In December of 2021, Kevin Brookshire, a 47-year-old man, disappeared from his residence in Chesnee, South Carolina. He had reportedly made plans to travel to Sevier County, Tennessee, but he never reached his intended destination. At the time he was last seen, he was driving a red 2001 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck which had an expired Tennessee license plate.
In the initial period following his disappearance, there was an alarming lack of communication; his phone showed no signs of any activity, adding to the growing concern for his welfare. The search for Kevin was fraught with uncertainty as family, friends, and law enforcement officials worked to uncover any information that might lead to his whereabouts.
Several months later, a perplexing discovery was made that only deepened the mystery of the case. In April 2022, the Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck that belonged to Kevin was located after it had been involved in a collision on I-26. However, investigators who processed the scene of the accident came to the conclusion that Kevin was likely not the individual driving the truck at the time of the crash. This development left investigators with more questions than answers, as the whereabouts of Kevin himself remained completely unknown. For more than three years, the case grew cold, with no significant leads to shed light on what might have happened to him after he left his home.
The difficult case finally saw a major breakthrough in the summer of 2025. Following a tip received from the Spartanburg County Cold Case Unit, investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office began a search of a property in Gaffney, South Carolina. The tip alleged that a man had shown another individual decomposing human remains in a trash bag at the home. On August 22, 2025, while searching the backyard of the residence with cadaver dogs, authorities discovered human remains. The following month, on September 15, the Cherokee County Coroner confirmed through medical history and forensic tests that the remains were those of Kevin Scott Brookshire. Following the identification, investigators arrested 21-year-old John Lucas Rice and charged him with murder. Authorities reported that Rice confessed to killing Brookshire back in December 2021. It was a sorrowful conclusion to a case that began with a man starting a journey and ended with the discovery of his remains years later, bringing a tragic resolution to a long and painful search for answers.Last Seen: Dec 15, 2021
