Missing Man: Justin Gaines--GA--11/01/2007

[Kelly]

Missing Person: Justin Gaines

Alias: Brad Allen or Brad Shewe
Date of Birth: 3/31/1989
Missing Since: 11/2/2007
Missing City: Duluth
Missing State: GA
Age at time of disappearance: 18
Gender: Male
Race: White
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 235
Hair Color: Brown
Hair (other): Buzz cut
Eye Color: Blue

Characteristics: Very muscular

Clothing: Grey long sleeve Abercrombie shirt, ripped jeans and flip flops

Jewelry: Diamond studs in both ears

Circumstances: Last seen at Wild Bills (a dance club) at 1:30 am trying to find a ride home.  He did not have his wallet or car.

Agency Name: Gwinnett County Police Dept
Agency Phone: 770-513-5300

Family Website: http://www.justingaines.com/

Print a Poster: http://projectjason.org/18wheel/18WheelAngel_JustinGaines.pdf

Print a poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_JustinGaines.pdf

[Kelly]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2007/11/06/missing_1107_web.html

Police look for Gwinnett man missing since Nov. 1

By STAFF REPORTS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 11/06/07
 
Police in Gwinnett County said Tuesday that they are looking for an 18-year-old college student who has been missing since Nov. 1.

Justin Gaines came home from Athens to Gwinnett County Nov. 1 and told his mother he was going out with friends, according to a police report quoted in a statement from the Gwinnett County Police Department. He later called to ask a friend to pick him up from a nightclub, but the friend told Gaines he could not pick him up, the statement says.
 
Gaines attends the Oconee campus of Gainesville College, police said.

His mother, Erika Wilson, called police Sunday to report her son missing, police said.

"Friends of the victim stated that he has false identification in the name of Brad Allen and Brad Shewe," according to a statement from Cpl. Illana Spellman, a spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County police.

Investigators have tried to track Gaines' cell phone and "obtain any relevant video from the area that he was last seen."

Police describe Gaines as a white man who is five feet eleven inches, weighs 210 lbs. and has a muscular build. They say he has blue eyes and brown hair with a short buzz cut, and that both his ears are pierced with diamond studs. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeve grey shirt with "Abercrombie" written on the front, blue jeans with holes and flip flops.

Police asked anyone with information on Gaines' whereabouts to call the Gwinnett County Police Department at 770-513-5300.

[Kelly]

http://www.cbs46.com/news/14529824/detail.html

Gwinnett Family: Help Us Find Our Son

POSTED: 8:28 am EST November 7, 2007
UPDATED: 8:38 am EST November 7, 2007


LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- A Gwinnett County family is asking for the publics help to find their missing son.

Justin Gaines, 18, has been missing since Nov. 1, said his mother, Erika Wilson.

In a police report Wilson filed Sunday, she said Gaines came home from Athens, Ga., Thursday night and told her he was going out with friends to a bar.

According to the report, Gaines called a friend and asked him to pick Gaines up. But the friend told Gaines he couldnt do it. Wilson said no one knows where Gaines went, and the family has not heard from Gaines since.

According to the police report, Gaines friends said he had false identification on him in the names of Brad Allen and Brad Shewe.

Gaines is 5 feet 11 inches and 210 pounds with a muscular build. He has blue eyes, brown hair, and a buzz cut.

If you have seen Gaines, call the Gwinnett County Police Department immediately at 770-513-5300.

[Kelly]

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=106227

Search Intensifies for College Student
 
Reported by: Jennifer Leslie
Last Modified: 11/10/2007 11:32:48 PM

Family and friends of a missing college student from Gwinnett County met on Saturday morning to conduct their biggest and most organized search yet.

They have been looking for Justin Gaines, 18, a freshman at the Athens campus of Gainesville College, since he disappeared from Wild Bill's nightclub last week.

"Today's an important day," said Erika Wilson, Justin's mother. "I feel good. We're gonna go out there and stay focussed. We need to bring him back home to this family."

Justin's mother and stepfather have worked tirelessly to try to find him. They said they're encouraged by the fact that Gwinnett County police have developed some leads.

"I know they've been doing busy doing interviews and going to a few houses," said Steven Wilson, Justin's stepfather. "We don't have any specifics, but we know they're working on it."

For Saturday's search, organizers focussed on a four-mile radius around the cell tower that picked up Justin's last phone call to one of his friends last Thursday night.

"If there's anything suspicious, we're gonna mark it for the police and hopefully get Justin home," said Kelli McGill, Justin's aunt.

