In the summer of 1985, a then 36-year-old Jerry Wayne Lackey vanished from Roebuck, Alabama, leaving behind a trail of sorrow and unanswered questions. He was last seen on July 29, 1985, by his sister and brother-in-law. On that day, he visited their home and handed his brother-in-law three letters, ominously stating his intention to end his own life. He revealed the contents of his backpack, which held a sawed-off 20-gauge shotgun, a.
357 caliber magnum revolver, a trenching tool, and a drawing that appeared to be of a cave or mine. After this unsettling encounter, he simply walked away, and his family has not heard from him since. His brother-in-law promptly contacted the police, but they reportedly declined to intervene at the time.
Jerry Lackey was a man burdened by the profound traumas of his past. A decade prior to his disappearance, his wife had left him for another man, and he had not been in a relationship since. Tragically, his ex-wife was murdered by her new husband in 1983. Compounding his emotional distress were the haunting experiences from his two tours of duty as an Army Ranger in the Vietnam War between 1969 and 1971. In the notes he left for his family, he expressed that he was tired of living and that the forest was the only place where he felt a sense of peace. Before he disappeared, Jerry, who lived with his mother in Roebuck, sold his personal belongings and left the money for her. He was described as a white male with dark blond hair and blue eyes, standing at 6'2' and weighing around 160 pounds. A distinctive feature was one of his fingers being crooked due to a past accident with a machete. When he was last seen, he was wearing a light and dark brown plaid shirt and blue jeans.
The night of his disappearance, Jerry's silver 1982 Chevrolet pickup truck was found abandoned on Weaver Avenue in St. Clair County, not far from Interstate 20. In his letters, he detailed a plan to walk into a remote wooded area near the St. Clair/Jefferson County line, spend two days in peaceful solitude, dig his own grave, and then take his own life, expressing a wish that his body would never be discovered. An extensive search of the area where his truck was found was conducted, even utilizing bloodhounds, but yielded no trace of him. Although investigators believe he is deceased, and there has been no sign of him since that day in 1985, his body has never been recovered. The case remains a poignant story of a troubled soul who, after communicating his despairing intentions, walked into the woods and seemingly vanished forever, leaving his loved ones with enduring uncertainty.Last Seen: Jul 29, 1985
