VA VA - Benjamin Coffey, 27, Gloucester, 31 Dec 2012

[JnRyan]

This is a slightly more recent article from January of this year. I like the idea of updates as they keep the case alive and in the public eye. But a lot of times it just appears that a reporter does some research of older articles and then rehashes it. Nothing new. Not so with this one. A bit of new stuff here. LE has a surveillance video of the van being parked where it was found and a group of people leaving in another vehicle and none of them are Ben. This is the first I've heard of it.
Gloucester man's New Year's disappearance haunts loved ones six years later

 

[JerseyGirl]

Ben Coffey was in Gloucester, Virginia, when he last spoke to a friend around dinnertime on New Year’s Eve 2012. Ben, 27, told the friend he was going home for the night because he was tired. He never made it home.

The next day, authorities found Ben’s 1998 Dodge van in Tappahannock, Virginia, about one hour away from where Ben was last seen. There were numerous personal items belonging to Ben still inside the van, including his dog, Clue. The dog was taken to a nearby animal shelter before being returned to Ben’s family.

Each year around the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, his family posts on the Help Us Find Ben Coffey Facebook page about the pain they still feel. Ben is described as being 5’6” tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds. He has short, brown hair, hazel eyes, and the symbol for the band “COHEED CAMBRIA” tattooed on his right arm. Ben was last seen wearing a tan Carhartt brand jacket, jeans, and leather boots.

Six years of Dateline's Missing in America: 134 still missing

 

[JnRyan]

Posted earlier but I'll include again. John Lordan does a very summary of his case:

 

[JLouEllen90]

Benjamin Loyd Coffey

Age: 27

Sex: Male

Race: White

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Hazel

Height: 5' 6"

Weight: 150 lbs

Missing From: Richmond, Virginia

Missing Since: 01/01/2013

Details: Benjamin was last seen wearing a tan coat, blue jeans, and brown leather boots. He has “COHEED CAMBRA” tattooed on his right arm. His van was found in Tappahannock on January 1, 2013. He was last seen In Gloucester on December 31, 2012.

Contact: Virginia State Police 804-553-3408

Reward offered in case of missing Gloucester man

Benjamin Lloyd Coffey – The Charley Project

 

[Valiant]

Already a thread for him:
VA - VA - Benjamin Coffey, 27, Gloucester, 31 Dec 2012

 

[JLouEllen90]

I'm sorry, I looked before I created this but didn't see anything. Do you know how to delete the post I have made?

 

[dspdenver]

I'm sorry, I looked before I created this but didn't see anything. Do you know how to delete the post I have made?

Click on 'Report' below your post to alert a moderator to delete. They will either delete the thread or merge it with the other.

 

[JLouEllen90]

Thank you

Click on 'Report' below your post to alert a moderator to delete. They will either delete the thread or merge it with the other.

 

[JnRyan]

Ben Coffey was in Gloucester, Virginia, when he last spoke to a friend around dinnertime on New Year’s Eve 2012. Ben, 27, told the friend he was going home for the night because he was tired. He never made it home.

The next day, authorities found Ben’s 1998 Dodge van in Tappahannock, Virginia, about one hour away from where Ben was last seen. There were numerous personal items belonging to Ben still inside the van, including his dog, Clue. The dog was taken to a nearby animal shelter before being returned to Ben’s family.

Each year around the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, his family posts on the Help Us Find Ben Coffey Facebook page about the pain they still feel. Ben is described as being 5’6” tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds. He has short, brown hair, hazel eyes, and the symbol for the band “COHEED CAMBRIA” tattooed on his right arm. Ben was last seen wearing a tan Carhartt brand jacket, jeans, and leather boots.

Six years of Dateline's Missing in America: 134 still missing

I know the news article says he called from Gloucester, but all the early articles I read state that he was in Richmond and he made the call around 5:15 PM to a friend and he stated he was leaving to go to Gloucester.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Seven years of Dateline's Missing in America: 156 still missing

 

[JnRyan]

Coming up on 8 years for Ben's case and there is nothing in the media. It was covered in one of John Lordan's YouTube videos above.

 

[Coalbird]

I know the area and the place names don't make any sense to me. I pulled a map to illustrate.

He said he was leaving Richmond to go home. He was known to frequent Middlesex and Gloucester - I circled both counties since they're adjacent. The Richmond area and the Middlesex/Gloucester area are circled in blue.

The route mapped is from Richmond, VA to Gloucester, VA.

The red circle at the top is Tappahannock. The other red circle is Deltaville, where his sailboat was moored.

It seems like he was well out of his way from going home, at least if we take "home" to mean Gloucester.

((Edit: Watching LordanARTS's video, he calls this out as well. My first thought is to check traffic history to see if there was a reason for him to reroute.))

 

[JnRyan]

I know the area and the place names don't make any sense to me. I pulled a map to illustrate.

He said he was leaving Richmond to go home. He was known to frequent Middlesex and Gloucester - I circled both counties since they're adjacent. The Richmond area and the Middlesex/Gloucester area are circled in blue.

The route mapped is from Richmond, VA to Gloucester, VA.

The red circle at the top is Tappahannock. The other red circle is Deltaville, where his sailboat was moored.

It seems like he was well out of his way from going home, at least if we take "home" to mean Gloucester.