"We need him back, we need him back," said Justin's mother. "We all miss him very much."
Family and friends remain confident they will find Justin safe somewhere.

They're offering a reward to anyone who comes forward with information about Justin's whereabouts.

The reward stands at $2000 now.

For more information about how you can add to the reward fund, call Karen Beyers at 770-822-4556.

[Kelly]

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4897411&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Search Intensifies for Missing Gwinnett Co. Teen 
 
Last Edited: Saturday, 10 Nov 2007, 10:20 PM EST 
Created: Saturday, 10 Nov 2007, 10:20 PM EST 


GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5)  The search for a missing college student intensified in Gwinnett County Saturday.  Justin Gaines vanished from Wild Bill's nightclub a week ago and dozens of people joined his family and friends in the search for clues in his disappearance.

The 18-year-old college student was last seen at the Gwinnett County nightclub on November 1 and

Gaines' mother, Erika Wilson called police November 4, after her son failed to return home.  She checked local hospitals, called his friends and turned up nothing.

As friends and family geared up for Saturday's massive search, Wilson had a special message for her son.
 
"Justin if you can see me, hear me, please contact someone.  We love you, we miss you, we need you home now," pleaded Wilson.

Dozens of volunteers gathered at Wild Bill's to aid in the ongoing search for Gaines.

"We have a four mile radius covered around Wild Bills' where he was last seen.  That also includes a cell phone tower where we know he last accessed his phone when it came through," said Gaines' aunt, Kelli McGill.

"We were out here Thursday evening.  A lot of people had seen him in the club so they received a lot of calls from that.  They have been busy conducting interviews, they've gone to a few houses, we don't know any specifics," said Wilson.

Volunteers divided up into groups and searched the surrounding woods and thick underbrush for any sign of the missing teen.

"He is the light of so many people's world and we need to bring him home.  He is missed so much," said McGill.

[Kelly]

http://www.chroniclet.com/2007/11/14/north-ridgeville-mans-son-missing-in-georgia

North Ridgeville mans son missing in Georgia

Lisa Roberson | The Chronicle-Telegram
11/14/07

NORTH RIDGEVILLE  A North Ridgeville man has endured many sleepless nights since learning his son has not been seen or heard from for more than a week after partying with friends at a bar in Georgia.

Richard Gaines of Wallace Boulevard said his 18-year-old son, Justin Gaines, has been missing since 1 a.m. Nov. 1, when he was last seen at a bar called Wild Bills. Police have said there are no witnesses of how Justin Gaines left the bar.

Gwinnett County police Cpl. Illana Spellman said there have been reports that Justin Gaines got into an altercation with another patron at the bar. However, details remain sketchy about the altercation because the two friends who were with Justin Gaines that night have refused to cooperate with police requests, Spellman said.

Aside from a cell phone call logged at 1:33 a.m. when Gaines said his son called friends in hopes of getting a ride back to his mothers home in Snellville, Ga., the Gainesville State College student has vanished without a trace.

Im out of my mind, Gaines said Monday. Theres no normalcy. Once that happens, everything that was going on just goes out the window. It just turns your life upside down.

Police are investigating Justin Gaines disappearance as a missing persons case as there has been no evidence of foul play, Spellman said. Media outlets in Georgia are reporting that Equasearch of Texas is joining the search for Justin Gaines.

The muscular, blue-eyed college student has lived in Georgia with his mother, Erika Wilson, stepfather and siblings since moving there more than 10 years ago, his father said. Still, the two have remained close, speaking often and chatting online. Gaines said the last time he talked to his son the conversation was about an upcoming visit home for Christmas. Justin Gaines has extensive family in the Lorain County area.

However, on Nov. 4 all those plans changed as Gaines said he received a phone call telling him his oldest child was missing. Since then, Gaines has logged many hours making phone calls, passing out fliers, trading e-mails and even traveling to Georgia to canvass the area around the bar. But, nothing has turned up to tell him what happened to his son.

The hardest part is the not knowing, Gaines said. Nothing makes sense because he wouldnt just walk away from everything. Hes got a lot going on in his life.

[Denise]

http://www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2007/11/14/missing_1115.html

Family searches for teen who disappeared from nightclub

By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 11/15/07
 
Fighting off a creeping sense of dread is easier when you're busy.

Erica and Steve Wilson, the mother and stepfather of 18-year-old Justin Gaines, have done everything they can think of to find their son since he vanished from Wild Bill's nightclub in Duluth two weeks ago. They've organized search parties, hired a private investigator, collected $50,000 for a reward fund for his safe return and just this week set up a toll-free tip line at 1-877-270-9500.

