Benjamin Joel EleazerGrundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum has released more information in the search for a former Grundy and Coffee County resident who went missing in December and was last seen in Marion County.
Benjamin Joel Eleazer, 29, was last seen by hunters in a remote wooded area on Highway 150 in Eastern Marion County south of Tracy City, according to authorities. Tracy City is just inside the Grundy County line, just north of that location.
Shrum said Eleazer was originally reported missing onDec. 10 in Manchester, Tenn., in Coffee County and he had not lived in Grundy County for "a number of months."
Shrum said Eleazer has lived in various locations in the Southern Cumberland Plateau area and was last known to be living at Airways Apartments in Manchester. Eleazer had been evicted from the apartment in early December, he said.
Marion County Sheriff's Office Detective Gene Hargis said Eleazer told the hunters, who were on property in Marion County they had leased for hunting, that he was in the woods honing his survival skills.
Eleazer's car, a black 2000 Mitsubishi four-door sedan, was found near Burns Cemetery on Highway 150, according to Shrum and Hargis.
Shrum said the encounter between Eleazer and the hunters was reported around Christmas.
Anyone with any information on Eleazer's whereabouts should contact the Marion County Sheriff's Office at 423-942-2525 or the Grundy County Sheriff's Office at 931-692-3466.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton atbbenton@timesfreepress.com ortwitter.com/BenBenton orwww.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.