Ellis Faison Sr.

• Missing Since 08/09/1989
• Missing From Kenansville, North Carolina
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 07/12/1925 (98)
• Age 64 years old
• Height and Weight 5'3, 115 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A yellow t-shirt, a cap and no shoes.
• Medical Conditions Faison is an alcoholic.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Four-door Pontiac Bonneville
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Gray hair, brown eyes. Faison's right pinky finger is crooked and he limps on his right leg.

Details of Disappearance

Faison was last seen in Kenansville, North Carolina on August 9, 1989. That evening, he thought he saw some Caucasian teenagers inside his car, a four-door Pontiac Bonneville he kept locked and parked next to his house.

Once at 9:00 p.m. and then again at 9:30 p.m., he summoned the police to look at the car, but when they shined their flashlights into the vehicle they didn't see anything suspicious, and there were no footprints in the wet driveway besides Faison's.

About two hours after the second police visit, between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, Faison walked out his front door and vanished. He has never been heard from again.

Faison had been behaving very oddly before his disappearance; authorities believe his mind was affected by a combination of alcohol and prescription medication. He held long conversations with deceased relatives on the day he vanished, and even asked his wife to get them some water.

Searchers found Faison's hat in a neighbor's yard and a coffee mug full of whiskey in his carport. His shoes were found at his home. Faison's loved ones stated he never went anywhere, even inside his own home, without shoes on because he was afraid of snakes. The neighbor who last saw Faison said he was running through her yard yelling, and appeared very frightened.

She saw another man walk by a few minutes later. He was tall, with a stocky build, light skin, long slicked-back hair and a limp. He was wearing dark-colored overalls and the neighbor thought he might have escaped from the local jail. The neighbor called the police to report a prowler, but the police couldn't find the man and he has never been identified.

Authorities at first theorized that Faison had left of his own accord because his wife wanted to enroll him in a detoxification program, or that he wandered off and died. They reconsidered these theories, however, as months and years passed without Faison or his body being located. One of his sons believes he was murdered on the night of his disappearance.

Faison served in the Navy during World War II. For most of his life he worked as a carpenter and repairman for the county school system. His wife died in 1994, but his two sons are still alive and hope he will be found. His case remains unsolved.