Amid all this, Steve has been trying to keep it together for Erica, who in turn is struggling to hold up under the strain for the sake of the six other children in their blended family. But when the phone stops ringing and all the people leave, it's all they can do not to plunge into despair.

"The worst thing is at night and in the morning, Your mind and hands are idle," Steve Wilson said.

The Wilsons had reason for renewed hope Wednesday, though. A nonprofit search-and-rescue team, Texas EquuSearch, arrived to orchestrate a large-scale search that is scheduled to begin today.

Tim Miller, the director of Texas Equu-Search, said he hoped to mobilize 150 to 200 volunteers to scour the area around Wild Bill's. Anyone 18 years or older wishing to join the search can meet at Berkmar United Methodist Church at 675 Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth from 9 a.m. until dusk. The search will include the use of all-terrrain vehicles. The search team also has access to horses, helicopters and boats with sonar equipment should they be needed, Miller said.

Most of the searching since Gaines' disappearance Nov. 1 has been conducted on foot by friends and family members who have little to no experience with missing persons cases, said Erica Wilson. Texas EquuSearch has offered its services in searches for more than 800 missing people, including Natalee Holloway, 18, who disappeared last year in Aruba, and 17-year-old Ben Stanford, the grandson of Alabama state Sen. Jim Preuit whose body was found Tuesday near Villa Rica, Ga.

Miller said he expects to "hit the ground running" today. He started Equu-Search after his own daughter was abducted and murdered in 1986.

Gaines, a Brookwood High School graduate, is Erica Wilson's second son of three. He's also the one who looked most like her.

She clutched her cigarettes in one hand and cellphone in the other as she spoke to reporters in her driveway Wednesday, as if clinging to her only lifelines. Erica Wilson said she could not sleep or eat and admitted lately she had started smoking "like a freight train." She wore no makeup, and her hair was pulled back in a hasty ponytail.

"I can't cry all day long," she said. "I have to be able to think and take care of the other kids."

On the day he disappeared, Gaines drove home from Athens to Gwinnett County and told his mother he was going out with friends. He later called his roommate to pick him up from Wild Bill's, but the friend told Gaines he couldn't, family members said.

His last phone call was made shortly before 2 a.m., relatives said, and he has not been seen or heard from since.

Gwinnett police say they have no reason to suspect Gaines was a victim of foul play, and they are still treating the disappearance as a missing-person case. The investigation has slowed over the past week because some associates of Gaines have been uncooperative, said Cpl. Illana Spellman, spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Anyone with information on Gaines' whereabouts is urged to contact the department's Criminal Investigations Section at 770-513-5300.

Gaines was making A's and B's during the first months of his freshman year on the Oconee campus of Gainesville State College and was a popular student.

He was a bit of a partier and a regular patron at Wild Bill's on Thursday nights, which target the 18-and-up crowd. Gaines had VIP tickets. He had two fake IDs in the name of Brad Allen and Brad Shewe. He used them to buy alcohol, Gaines' friends would later tell his parents.

Gaines wasn't always so sociable, according to his grandmother, Karen Yaroma, who shares Gaines' brilliant blue eyes. Years ago he was a "chubby little freckled kid with not a friend in the world" until one summer in high school he discovered weightlifting and the tanning bed, she said.

"All of a sudden that one summer, he redesigned himself," Yaroma said.

Friends and family members reject the idea that Gaines left of his own accord. They say he would never leave for so long without letting anyone know.

"I don't believe for a second that he's got some wild college itch and he's gone off to Florida," Steve Wilson said.

"We were close," he added before correcting himself. "We are close."

[Kelly]

http://www.cbs46.com/news/14603516/detail.html

Search For Missing Gwinnett Teen Continues

POSTED: 9:06 am EST November 15, 2007

DULUTH, Ga. -- The group that helped find the grandson of an Alabama state senator is searching Thursday for a missing Gwinnett County teenager.

Justin Gaines, 18, disappeared two weeks ago. He was last seen at Wild Bill's nightclub in Duluth.

Friends and family members have tried to find him themselves, passing out fliers asking people to help look for Gaines, but so far nothing has turned up.

Police claim there's no evidence of foul play, but the investigation has slowed over the past week because of what investigators called in a statement Wednesday "a lack of cooperation from the teens' close friends and associates."
 
The group is scheduled to meet at the Berkmar United Methodist Church and work until dusk. If the group doesn't find Justin, searchers will meet back at the church Friday morning.

