Still Searching: Blount County Cold Case by Kate Mundy
CBS 42 News 2007-11-06 13:10:35.0
Click play above to watch the story. Don't see the video box? Click here. This is a Windows Media Video.
A Blount County family believes something terrible might have happened to their loved ones. Donald Fortson and Eddie Hazelrig vanished, and the only solid clue left behind was their burning truck.
It's a baffling case. Both men had trouble with the law in the past, but nothing serious. Their family just can't figure out why the men would've been targets. 31-year old Eddie Hazelrig and his 52-year old uncle Donald Fortson were last seen November 3rd, 1998 in the Cleveland area of Blount County.
Mary Hazelrig, the mother of Eddie and sister to Donald, said, “Not a day goes by, not hardly an hour goes by sometimes."
Mary Hazelrig is still looking for her son and brother. She has driven thousands of miles, sometimes searching from daylight to dark. Huey Hazelrig has studied his son's phone records. He's also kept every article and note involving Eddie's case. The two were close.
“We worked, hunted and fished together," said Huey Hazelrig.
But, almost nine years after Eddie and Donald vanished, there are no new leads. The case has gone cold.
"There's nothing to indicate these men are alive, nothing. No contact with the family, bank accounts have been left, so there's a strong suspicion of foul play," said former Alabama Bureau of Investigation Agent Tim Sartain.
Sartain is the former ABI agent on the case. He says Eddie and Donald were last seen at their trailer around 3:30 in the afternoon. They had just finished a day of welding at a local farm. About four hours later, Eddie's grey Isuzu truck was discovered in the Altoona area.
"The truck was discovered almost on the roadway, burning or recently burned in the early evening hours and that was the first lead we had that something wasn't going on right," said Sartain.
The family and state put up a combined $70,000 in reward money. Investigators have followed up on tips using cadaver dogs and divers to search wells, but nothing has ever turned up.
Sergeant Terry Sherbert, with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office, said, "Areas in Blount County, areas in Etowah County, areas in Marshall County have been searched.”
Family members hope the men will someday return home, but they acknowledge something terrible may have happened.
"They could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Huey Hazelrig.
"You don't know for sure that he's dead but after eight, almost nine years, he couldn't have stayed away from home that long," said Mary Hazelrig.
For now, investigators are keeping the case open waiting for something solid.
"So far it's all been rumors because nothing has come down the pipe to substantiate anything that's been said," said Sherbert.
Corporal Scott Bartle with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation said, "We would like to locate them if they are still alive, and we would like to locate their remains if they have passed away."
Huey Hazelrig says the last phone call his son Eddie made, was to a girl he was seeing. They only talked a minute, and he said he "just wanted to hear her voice one more time."
If you know anything about this case, call the Blount County Sheriff's Office at 205-625-4127 or the Alabama Bureau of Investigation at 205-322-5327.
