Dowell Phillips

• Missing Since 12/05/2012
• Missing From Hellenwood, Tennessee
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 01/15/1955 (71)
• Age 57 years old
• Height and Weight 5'7 - 5'9, 220 - 230 pounds
• Medical Conditions Phillips was suffering from a kidney infection at the time of his disappearance.
• Distinguishing Characteristics White male. Graying black hair, hazel eyes. Phillips has a scar on the right side of his neck. He wears eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance

Phillips was last seen at his home on Hellenwood Detour Road in Scott County, Tennessee on December 5, 2012. He and his wife and mother-in-law were eating sandwiches, and Phillips said he was having a hard time swallowing, so his wife got him some soup. During this time he had been walking back and forth between the kitchen and back door, and looking outside.

Phillips's wife left to take her mother home. She called him after leaving asked him to make sure to answer the phone if her doctor called. On the way back home, his wife called him several more times and Phillips didn't answer the phone. She was concerned and asked her brother to check on the house, and he did.

The front door was locked, and the back door was shut but unlocked. There were no indications of forced entry and no sign of Phillips. His wallet, the sandwich he had been eating, and its wrapper were also missing; other things, including Phillips's clothes, keys, medicine and phone, were left behind. After a search of the local area his family called police.

A neighbor reported seeing a red/maroon van in the driveway of the Phillips home that morning, while Phillips's wife was taking their daughter to school and he was alone in the house. It's unclear if this vehicle had anything to do with his case. Another local reported seeing Phillips walking not far from his home at 1:00 p.m. the day of his disappearance, either down a gravel road or in a field.

Prior to his disappearance, Phillips had been feeling unwell because he had a kidney infection; he felt so sick that he had decided to stop doing outdoor activities. He had spoken to his wife about how he thought he could survive living in the woods, and he had been deleting text messages from his phone.

He was reportedly seen a funeral for a pastor in Lake City, Tennessee on December 29, 2018, a full six years after disappearing from his family home. Police stated multiple witnesses confirmed the sighting. His family is not sure whether to believe it or not, but Phillips knew the deceased.

Phillips was a pastor at Concord Independent Baptist Church at the time of his disappearance. His case remains unsolved.