The group helped find Benjamin Stanford, the grandson of an Alabama state senator. Stanford's body was found Tuesday in Villa Rica, Ga. Police said Stanford committed suicide.

[Denise]

Police: Missing Teen's Friends Not Cooperating

POSTED: 5:49 pm EST November 15, 2007
UPDATED: 5:52 pm EST November 15, 2007

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Family and friends of a missing Gwinnett County teen are now getting some help from a professional team of searchers.

It has been two weeks since 18-year-old Justin Gaines disappeared from a Duluth bar. Thursday, dozens of volunteers scoured the area for any sign of Gaines.

Texas EquuSearch last helped find the missing grandson of an Alabama senator in Georgia. Now, theyve set up a command center at Berkmar United Methodist Church to find Gaines.

Gaines parents said they are finding strength in one another and waiting for any word on the search for their son Justin.

You have to be strong. Its your child out there, you have to be strong. You have to try to stay focused, said Gaines mother Erika Wilson.

Gwinnett County police said their investigation is not progressing because of the lack of cooperation from some of Gaines friends and acquaintances. Gaines mother made a plea to them. "I would like to say if you know anything, please, please tell them. If you're his friend, run in there now and talk because I need to know where my son is, said Wilson.

Dozens of volunteers have joined forces with Texas EquuSearch  a professional search organization dedicated to finding missing persons. They showed up dressed in warm clothes and armed with determination to find Gaines. He was last seen and heard from at Wild Bills in Duluth two weeks ago as he was looking for a ride home.

"Everybody here is a hero for being here. You could not do anything better today than to help this family, said Carol Moyers with Texas EquuSearch.

The searchers were on foot covering a lot of ground and leaving nothing unturned.

"If it just pops at you that something's not right, I want you to raise your hand and say halt, said Moyers.

"I keep praying that he's alive somewhere so I'm just going to stay positive. It's better to know than to not know something, said search volunteer Jenise Rivera.

Three teams on foot and one team on ATVs were sent out today. Search organizers are asking for more volunteers Friday morning. Gwinnett County police said they have no evidence so far to support or deny that any foul play was involved.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14609189/detail.html

[Denise]

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/gwin...ssing_1116.html

Searchers turn up no signs of missing teen

By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 11/15/07

Another day of searching Thursday yielded no answers for the family of missing college student Justin Gaines.

A turnout of 27 volunteers disappointed relatives and members of a nonprofit search-and-rescue team, Texas EquuSearch, but searches remained optimistic.

If they turn up nothing by dusk, they said, they plan to suspend operations at night and resume beating the bushes Friday.

"We've had a lot of success in the past," Texas Equusearch founder Tim Wilson said. "Of course, every day that goes by, we get more and more concerned."

Gaines, 18, vanished two weeks ago after friends dropped him off at Wild Bills nightclub in the bustling Gwinnett Place Mall area of Duluth. Gaines, a former Brookwood High School student, attends the Oconee campus of Gainesville College in Athens. He often returns to his family's split-level home in Snellville on weekends to make extra pocket money working on roofing projects with his stepfather, Steve Wilson.

Gaines is also a regular patron of Wild Bill's on Thursdays, the 18-and-up night. Friends later told Gaines' family that he has two fake IDs which he uses to buy alcohol.

The muscular, outgoing teenager was last heard from shortly before 2 a.m. Nov. 1, when he made several calls from his cellphone to friends asking for a ride home from Wild Bill's. None of his buddies was able to pick him up, and he never returned home, family members said.

Since then, relatives and friends have had no reprieve from worry and anxiety.

Gaines' mother, Erica Wilson, stood nervously among volunteers who gathered at Berkmar United Methodist Church Thursday morning to start the search. Someone handed her a missing flier with her son's picture on it. She promptly bent down and kissed the photo before bursting into tears.

"I'm just tired; I'm stretched out like a rubber band," Wilson said.

Jeff Carr, who met the Wilsons on a build for Habitat for Humanity, said he took the day off from work to help search. Carr said he has been trained in search-and-rescue techniques as a Georgia National Guard member.

"I just hope we can find something," Carr said as he donned knee pads and grabbed a walking stick. "We need some evidence to lead to where he's at."

Other volunteers like Joe Roberts, who lives two houses down from the Wilson family, were beginning to doubt Gaines would be found alive after so much time has passed.

"I want to look for a person, but I'm afraid it will be a body," Roberts said.