((Edit: Watching LordanARTS's video, he calls this out as well. My first thought is to check traffic history to see if there was a reason for him to reroute.))

I noticed the differences as well. A report from the Norfolk area TV station, WTKR, states that a surveillance video shows the van being dropped off and the van driver leaving in another car with someone else. A private investigator does not believe that any of these persons was Ben.
Gloucester man’s New Year’s disappearance haunts loved ones six years later

It appears the crime scene was somewhere else and the van was dropped there.

 

[Coalbird]

I decided to run down Lordan's suggestion regarding NamUs comparisons. I looked through NamUs for the area circled in the attached picture. The UID cases currently logged are below. Only one potentially matches. I showed my work for all of them, so that no one has to replicate my cross-checking when new cases are added.

Not ruled out:
UP72826
* Discovered: 07/02/2020
* Location: Richmond, VA
* Sex: Male
* Race: White/Caucasian

Ruled out due to differences:
UP12242 - Significant Difference: 4'8" estimated
UP14889 - Many Differences: Black, 5'9"-5'3", 33-49 YO

Ruled out due to discovery date:
UP787 - Discovered in 2002
UP1824 - Discovered in 1993
UP2228 - Discovered in 1992
UP2230 - Discovered in 1991
UP2627 - Discovered in 1991
Up5532 - Discovered in 1992
UP6046 - Discovered in 2009
UP6148 - Discovered in 2000
UP6169 - Discovered in 2002
UP6514 - Discovered in 1987
UP6640 - Discovered in 1984
UP6669 - Discovered in 1987
UP6762 - Discovered in 1995
UP8406 - Discovered in 1990
UP8408 - Discovered in 1997
UP8418 - Discovered in 1992
UP8574 - Discovered in 1979
UP8578 - Discovered in 1981
UP8577 - Discovered in 1981
UP8777 - Discovered in 2011
UP9380 - Discovered in 1972
UP9385 - Discovered in 1976
UP9398 - Discovered in 1979
UP9512 - Discovered in 2007
UP11172 - Discovered in 1972
UP11178 - Discovered in 1975
UP12272 - Discovered in 1971
UP15411 - Discovered in 1982
UP59935 - Discovered in 1977

 

[JnRyan]

I decided to run down Lordan's suggestion regarding NamUs comparisons. I looked through NamUs for the area circled in the attached picture. The UID cases currently logged are below. Only one potentially matches. I showed my work for all of them, so that no one has to replicate my cross-checking when new cases are added.

Not ruled out:
UP72826
* Discovered: 07/02/2020
* Location: Richmond, VA
* Sex: Male
* Race: White/Caucasian

Off Jackson Street. Two blocks to the south of a main street, E. Laburnum Avenue and also two blocks south the NASCAR track, Richmond Speedway. I've been to that area 4 or 5 times for cycling races/events. I'm expecting to find his body somewhere off US Hwy 17 or Hwy 360, but this one still has to be ruled out. His dog was in the van when it was found. Did he take the dog with him when he went to Richmond? Or was dog left behind at his place? If it is the 2nd, I'm expecting whatever happened was at his house or boat. But I really don't get why they took the dog when they dumped the van.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Was the "swamp" area able to be searched thoroughly enough that LE is confident he's not there, or is it one of those areas it's impossible to search 100%?

His cell phone was in the vehicle; any clues forensically regarding who he might have met up with?

The survelliance video of his vehicle being dropped off wasn't released to the public? No description of vehicle the person(s) left in?

It does sounds like several people may know what happened to him. It's never too late to let law enforcement know (anonymously even) where he can be located, for the sake of his family.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Eight years of Dateline's Missing in America: 169 still missing

Ben Coffey was in Gloucester, Virginia, when he last spoke to a friend around dinnertime on New Year’s Eve 2012. Ben, 27, at the time, told the friend he was going home for the night because he was tired. He never made it home. The next day, according to the Virginia State Police, authorities found Ben’s 1998 Dodge van in Tappahannock, Virginia, about one hour away from where Ben was last seen. There were numerous personal items belonging to Ben still inside the van, including his dog, Clue. The dog was taken to a nearby animal shelter before being returned to Ben’s family. Each year around the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, his family posts on the Help Us Find Ben Coffey Facebook page about the pain they still feel. Ben is described as being 5’6” tall and weighs approximately 150 lbs. He has short brown hair, hazel eyes, and the symbol for the band “COHEED CAMBRIA” tattooed on his right arm. Ben was last seen wearing a tan Carhartt brand jacket, jeans, and leather boots. Anyone with information on Ben’s disappearance is asked to please call Virginia State Police Special Agent A.S. Witt at (804) 537-6770 or contact Special Agent Witt by email at angie.witt@vsp.virginia.gov.

 

[Coalbird]

@JnRyan @ChatteringBirds - Are you interested in looking into this case? I'm about three hours away from it. I can try to compile what information is available and who the current points of contact are. It sounds like we have some questions on this thread that are answerable if we ask the right people.

 

[Coalbird]

Same to you, @CastlesBurning - I just assumed you were popping in to update.

 

[JnRyan]

@JnRyan @ChatteringBirds - Are you interested in looking into this case? I'm about three hours away from it. I can try to compile what information is available and who the current points of contact are. It sounds like we have some questions on this thread that are answerable if we ask the right people.

I'm about 3 hours away as well. However, when I do travel in that direction I take I-64 and not US 17.