In the summer of 1985, a Kentucky family was forever changed by the disappearance of Harry Miller Maupin. A 40-year-old businessman from Richmond, Maupin was a co-owner of the Gano Coal Company and Aqua Processing Inc. His work frequently took him to Harlan County, where he would sometimes stay in an office trailer on his mining property in Shields. On June 18, 1985, Maupin was last seen near his workplace in the Lejunior community of Harlan County.
At the time of his disappearance, he was described as being 6'2' and weighing around 235 pounds, with brown hair and gray eyes. He had a scar on his right thigh and the tip of his right little finger had been severed and reattached, leaving another scar. He was last seen wearing a plaid Western-style shirt with snap buttons, Levi's jeans, and new muleskin cowboy boots. He also wore a brown leather belt with a brass plate engraved with 'H.M. Maupin' and a Seiko watch with a blue dial and a cracked crystal.
The investigation into Harry Maupin's disappearance quickly pointed towards foul play. Authorities received information suggesting that Maupin had been shot and killed on the property of the Gano Coal Company. It was believed that his body was then removed from Harlan County to a location where it could not be recovered. Despite extensive searches by the Harlan County rescue squad and sheriff's office, which even extended into parts of Tennessee and Virginia, his remains have never been found. Several years after he vanished, Harry Maupin was legally declared dead. He left behind two young children.
Decades after his disappearance, a break in the case seemed to emerge. In October 2010, Ernest Lee Hensley, who was reportedly the last person to see Maupin alive and had business dealings with him, was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the case. However, in March 2013, the charges against Hensley were dismissed due to a lack of evidence, as crucial witnesses were unavailable to testify. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, which means they could be refiled if new evidence comes to light. To this day, the disappearance of Harry Miller Maupin remains an unsolved case, a lingering mystery that has left his loved ones without answers for over three decades. The official belief is that he was a victim of a homicide, his life cut short on the very land that was tied to his livelihood.Last Seen: Jun 18, 1985
