The late winter of 1987 was the last time that Jimmy Whitfield was seen by his family and friends. That was over 26 years ago. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in hopes of finding him.
“Even though this is our older unsolved cases, it is equally important in terms of wanting it solved,” according to Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw. “It is never too late for someone to come forward with information on this case.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is classifying the unsolved case of Jimmy Whitfield as a missing person’s case, but, investigators believe that foul play was involved in his disappearance.
Whitfield was reported missing on March 7th, 1987. His wife, Wanda Whitfield, was the individual who reported Mr. Whitfield missing. The address of their residence at that time was Route 3, Seneca. Where the residence was located at that time is now Whitfield Lane off Coneross Creek Road near Friendship Road.
The incident report at that time, according to deputies, indicated an incident had occurred at the home. Afterwards, Mr. Whitfield reportedly packed two pairs of blue jeans and shirt and left the residence walking. Mr. Whitfield, also according to the incident report, took $2,000 in cash, made up of tax refund money and savings. The incident report also said that Mr. Whitfield called back two days later and asked his wife how she and the kids were doing. She then reported to deputies that had not seen or heard from Mr. Whitfield since, according to that March 1987 incident report.
Investigators believe that due to the good relationship that Mr. Whitfield had with his mom may lead to a reason why foul play was involved. No one has heard anything from Mr. Whitfield since his disappearance, according to Captain Greg Reed of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. There have been or are persons of interest in the case so far, according to Captain Reed, but no arrests have ever been made.
Mr. Whitfield has been entered into the International Data Base, according to Captain Reed. DNA was collected from living relatives, which was sent to Texas, where the base is located and is kept on file. When remains of individuals are found, DNA is collected and stored, which is run through the database to see if there are any matches.
If you have any tips on the disappearance of Jimmy Whitfield, you are asked to call Crimestoppers at 864-638-STOP, 1-888-CRIME-SC or text in your tip to 274637. If you tip leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.