Patty Chambers stopped by her brother's Rossville apartment a few times each week to drop off money, food or whatever else Jimmy Stamey needed.
Sometimes when she came by he'd be gone, walking around town.
But on the weekend of May 16, when she found money, a roast beef sandwich and cigarettes still sitting on the table where she left them days before, she knew something was wrong.
The family has not seen Mr. Stamey, 46, since. Ms. Chambers and her mother, Carolyn Beahm, worry that Mr. Stamey may not know where he is or how to get home.
Mr. Stamey has a mental disorder, and his family said he has stopped taking medication.
He went missing once before, about a year ago, his sister said. He was found two weeks later in the hospital after he wrecked his truck near Knoxville.
Mr. Stamey left his cell phone, medication and identification in his Indian Avenue apartment. That means he's likely on foot, Ms. Chambers said. "That's just not like him," she said.
Ms. Beahm reported her son's description to Rossville police, but unless a crime has been committed there is little police can do to find an adult man living independently, she said.
She and her daughter have called local jails and hospitals but have had no information about Mr. Stamey.
"He was living with me until January," Ms. Beahm said. After more than 12 years with her, he got his own apartment.
"He wanted to be on his own," she said.
Todd South covers courts and the military for the Times Free Press. He has worked at the paper for three years and previously covered crime and safety in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. Todd’s hometown is Dodge City, Kan. He served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq before returning to school for his journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Todd previously worked at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. Contact Todd ...
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