On May 23, 1998, a 35-year-old man named Jeffrey Lee Quick vanished from his home in the community of Tyro in Nelson County, Virginia. On that Memorial Day weekend, Quick was in his front yard on Campbell Mountain Road as his wife left to go grocery shopping. As she was leaving, she passed a black car turning into their driveway. A friend who was visiting at the house was inside, with plans to play a game of horseshoes with Quick.
The friend later reported that he went outside to get something from his vehicle and did not see anyone. He heard gunshots but was not immediately alarmed, as it was common to hear gunshots in the rural neighborhood. About fifteen minutes later, the friend saw the black car pull away from the residence. Jeffrey Quick has not been seen or heard from since.
The investigation into Jeffrey Quick's disappearance has spanned decades and involved several twists. In 2001, acting on a tip, authorities searched Philpott Lake for his body, believing it might have been placed in a barrel and submerged. During the search, divers did find a 55-gallon steel drum containing human remains at a depth of 50 to 60 feet. However, the body was not Jeffrey Quick's. It was identified as Ether Adean Smith, a woman who had been missing from Martinsville, Virginia, since 1989. She had been shot twice in the head, and her murder remains unsolved. Then, in January 2003, a special grand jury in Nelson County concluded that an acquaintance of Quick's, Frank Farinacci, had murdered him at his home and disposed of his body. Farinacci had been a suspect from early in the investigation. In a further complication, Farinacci himself was killed in February 2002, before the grand jury's findings were released. His wife, Elizabeth Farinacci, shot and killed him in their home. She was later convicted of his murder and sentenced to 53 years in prison. The motive for her actions was reportedly to prevent her husband from implicating her in Quick's death.
After years with few developments, the Nelson County Sheriff's Office reopened the cold case. Investigators began re-interviewing people associated with the case, which led to new information. Based on these recent interviews, authorities now believe with 'high confidence' that Quick was a victim of a homicide on or around May 22, 1998, and that his remains are located in the Bassett area of Henry County. This belief stems from connections and acquaintances that linked individuals in Nelson County to people in the Bassett and Martinsville areas. Despite the renewed focus on Henry County, there is no definitive physical evidence pinpointing a specific location for a search. The case remains an active investigation, with law enforcement appealing to the public, particularly those in Henry County, for any information that might finally lead to the recovery of Jeffrey Quick's remains and provide long-awaited closure for his family.Last Seen: May 23, 1998
