Xavier Gerald Tarrand
Tarrand, circa 2014
- Missing Since 01/15/2014
- Missing From Groveland, Florida
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Male
- Race Black
- Date of Birth 01/14/1990 (34)
- Age 24 years old
- Height and Weight 5'11, 150 - 180 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description An orange and yellow Reese's Pieces jacket or a yellow and brown M&Ms jacket, a white size 2XL t-shirt, a white sleeveless undershirt, size 34 blue jeans, size 9.5 or 10 orange Nike sneakers or red and white sneakers, and a red hat.
- Associated Vehicle(s) Black four-door 1997 Honda Accord with the Florida license plate number 236KPV (accounted for)
- Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Tarrand's nickname is Dudda. He has the following tattoos: the words "Self Made" on his chest, the words "Free Rat" on his right hand, and "Rat $" on his left hand.
Details of Disappearance
Tarrand was last seen in Groveland, Florida at 7:00 p.m. on January 15, 2014, the day after his twenty-fourth birthday. His cousin dropped him off at the RaceTrac gas station at the intersection of State Roads 50 and 33, near his home.
Tarrand told his cousin he had something to do and would return in fifteen minutes. He got into a black four-door 1997 Honda Accord with the Florida license plate number 236KPV. There was at least one other person, an African-American male, in the car.
About thirty or forty minutes later, Tarrand called his cousin and asked him to pick him up at the RaceTrac station in three minutes. When his cousin arrived, however, Tarrand wasn't there. Calls to his cellular phone went to voicemail after his disappearance, and eventually either the phone was turned off or the battery died.
Over the next several days, some of his belongings were found dumped off Highway 50 in Ocoee, Florida. The car he got into, which had been reported stolen, was found and burned at a landfill in Apopka, Florida on January 20; it had bullet holes in it.
Tarrand's disappearance caused problems between his gang, the Groveland Boys aka the Stuckey Boys, and another gang, the Zellwood Boys, which ultimately led to the shooting death of Justin Russell in February 2014. Travis Leomontez Miller was convicted of second-degree murder in Russell's death. Miller was Tarrand's nephew, and Russell was Miller's second cousin.
Tarrand lived with his grandmother at the time of his disappearance, and kept in daily contact with his family. His mother stated he was having problems with another man at the time of his disappearance, and she thinks this man was involved in his case.
He is considered missing under suspicious circumstances and his case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
- Lake County Sheriff's Office 352-343-2101
- Groveland Police Department 352-429-4166
Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated March 25, 2020; distinguishing characteristics and details of disappearance updated.