and even maybe to be stolen at a later date.
In either case in all three possibilities, the state of the ATV tells me tons of information. And that information is that it was “left in a hurry” Somebody left it fast as if they were chasing someone and then jumped off, or they were being chased and then jumped off, or somebody stashed it in a state of frenzied mind after possibly just killing someone, then hopped off and hauled butt.
Not to be insensitive to the case, but I always try to be as logical as possible. And from here it’s not all that important to me. Meaning I don’t really need to know the specifics because in my mind I’ve already concluded I know enough to know it was foul play. And once you introduce foul play into anyone who is missing, specifics are not that important, not to mention, there are so many endless scenarios that could have taken place that lead to the foul play, we could speculate until the day we die ourselves and not pick the right combination or event.
However I think we can safely conclude a few more things to help narrow it down even more.
I personally don’t think he was chased there because unless somebody was shooting out of the window and he was looking to take cover, which I think neighbors would’ve reported a lot of gunshots, he would’ve drove around in circles or basically I think he could’ve easily outmaneuvered any vehicle on an ATV to where he didn’t need to jump off.
And I don’t know why, but most people who are used to growing up in the woods have pretty good common sense and I can’t imagine him chasing somebody there without taking note he was not armed and would be risking his life doing so. Unless he thought he was a world MMA title holder, my point is I can’t imagine him just arbitrarily running off on an ATV and following people or a person to the edge and then hopping off and given chase on foot into the woods, risking his own life for something as arbitrary as drugs or many other things that I’m sure he was well aware was common in that area. He wasn’t a cop so there would be no reason on earth for him to go give chase to a moonshiner or pot farmer or meth lab, so unless it was something serious like they just tried to kill his wife or something like that, I don’t think he would’ve gone to that extent especially knowing he didn’t have his gun on him. I don’t see him as a superhero.
And in my opinion in either one of those events, being chased or him chasing, I see that with people in a vehicle and not on foot. And rain or no rain, there would have been very noticeable vehicle tracks and tire tracks if he had chased or someone chased him there. And if they were on foot, he could have easily out run them on an ATV. So the state of the ATV just doesn’t make sense at all in either of those on foot scenarios except one and one only. He saw someone very far away at the edge of the wood line or very close to it, as he could have caught someone on foot before they made it.
And at that distance, how could he really even conclude what was taking place???
Since I think he was just out for a ride and not scouring the woods looking for an illegal operation and since people who do illegal things like meth labs and pot farms don’t do it by the roadside but deeper in the woods, my money goes on the bet that he “came across” something “sinister” and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Something as simple as coming around the corner in the middle of a deal going down in the road and somebody got spooked! Or he jumped out to take a look inside the abandon cabin, or he was doing a looksee at the house of that other land that needed to be mowed other than his (I don’t remember reading if there was an actual house there or not???) but whatever he happened upon? Was serious enough to the people he saw that it was worth killing him over, even if it was not. Which doesn’t shock me when meth heads go on paranoia trips!
I don’t know if he was killed then in there or if he was kidnapped to be shot later deeper in the woods, but he came across something he was NOT expecting to come across before his mowing of the lawn. I tend to think he was abducted because law-enforcement would’ve seen something like blood or tissue or just something if that had taken place other than possibly an arbitrary location on a roadside.
So I think he was held at gun point, thrown into a vehicle, someone stashed the ATV which means there was more than one of them, and they drove off to execute him shortly after.
Since the location of the ATV was very close to that abandon cabin I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s where it all took place. I think he’s just an innocent man who decided to take a quick ride before getting to work and he was a very very unlucky person!
There is another remote possibility which is someone was just looking to kill him but they would’ve had to been aware of his schedule and then laid in wait and based on the events I don’t see that happening. For one I think they would’ve waited for him inside his home, and not down the road or in the woods on the off chance he happen to come by on his ATV! Possible, but not probable at all.
As I’ve always said, the only one thing between a regular murder / missing person story vs being a big mystery is the fact that no body was recovered. If Mike’s body has been located with a bullet in it this case would’ve been closed long ago and probably long forgotten except by family.
But the absence of a body should not turn it into anything way more mysterious then it is.
The first thing that went through my mind is whatever happened didn’t take place at his house because they would have taken the items in his truck AND he left the house happy waving to neighbors on a four wheeler. That tells me it took place away from his land. All is good at that point.
So “something” happen ON his ATV ride. That’s where the mystery starts. I don’t think it’s bizarre he would have went for a ride after getting there, probably to check on that land they talked about that needed mowing because the people weren’t around. Just to do a looksee to see how bad it had grown and just a general idea of everything else.
Also, let’s not forget they found his gun in the truck. Anybody who was planning on “meeting” someone for a deal or expected to be gone long and owns a gun would have grabbed his gun before he left. Leaving a gun behind in the truck, leaving it open with valuables inside and waving to neighbors signifies to me that in his mind, he was going to be gone ONLY a short few minutes.
That rules out many possibilities such as meeting someone’s wife, seeing something on his drive there in the truck and going to investigate, seeing something suspicious when he got to his property, meeting someone for his own deal or the many other speculations.
Now there’s only three possibilities with the location of the ATV. I don’t allow the fourth possibility of casually leaving it there and then walking off on a hike because it’s been stated many times the ignition was on, it was left in gear and it was kind of hidden out of the way.
So either he chased someone there, or someone chased him there, or he was killed or kidnapped at another location and it was stashed there to move it from the area the crime took place and even maybe to be stolen at a later date.
