Herman J. Caldwell Jr.

• Missing Since 03/03/1982
• Missing From Columbia, South Carolina
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 07/22/1949 (75)
• Age 32 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5 - 5'8, 150 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A blue flowered shirt, black pants, black shoes, a hat and unspecified jewelry.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Black and gray 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix with the South Carolina license plate number GOK 105 and VIN number 2K57TA195320
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Caldwell has a half-inch scar on the right side of his neck. His nickname is Dig.

Details of Disappearance

Caldwell was last seen in Columbia, South Carolina on March 3, 1982. He withdrew $500 from his bank account that day; this was the last activity on the account. He was driving a black and gray 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix with the South Carolina license plate number GOK 105 and VIN number 2K57TA195320, and may have been en route to Charleston, South Carolina to meet a person and pay him some money. He has never been heard from again and his vehicle has never been recovered.

In 1978, four years before his disappearance, Caldwell was robbed and beaten by three men in the 2300 block of Gervais Street. He was able to identify one of his assailants as Leroy Nolan, also known as Tony Shelton, and a year later, Nolan was arrested for the assault. He was released from jail in October 1982.

Just before his disappearance, Caldwell told his father he was being threatened by Nolan. He stayed with his parents for a few days afterwards, then packed up to go. His father told him not to leave, but Caldwell left anyway.

In 2004, Nolan and two other men, Danny Lee Daniels and Donald Jenkins, were charged murder and kidnapping in connection with a double homicide that happened in 1978. They allegedly strangled a 22-year-old woman, Patricia Gilmore, and her two-year-old son Michael on the same day Caldwell was attacked and dumped their bodies near Bluff Road in Columbia. A photo of Nolan is posted with this case summary.

Authorities hoped to learn more information about Caldwell's disappearance following Nolan's arrest, but they were unable to learn anything, and Nolan died in 2010.

Foul play is suspected in Caldwell's case, which remains unsolved.