Bobby Ezell Knight was a Black man in his mid-forties when he disappeared from the New Hope area of Lowndes County, Mississippi, on February 18, 2023. Public missing-persons listings identify him as missing from New Hope, with NamUs listing the case as MP114205 and recording the date of last contact as February 18, 2023. Local reporting soon after his disappearance said Knight had been reported missing by his family and was last seen around 10:00 a.m. that Saturday.
At the time, he was believed to be driving a red 2009 Toyota Camry with Mississippi license plate LTG 7616, and he was reportedly on his way to see friends but never arrived.
As the first public details emerged, the case quickly became linked to another disappearance from the same day: Shaundra Harris, who was also missing from the New Hope area. The Dispatch reported that Columbus police were searching for Knight and Harris after they were last seen together on Stringer Lane in the New Hope area on February 18. MissingSippi’s public case summaries also state that authorities believed Harris met up with Knight after she was seen by family and friends, and that Knight disappeared the same day while driving his red Camry. In the early days, the most troubling facts were simple and painful: two people were gone, their phones could not be used to reach them, and neither made it to the places or people they were expected to reach.
The search for answers took a darker turn when Knight’s vehicle was later found. MissingSippi reported that, days after the pair disappeared, Knight’s Camry was found abandoned and burned beyond recognition on Starkville Road in Crawford, Mississippi. WCBI later repeated that detail in a three-year update, reporting that the vehicle had been found abandoned and burned and that Knight and Harris still remained missing. The discovery of the car changed the shape of the case, but it did not bring the answers his loved ones needed. There was still no confirmed public account explaining what happened after Knight and Harris were last seen, why the car ended up burned, or where the two missing people had gone.
Public records and local reporting continue to describe Knight’s case as unresolved. The Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons lists the case with Knight last seen on February 18, 2023, says he was reportedly seen with Shaundra Harris, and notes that attempts to reach them by cell phone were unsuccessful. WCBI’s later coverage stated that, three years after the disappearances, Knight and Harris remained missing and the case was unsolved. In overview, Bobby Knight’s disappearance began as a Saturday morning trip to see friends in New Hope, became connected to the same-day disappearance of Shaundra Harris, deepened with the discovery of his burned Toyota Camry in Crawford, and remains a painful open question for the people who love him and for the community still waiting to learn what happened.Last Seen: Feb 18, 2023
