Joshua Leon Middleton

• Missing Since 01/21/2005
• Missing From Mount Judea, Arkansas
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 03/16/1984 (40)
• Age 20 years old
• Height and Weight 5'9, 165 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A white sweatshirt with the words "Mt. Judea Eagles" written in blue letters on the upper front, blue jeans and camouflage-print boots. Carrying a brown fold-up wallet.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, green eyes. Joshua's nickname is Josh.

Details of Disappearance

Joshua was last seen at approximately 9:00 a.m. on January 21, 2005, riding with a male individual in a red Ford truck on Dry Creek Road just south of Mount Judea, Arkansas. He has never been heard from again.

On the same day that Joshua vanished, Charles Daniel House was found shot to death in his vehicle between Mount Judea and Hasty, Arkansas. Ricky A. Freeman has been charged with his murder and is awaiting trial.

Freeman was also convicted of manslaughter and other charges in the shooting death of Shannon Middleton, a relative of Joshua's, and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Shannon died in December 2005. Authorities believe House's homicide and Joshua's disappearance are linked. The two men were friends and Joshua may have been a witness to the homicide.

Joshua may have traveled to Missouri or Texas after his disappearance. But, in November 2007, authorities announced he was the likely victim of a drug-related homicide. Investigators believe Joshua was murdered and his body hidden somewhere in Newton County, Arkansas. His case remains unsolved.