Posted on 02/19/2004 6:59:05 PM PST by nuconvert
A Week Later, Relatives Still Looking for Answers in Mississippi Family's Disappearance
Feb 19, 2004
By Ralph D. Russo / Associated Press Writer
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Nearly a week has passed since relatives of Michael and Rebecca Hargon last saw the young couple and their 4-year-old son, all of whom appear to have vanished amid unexplained violence. Investigators spent three days searching the Hargons' house in the small town of Vaughan, about 40 miles north of Jackson, for clues to what might have happened the family.
What authorities found were dried blood droplets throughout the house, bullet holes in the walls and shell casings on the floor. There was no sign of robbery or forced entry. Dirty dishes were left in the sink. Rebecca's wedding and engagement rings were also left behind.
All three of the family's vehicles were accounted for.
Ten years ago, Michael Hargon's father was murdered on the same property, when it was a convenience store. Three men are serving prison sentences for that crime.
Authorities have said little about the current investigation, which is being treated as a missing persons case.
"We are getting a lot of phone calls from different places, but so far they haven't consisted of anything," Yazoo County Sheriff James T. Williams said.
Family members say Michael Hargon, 27, was last seen Saturday morning, when he had breakfast with a friend in nearby Canton.
Another friend, who was driving by the Hargons' home later that morning, noticed the front door of the house was open and one of the doors on Michael Hargon's pickup truck was open, but the family didn't appear to be around.
She told the Hargons' relatives what she saw, and when family members went to the home the three, including 4-year-old James Patrick, were gone.
"I just couldn't believe that somebody would do something to them," said Rebecca Hargon's father, Bill Hirtz, of Poplar Bluff, Mo.
Michael Hargon is a construction worker and his wife is a physical therapist's assistant.
"He's a good guy," Hirtz said. "I've talked to a lot of his friends that have known him for years ... As far as they know, Mike doesn't have an enemy."
From what I have heard, this could be the key. One of the family members (Michael?) recently protested the release of one of the men who was present at the time when his father was murdered in a robbery attempt in 1994.
My thoughts and prayers are with this family, and the relatives.
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