[Denise]

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4938080&version=10&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Search Continues for Missing Gwinnett Co. Teen Justin Gaines 
 
Last Edited: Friday, 16 Nov 2007, 11:24 AM EST 
Created: Wednesday, 14 Nov 2007, 10:59 PM EST 

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5) -- The friends and family of 18-year-old Justin Gaines hoped a new reward and search effort would lead them to answers in the teen's disappearance.

Another search party headed out Thursday morning to search for 18-year-old Justin Gaines.  The search group, led by Texas Equusearch, met at Berkmar United Methodist Church and left from there. A new reward is being offered.

Gaines was last seen at the Wild Bill's nightclub in Gwinnett County on November 1.  Gaines' mother called police November 4 after her son failed to return home.

Last Saturday, dozens of volunteers gathered at Wild Bill's to aid in the ongoing search for Gaines.

Volunteers divided up into groups and searched the surrounding woods and thick underbrush for any sign of the missing teen.

"He is the light of so many people's world and we need to bring him home.  He is missed so much," said Gaines' aunt, Kelli McGill.

According to the Gwinnett County police department, the case was still listed as a missing person case and there was no evidence to support or deny foul play.

Anyone with information on the case should call the Criminal Investigations Section of the Gwinnett County Police Department at 770-513-5300.

[Denise]

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4938080&version=12&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Family, Friends Continue to Search for Justin Gaines 
 
Last Edited: Friday, 16 Nov 2007, 1:24 PM EST 
Created: Wednesday, 14 Nov 2007, 10:59 PM EST 
 
Justin Gaines, 18, was last seen at the Wild Bill's nightclub in Gwinnett County on November 1. Gaines' mother called police November 4 after her son failed to return home. 

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5) -- The friends and family of 18-year-old Justin Gaines intensified their search efforts Friday -- hoping it will lead them to answers in the teen's disappearance.

The search continued Friday. The search group, led by Texas Equusearch, met once again at Berkmar United Methodist Church and left from there. The group led the search on Thursday for 18-year-old Justin Gaines.

On Thursday a new reward was offered.

Gaines was last seen at the Wild Bill's nightclub in Gwinnett County on November 1.  Gaines' mother called police November 4 after her son failed to return home.

Volunteers divided up into groups and searched the surrounding woods and thick underbrush for any sign of the missing teen.

"He is the light of so many people's world and we need to bring him home.  He is missed so much," said Gaines' aunt, Kelli McGill.

According to the Gwinnett County police department, the case was still listed as a missing person case and there was no evidence to support or deny foul play.

Anyone with information on the case should call the Criminal Investigations Section of the Gwinnett County Police Department at 770-513-5300.
 

[Kelly]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2007/11/19/missing_1120_web.html

Missing college student's family to continue search

By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 11/19/07
 
Relatives of a missing college student say they will continue searching for him despite the departure of a nonprofit search-and-rescue group.

Three days of scouring the area around Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth for signs of Justin Gaines yielded no clues about his disappearance, said Cindy Wisdom, case manager for Texas EquuSearch. Texas EquuSearch is a Houston-based nonprofit search-and-rescue group. It helped search for Gaines but left Saturday.

Wisdom expressed disappointment that her team was unable to bring closure to Gaines' family before Thanksgiving, but said they had to pull out because the volunteers had holiday plans of their own.

"I couldn't ask them to stay away from their families," Wisdom said.

Gaines, an 18-year-old student at the Oconee campus of Gainesville College in Athens, vanished Nov. 1 after friends dropped him off at Wild Bill's nightclub in Duluth. He was last heard from shortly before 2 a.m., relatives said, when he made several calls to friends asking for a ride home.

None of his buddies were able to pick him up and he never returned home, family members said.

A handful of local volunteers plan to continue searching for Gaines this week using Berkmar United Methodist Church in Duluth as a base of operations, said his mother, Erica Wilson.

"I'll never give up on finding my baby, never," Wilson said.

[Denise]

http://www.texasequusearch.org/


Justin Gaines, age 18, was last seen on Thursday, November 1, 2007 at a club called Wild Bills in Duluth, Georgia and has not been seen or heard from since. Justin was last seen wearing ripped blue jeans and a gray Abercrombie shirt.

[Denise]

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4994393&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Gwinnett Teen Still Missing After 19 Days  
 
Last Edited: Tuesday, 20 Nov 2007, 10:27 PM EST 
Created: Tuesday, 20 Nov 2007, 10:27 PM EST 
 
ATLANTA (FOX 5) -- After 19 days -- still no sign of a missing Gwinnett County teenager. Police say there's still no sign of foul play in the disappearance of 18-year-old Justin Gaines.