Tip leads authorities to search rural Mississippi lake for clues to man missing for more than 15 years

Published 7:08 am Saturday, January 29, 2022

Following a tip, authorities searched rural Mississippi lake for answers in a cold case involving a man who has been missing for more than 15 years.

Officials from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office along with Madison County Search and Rescue, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, and Wildlife and Fisheries searched Robins Lake in rural Adams County on Wednesday.

Franklin County Sheriff Tom Tindle confirmed they had been following a tip regarding JL Matthews, a man who has been missing for more than 15 years.

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Matthews was reportedly last seen by a neighbor on October 2006. He was 74-years-old at the time of his disappearance.

Tindle said they believe Matthews was leaving his home in Franklin County and driving towards Adams County when he went missing but have no information on where or how.

Tindle said he could not elaborate on what led officers to search the lake for Matthews.

“Something came up so we just looked into it,” he said. “We didn’t find anything. We were out there from 9 a.m. until about 2:30 in the afternoon and came up empty. We have our suspicions but that is all I can really tell you right now.”