NC NC - Brandon McDonald, 35, truck found wrecked, Bladen Co, 25 Mar 2021 *reward*

mlhenn

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Clarkton man missing; truck found wrecked, abandoned

Brandon was last seen around 3 a.m. on Thursday, March 25, leaving his home in Clarkton.

According to police, his phone last pinged in Laurinburg.

But his truck was found wrecked and abandoned in Hope Mills.


McDonald is 5′9″, weighs roughly 190 pounds and has blue eyes with tattoos on each arm and a facial scar. He was last seen wearing a camouflage shirt, dark colored work pants, a dark colored baseball cap, a silver chain around his wrist and neck with a silver ring on his ring finger.

If you have any information about Brandon McDonald you’re asked to contact the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office at 910-862-6960 or dial 911.

upload_2021-3-30_22-24-47.jpeg
 
Missing man could have been in Laurinburg, may still be. | Laurinburg Exchange

Brandon McDonald of Clarkton in Bladen County is missing and, according to family members, his phone was last pinged in the Laurinburg area.

“We don’t know the exact location in Laurinburg,” said his cousin Brooke Britt, “it just showed Laurinburg.”


“His truck was found wrecked and abandoned in Hope Mills,” said Britt. “Someone knows something and just aren’t speaking up.

“He would never let his daddy worry like this,” added Britt, “he would either call or come home. This isn’t something he would do to his family. So, please, if you know anything please let us know.”
 
Thanks for the thread, @mlhenn. I grew up within a radius of about 35 miles from each of those towns.
It looks like Brandon may live on a farm, from one of the pics. He appears to be a fairly clean-cut guy.
Did he run into trouble with someone, get injured and someone took his car and wrecked it? If so, did Brandon then wander off and get lost? Scary to contemplate, and his family says its not his nature to stay away from home like has happened, so of course, this is worrisome.

A bit about Clarkton and Laurinburg:
Clarkton, in Bladen County, NC, is a little town of around 900 people -- a mostly farming community. The median household income in 2019: $23,410; residents living in poverty is 27%.
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Clarkton-North-Carolina.html

Laurinburg, in Scotland County, NC, has a population is about 15,000. Laurinburg has a small, private university -- St. Andrews. The undergrad enrollment is about 700 students.
Laurinburg is about 60 miles from Clarkton.
The median household income for Laurinburg in 2019: $32,410; residents living in poverty in 2019: 33.8%.
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Laurinburg-North-Carolina.html
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Does anyone know what his intended destination was when he left home on the 25th? It was 3 a.m. on a Thursday. Was he going to work?

Referencing: Elizabethtown Police Department | Facebook
Leaving the house between 1-3am always “feels” nefarious to me. I know “farmer time” is way different, 5am would not have given me any pause but for some reason 3am does. Moo
 
MAR 31, 2021
$10,000 reward available for man missing from Bladen County :: WRAL.com
Brandon McDonald's family is offering a reward of $10,000 to help find him.

[...]

Family offers $10K reward for info in Bladen County man's disappearance - WWAY TV (wwaytv3.com)
[...]

His family is offering the reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for McDonald’s disappearance.

WWAY spoke with his family on Tuesday who said this is very unusual for him to not contact them for several days.

[...]
 
Laurinburg, 28352 Crime Rates and Crime Statistics - NeighborhoodScout

Laurinburg is not far from Maxton/Lumberton. That stretch of I-95 is dangerous.

JMO
Lots of poor, often under-educated folks with dead-end, lousy-paying and/or part-time jobs, simply unemployed, farms not big enuff to bring in much-needed income, etc. And yes, on or very near the I-95 strip, as said above. Thirty to forty years ago, like so many towns in the US, Lumberton was a nice place to live -- many places to work -- plants, ready-to-wear factories like Jones New York and some others, a Goodrich production factory, paper-production, chicken or seafood plants, etc., etc. located in that area. Jobs from entry-level to business accounting, Info. Systems, general management, production, etc., were available. Then, many of those places -- yep, you know the tune -- shut down and relocated their businesses and factories in countries where cheap labor was plentiful. This scenario affected so many people and supporting businesses in the Lumberton, Maxton, Clarkton, Laurinburg, and other little towns. Small farming communities were left with no jobs -- especially for those without higher education beyond High School, or not even a HS diploma.
So, here comes pot, meth, heroin, you name it -- grow it, manufacture it, sell it -- not a bad "job" as long as you don't get caught.
I don't get the feeling that Brandon was in this type situation -- not at all, not in the least, but there are some folks who live in those areas now who can cause a lot of trouble.
Wrong place, wrong time? Someone wanted his car?
Robbery attempt and Brandon didn't co-operate or he didn't have any money, but they thought he did, etc., etc.
Hoping he can be found safe and alive. Sounds like he comes from a good, caring family, and I feel sure they are in anguish over his not being there with them.
 
I'm 20 minutes from Laurinburg (Richmond County). I work in Maxton, NC on occasion. I attended and earned my degree from UNCP in Robeson County.

Laurinburg is dangerous due to it's proximity to Lumberton (IMO).

Praying this young man is safe but the Lumberton/Maxton/Laurinburg area scares the heck out of me.
 
I'm 20 minutes from Laurinburg (Richmond County). I work in Maxton, NC on occasion. I attended and earned my degree from UNCP in Robeson County.

Laurinburg is dangerous due to it's proximity to Lumberton (IMO).

Praying this young man is safe but the Lumberton/Maxton/Laurinburg area scares the heck out of me.

Same here, @grillzgirl! I grew up in Lumberton, many years ago when it was a nice place to live -- a good family place. SMH. Very little of the good "old Lumberton" is still there, sad to say. I haven't been back there in a good while -- no reason to go. I was off to college, and then only visited. Both my parents are gone now, and there are probably less than 10 people with whom I graduated from HS still there. It's a crying shame, but we see it everywhere.
 
Same here, @grillzgirl! I grew up in Lumberton, many years ago when it was a nice place to live -- a good family place. SMH. Very little of the good "old Lumberton" is still there, sad to say. I haven't been back there in a good while -- no reason to go. I was off to college, and then only visited. Both my parents are gone now, and there are probably less than 10 people with whom I graduated from HS still there. It's a crying shame, but we see it everywhere.

It is! I've lived here (Rockingham) all of my life. Lumberton used to be a normal community - now I'm scared to drive through there. Did you see where the lady from Pennsylvania was shot on 95 headed to Oak Island?

Scary stuff.
 
It is! I've lived here (Rockingham) all of my life. Lumberton used to be a normal community - now I'm scared to drive through there. Did you see where the lady from Pennsylvania was shot on 95 headed to Oak Island?

Scary stuff.
Yes, indeed -- simply awful -- nightmare stuff.

I remember HS football & basketball games in Rockingham, and R'ham coming to L'ton!
 

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