Man missing for three months found in Rapid City
Posted: Sunday, November 13, 2005
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- A 39-year-old businessman from Tennessee, missing for three months, was found this past week in Rapid City, where he had lived in a tent and made friends at a local church.
Derek Crawford returned home to Putnam County, Tenn., on Thursday after being discovered in Rapid City. He disappeared Aug. 15, when he went to a volunteer firefighters' meeting but did not return home.
His cell phone and car were found the next day near Nashville.
"He was remorseful, and he sobbed. He just didn't know that the hunt for him was going to escalate to the point that it did," said Jim Eldridge, police chief in the small Cumberland Plateau town of Algood, 75 miles east of Nashville.
Crawford, who owns Off Road Performance in Cookeville, Tenn., told Eldridge that Rapid City was as far as he could go with the money he had. There, he befriended members of the Southside Church of Christ.
Crawford was discovered after missing person fliers that had been distributed to Church of Christ congregations in several states reached the Southside church. Eldridge and Crawford's father, Doyle Crawford, flew to South Dakota Tuesday to meet him.
He was found at the Lazy J RV Park and Campground in Rapid City. He had lived in a one-man tent during his stay.
Crawford was reunited with other family members on Thursday at the Algood police station. No charges are pending.
"We're just glad it had a happy ending," Eldridge said.
Crawford told authorities he fled because of financial problems at his business.
On Tuesday, Matthew Allen, a former minister at Southside Church of Christ in Rapid City, recognized Crawford's picture on a missing-person flyer that had been sent to his Indiana home.
Allen had visited Rapid City last month and went camping with six members from the Rapid City church -- including Crawford.
Tennessee officials said it had been a high-profile case that included intensive searches and an offer of a $10,000 reward.
Crawford called himself Jesse Weaver in Rapid City.
Steve Hamilton, Southside Church of Christ minister in Rapid City, said Crawford was clean-cut, hard working and very private about his past. He regularly attended church and Bible study.
Before Crawford left, he told Hamilton it was hard for him to leave and that he appreciated everything the church had done for him.
"He asked for our forgiveness," Hamilton said.
Derek Crawford returned home to Putnam County, Tenn., on Thursday after being discovered in Rapid City. He disappeared Aug. 15, when he went to a volunteer firefighters' meeting but did not return home.
His cell phone and car were found the next day near Nashville.
"He was remorseful, and he sobbed. He just didn't know that the hunt for him was going to escalate to the point that it did," said Jim Eldridge, police chief in the small Cumberland Plateau town of Algood, 75 miles east of Nashville.
Crawford, who owns Off Road Performance in Cookeville, Tenn., told Eldridge that Rapid City was as far as he could go with the money he had. There, he befriended members of the Southside Church of Christ.
Crawford was discovered after missing person fliers that had been distributed to Church of Christ congregations in several states reached the Southside church. Eldridge and Crawford's father, Doyle Crawford, flew to South Dakota Tuesday to meet him.
He was found at the Lazy J RV Park and Campground in Rapid City. He had lived in a one-man tent during his stay.
Crawford was reunited with other family members on Thursday at the Algood police station. No charges are pending.
"We're just glad it had a happy ending," Eldridge said.
Crawford told authorities he fled because of financial problems at his business.
On Tuesday, Matthew Allen, a former minister at Southside Church of Christ in Rapid City, recognized Crawford's picture on a missing-person flyer that had been sent to his Indiana home.
Allen had visited Rapid City last month and went camping with six members from the Rapid City church -- including Crawford.
Tennessee officials said it had been a high-profile case that included intensive searches and an offer of a $10,000 reward.
Crawford called himself Jesse Weaver in Rapid City.
Steve Hamilton, Southside Church of Christ minister in Rapid City, said Crawford was clean-cut, hard working and very private about his past. He regularly attended church and Bible study.
Before Crawford left, he told Hamilton it was hard for him to leave and that he appreciated everything the church had done for him.
"He asked for our forgiveness," Hamilton said.
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