On a spring morning in Clinton, Louisiana, the life of a family was forever altered. On May 15, 2001, two-year-old Male Wesley Dale Morgan was playing with puppies on the front porch of his home near the Bluff Creek community. He was dressed in a gray Mickey Mouse t-shirt, blue shorts with a green stripe, and sandals. His mother, Ruby Havard, went inside the house for a few minutes to prepare lunch.
When she returned to the porch at approximately 9:45 a.m., Wesley was gone, along with two of the puppies. After a brief and frantic search on her own, she contacted the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office to report her son missing. This marked the beginning of a long and agonizing search for the little boy with blond hair and blue eyes.
The initial response to Wesley's disappearance was extensive. Dozens of deputies, firefighters, and over 200 volunteers, including Wesley's father, Dewey Morgan, combed the dense woods and low hills surrounding the family's home on foot, horseback, and with four-wheelers. The search efforts also included the use of a Louisiana National Guard helicopter equipped with thermal imaging, which scanned the area for any sign of the missing toddler, but to no avail. Cadaver dogs were also brought in to search the parish, but they were unable to find any trace of Wesley. One of the missing puppies was eventually found on the opposite side of the highway from the home, a distance that authorities felt a two-year-old was unlikely to have traveled on his own. As the days turned into a week with no sign of Wesley, the investigation shifted from a missing person case to a criminal investigation, with authorities considering the possibilities of kidnapping or worse.
Over the years, the investigation into Wesley Morgan's disappearance has continued, marked by periods of renewed hope and frustrating dead ends. The FBI became involved in the case, and both Wesley's mother and her boyfriend at the time, Burnell Hilton Jr., were questioned and administered polygraph tests, which they reportedly failed. Suspicion has long surrounded the couple, with investigators openly stating their belief that they know more than they have revealed. One theory that has persisted is the belief that Wesley was sold or given away. This theory was bolstered in 2008 when Wesley's mother was arrested on charges of attempting to sell another one of her children, though those charges were later dropped. In 2016, the FBI reopened the case, bringing in a specialized child abduction team and launching a new search of the woods near where Wesley was last seen. Digital billboards with age-progressed photos of what Wesley might look like have been displayed across Louisiana and Mississippi in an effort to generate new leads. The case remains an open and active investigation, with the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office and the FBI continuing to seek answers. A significant reward is available for any information that leads to the location of Wesley Dale Morgan, a little boy who vanished from his front porch and has been dearly missed ever since.Last Seen: May 15, 2001