In either case in all three possibilities, the state of the ATV tells me tons of information. And that information is that it was “left in a hurry” Somebody left it fast as if they were chasing someone and then jumped off, or they were being chased and then jumped off, or somebody stashed it in a state of frenzied mind after possibly just killing someone, then hopped off and hauled butt.
Not to be insensitive to the case, but I always try to be as logical as possible. And from here it’s not all that important to me. Meaning I don’t really need to know the specifics because in my mind I’ve already concluded I know enough to know it was foul play. And once you introduce foul play into anyone who is missing, specifics are not that important, not to mention, there are so many endless scenarios that could have taken place that lead to the foul play, we could speculate until the day we die ourselves and not pick the right combination or event.
However I think we can safely conclude a few more things to help narrow it down even more.
I personally don’t think he was chased there because unless somebody was shooting out of the window and he was looking to take cover, which I think neighbors would’ve reported a lot of gunshots, he would’ve drove around in circles or basically I think he could’ve easily outmaneuvered any vehicle on an ATV to where he didn’t need to jump off.
And I don’t know why, but most people who are used to growing up in the woods have pretty good common sense and I can’t imagine him chasing somebody there without taking note he was not armed and would be risking his life doing so. Unless he thought he was a world MMA title holder, my point is I can’t imagine him just arbitrarily running off on an ATV and following people or a person to the edge and then hopping off and given chase on foot into the woods, risking his own life for something as arbitrary as drugs or many other things that I’m sure he was well aware was common in that area. He wasn’t a cop so there would be no reason on earth for him to go give chase to a moonshiner or pot farmer or meth lab, so unless it was something serious like they just tried to kill his wife or something like that, I don’t think he would’ve gone to that extent especially knowing he didn’t have his gun on him. I don’t see him as a superhero.
And in my opinion in either one of those events, being chased or him chasing, I see that with people in a vehicle and not on foot. And rain or no rain, there would have been very noticeable vehicle tracks and tire tracks if he had chased or someone chased him there. And if they were on foot, he could have easily out run them on an ATV. So the state of the ATV just doesn’t make sense at all in either of those on foot scenarios except one and one only. He saw someone very far away at the edge of the wood line or very close to it, as he could have caught someone on foot before they made it.
And at that distance, how could he really even conclude what was taking place???
Since I think he was just out for a ride and not scouring the woods looking for an illegal operation and since people who do illegal things like meth labs and pot farms don’t do it by the roadside but deeper in the woods, my money goes on the bet that he “came across” something “sinister” and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Something as simple as coming around the corner in the middle of a deal going down in the road and somebody got spooked! Or he jumped out to take a look inside the abandon cabin, or he was doing a looksee at the house of that other land that needed to be mowed other than his (I don’t remember reading if there was an actual house there or not???) but whatever he happened upon? Was serious enough to the people he saw that it was worth killing him over, even if it was not. Which doesn’t shock me when meth heads go on paranoia trips!
I don’t know if he was killed then in there or if he was kidnapped to be shot later deeper in the woods, but he came across something he was NOT expecting to come across before his mowing of the lawn. I tend to think he was abducted because law-enforcement would’ve seen something like blood or tissue or just something if that had taken place other than possibly an arbitrary location on a roadside.
So I think he was held at gun point, thrown into a vehicle, someone stashed the ATV which means there was more than one of them, and they drove off to execute him shortly after.
Since the location of the ATV was very close to that abandon cabin I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s where it all took place. I think he’s just an innocent man who decided to take a quick ride before getting to work and he was a very very unlucky person!
There is another remote possibility which is someone was just looking to kill him but they would’ve had to been aware of his schedule and then laid in wait and based on the events I don’t see that happening. For one I think they would’ve waited for him inside his home, and not down the road or in the woods on the off chance he happen to come by on his ATV! Possible, but not probable at all.
As I’ve always said, the only one thing between a regular murder / missing person story vs being a big mystery is the fact that no body was recovered. If Mike’s body has been located with a bullet in it this case would’ve been closed long ago and probably long forgotten except by family.
But the absence of a body should not turn it into anything way more mysterious then it is.
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GuyfromCanada
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OCT 31
HAPPY VALLEY, Tenn. — Michael Edwin Hearon vanished on August 23, 2008. Despite efforts from the Blount County Sheriff's Office, the Happy Valley community, web sleuths, and close friends and family members, Mike has not been located.
Mike is a father of two. He's a beloved builder in the Blount County community, and a trail-cutter for the national park. According to his sons, Matt and Andy, he was a joy to be around.
"He was just a real fun guy to be around. He was not boring at all. I'll just put it that way," Matt said.
"He was always really friendly to everyone. A lot of people spoke very highly of him," Andy said.
More at Vanished in the Mountains || Mike Hearon's disappearance still haunts Happy Valley a decade later
HAPPY VALLEY, Tenn. — Michael Edwin Hearon vanished on August 23, 2008. Despite efforts from the Blount County Sheriff's Office, the Happy Valley community, web sleuths, and close friends and family members, Mike has not been located.
Mike is a father of two. He's a beloved builder in the Blount County community, and a trail-cutter for the national park. According to his sons, Matt and Andy, he was a joy to be around.
"He was just a real fun guy to be around. He was not boring at all. I'll just put it that way," Matt said.
"He was always really friendly to everyone. A lot of people spoke very highly of him," Andy said.
More at Vanished in the Mountains || Mike Hearon's disappearance still haunts Happy Valley a decade later