The Strange Disappearance of Christopher Thompkins
One of the only signs of him discovered was one of his boots hanging from a fence
Christopher Carlton Thompkins
Christopher Carlton Thompkins was born on December 28th, 1981. Described as a happy, gregarious, and hardworking individual, 20-year-old Christopher was also a devout Christian who lived with his mother, Ann McKenzie, in Ellerslie, Georgia, at the time of his disappearance.
“He was just an outgoing, good guy,” remembered his aunt Rosalyn Mathis.
He worked for a surveying company as part of a four-man crew, a job he enjoyed.
Disappearance
On the day he vanished, January 25th, 2002, Christopher showed up for work at 8 a.m. and rode with a coworker to their job site in a wooded area near County Line Road in Harris County, Georgia.
Chris and the three other surveyors were working in a line formation, spaced roughly 50 feet apart.
The men stopped for a lunch break, and then at approximately 1:30 p.m., resumed working. One of the surveyors was in the middle of a conversation with Chris when he looked away for a minute, turning his head briefly to check on something.
When he looked back only seconds later, Christopher was inexplicably missing. His tools were still on the ground right where he had left them, but he was gone.
None of his coworkers had seen or heard anything strange so at first, they assumed he had simply walked into the woods to relieve himself. But after several minutes, when Christopher still hadn’t returned, they began to search the immediate area.
They found nothing.
One of the surveyors phoned his wife to tell her that Christopher was missing and that they couldn’t find him anywhere. Strangely, however, Christopher’s mother wasn’t informed that her son was missing until 4:15 p.m.
Investigation
Christopher Thompkins was soon reported missing and the official investigation into his disappearance began. His family aided in the search for him as well.
They quickly found a boot hanging from the top of a barbed wire fence in the wooded area near where Christopher was last seen. It was confirmed to belong to him.
On that same fence, they also discovered a blue thread, presumably from Christopher’s pants. Some sources report that his pants were found too, but it’s unclear whether this is accurate or not. Coins, also believed to be his, were laying on the ground nearby.
Search dogs, including bloodhounds, were brought in to look for him as well, but they were unable to pick up his scent in the area. No blood or signs of a struggle were found.
Without any forensic evidence or eyewitness reports to work with, the investigation came to a standstill.
However, six months later, his other work boot was found by a farmer on private property, less than one mile away.
Nothing else belonging to Christopher has ever been discovered.
Theories
In the absence of direct evidence of foul play or any other explanation (like an animal attack or accidental injury), the authorities eventually closed Christopher Thompkins’ case, coming to the rather puzzling conclusion that he had simply walked off to start a new life.
His fellow surveyors have never been investigated as suspects in his disappearance—though one of them retained a lawyer immediately after Christopher went missing. Neither their identities nor the name of the surveying company has ever been released to the public.
It is known, however, that Ann McKenzie, Christopher’s mother, knew and worked as a babysitter for the owner of the company.
Additionally, one of the surveyors was allegedly convicted of an unrelated violent crime and given a long prison sentence just months after Christopher’s disappearance.
Christopher’s boss reportedly said that he had been “acting strangely” leading up to his disappearance but never elaborated on this ambiguous statement.
However, Ann refuted this assertion about her son’s behavior, saying that “Chris lived with me and I saw him every day. There was neither strange behavior on his part nor any distress.”
Ann went on to say that she believed Christopher was a victim of foul play and that his coworkers know more than what they told to investigators.
“I truly believe in my heart that my son is no longer alive. However, I need closure. I need to know what happened that day and where my son’s body is.”
Because his disappearance is often mentioned in the context of “Missing 411” cases—in which people have mysteriously vanished in the wilderness—a number of bizarre theories have risen up around it, including everything from alien abduction to Bigfoot.
Current State of the Investigation
Sadly, Christopher Thompkins’ case is no longer being actively investigated and there have been no further developments, but his remaining family and friends, as well as those familiar with his case, hope to one day have definitive answers about what happened to him on that January day in 2002.
His loved ones held a vigil in Christopher’s honor in 2016.
“I am not a citizen with great influence,” Ann said. “I am simply a grieving mother who wants to keep this case in the public light in hopes that one day someone will come forward with some information in what happened to my son.”
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Additional Sources
(This article was originally published on HubPages)