A Tunica woman who hasn”t seen or heard from her brother in more than a year has filed a missing person”s report with the Lowndes County Sheriff”s Department, in hopes someone will find her brother, Richard Barnes Jr. of Caledonia.
The last time Janis Keeton spoke with her brother was in December 2008.
“I have been looking for him for over a year,” she said. “I have been in the same spot for 30 years, and I haven”t heard from him since December 2008, when he showed up for Christmas.”
Barnes, 59, last lived at 1579 Cal-Steens Road in Caledonia, Keeton said. When she went there to look for him, she found someone else is living there.
Barnes has had health problems, including a bout with colon cancer.
“My first thought was he was dead,” his sister said. “My understanding was he had taken three treatments for the cancer.”
At first, Keeton thought about filing a missing person”s report on her brother in Tunica.
“I talked to a friend of mine with the police department here who told me to file it where he was last, and that was in Lowndes County,” she said.
Keeton filed the missing person report on March 12, speaking with LCSD Deputy Larry Swearingen, said LCSD Chief Deputy Greg Wright.
“This is considered as a missing person, family welfare concern,” Wright said.
Barnes was arrested on Feb. 7, 2004, for false pretense, he noted.
“The last address we had listed for him was an address on Highway 373,” he said.
Keeton said the last time she spoke with her brother, he was planning to get married.
“He was planning to marry some hairdresser in Amory; I don”t know her name, ” she said.
Barnes had lived in the Columbus-Amory area for at least 10 years, Keeton said.
Wright said in cases where a person turns up missing, it is important to get the necessary information to law enforcement for them to act.
“If you have information, get it to us quickly so we can piece together the information,” he said.
Wright described Barnes as a white male, 5-foot-8,176 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.
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