AL AL -Billy Douglas, 31, Lake Wedowee, 13 July 2015

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A search is continuing in a stretch of Lake Wedowee for a man missing since July 13.

Almost 20 agencies have participated in the search for a missing Ranburne man in the waters of Lake Wedowee, almost a week after he disappeared.

Recovery efforts have scaled back somewhat, but the search is continuing for Billy Douglas, 31, said Randolph County Chief Deputy Billy Lane.

Douglas was fishing with two friends in a boat on the lake near the boat ramp close to Flat Rock Park off Highway 48 on July 13 about 11:30 p.m., Lane said. According to his companions, Douglas got into an argument with them when they accused him of driving the boat erratically.

He stopped the boat, but as it was moving, he leaped into the water. Douglas did not grab hold of a life vest and rope offered to him and soon disappeared. According to family members, Douglas knew how to swim. However, Lane said, the day before his disappearance, Douglas had been stabbed during an incident in Cleburne County and had received approximately 40 stitches.

As part of the search, law enforcement agencies from several counties have brought in cadaver dogs, dive teams, airborne units, rescue squads and deepwater cameras to aid, but with no results.

Weeklong search continues for missing man in Lake Wedowee - al.com

 

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His sister, Serenity Ward, was told Douglas jumped from a boat he was riding in with friends.

"It was not like him. It wasn't his personality. Even had that happened, Bill was a good swimmer. He grew up in the water," said Ward.

It was six months ago, on July 13, 2015, Ward and her family's world began to change.

Randolph County's search for missing man stretches into its sixth month

 

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SBM

To this day, no trace of Douglas has been found. His absence made Eason a single mother, and she still struggles to come to terms with the mystery of what exactly happened that fateful July night.

“People forget, but we still live with it everyday,” Eason said. “I don’t want people to forget about him. He was a human being just like we are. At the very least whatever happened to him he deserves a proper burial that we can’t give him.”

Adding to the mystery was the fact that the night before he vanished, Douglas had been in an altercation in which he was stabbed and reportedly required upwards of 40 stitches. Casual observers may find it logical to link the two incidents, but Eason has been assured that there was no connection between them.

“They said that has nothing to do with it,” Eason said. “It sounds like it’s related, but I’ve questioned the police that were involved that questioned the people that had stuff to do with that, and even his family and his brother, nobody thinks it’s related.”

Every year since Douglas has been gone, Eason has taken their son Jaxson, who is now 7 years old, from their home in Carrollton, Ga., to the boat ramp on Highway 48 across from the marina to set up a memorial in Billy’s honor. Those annual treks are the only acts of memoriam that have been taken by Douglas’s family since he vanished.

Man's 2015 disappearance on Lake Wedowee leaves family with unanswered questions

 

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SBM

To this day, no trace of Douglas has been found. His absence made Eason a single mother, and she still struggles to come to terms with the mystery of what exactly happened that fateful July night.

“People forget, but we still live with it everyday,” Eason said. “I don’t want people to forget about him. He was a human being just like we are. At the very least whatever happened to him he deserves a proper burial that we can’t give him.”

Adding to the mystery was the fact that the night before he vanished, Douglas had been in an altercation in which he was stabbed and reportedly required upwards of 40 stitches. Casual observers may find it logical to link the two incidents, but Eason has been assured that there was no connection between them.

“They said that has nothing to do with it,” Eason said. “It sounds like it’s related, but I’ve questioned the police that were involved that questioned the people that had stuff to do with that, and even his family and his brother, nobody thinks it’s related.”

Every year since Douglas has been gone, Eason has taken their son Jaxson, who is now 7 years old, from their home in Carrollton, Ga., to the boat ramp on Highway 48 across from the marina to set up a memorial in Billy’s honor. Those annual treks are the only acts of memoriam that have been taken by Douglas’s family since he vanished.

Man's 2015 disappearance on Lake Wedowee leaves family with unanswered questions

That cross with his son's writing is just heartbreaking.