In the late winter of 2006, a 48-year-old U.S. Army veteran named Clarence Earl Jenkins vanished from Tarboro, North Carolina, leaving behind a community of concerned family and friends. Known for his friendly and outgoing nature, Clarence was the kind of person who would strike up a conversation with anyone. Plagued by significant health problems, including severe kidney issues that required regular dialysis treatments, he was a resident at the Britthaven Rest Home, an assisted living
facility. His life depended on consistent medical care. On a day in mid-March, Clarence was last seen at approximately 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of Speight Avenue and Fountain Street. A police officer spoke with him at that location, and Clarence mentioned he was heading to a house down the street; this was the last known conversation anyone had with him. He was reported missing on March 13, 2006, after he failed to show up for a scheduled dialysis appointment.
The hours preceding his disappearance were filled with distress. According to his family, on the day he went missing, Clarence had repeatedly asked staff at the nursing home to take him to the emergency room, a request that was tragically not fulfilled in a timely manner. He had been feeling unwell and was insistent on needing urgent medical attention. When he was finally seen walking away from the facility, he was wearing a gray t-shirt, blue jeans, and a blue hooded sweater. In the days that followed, a troubling discovery was made when some of his personal belongings, including his Social Security card and his blue dialysis tote bag, were found near a pond in the vicinity of where he was last seen. This finding deepened the concern for his welfare, as he was without the essential items needed for his medical care.
Clarence Earl Jenkins, who sometimes went by the nickname 'Shorty,' had a number of distinguishing physical characteristics that his family hoped would help locate him. He stood approximately five feet two inches tall and had numerous surgical scars on his face, abdomen, and right hip, as well as a dialysis stent in his chest and a metal pin implanted in his right hip. An Army veteran, he had friends and family in the Rocky Mount and Fayetteville areas of North Carolina, and also in Virginia. Despite searches and investigations, there has been no sign of Clarence since that March day. The case remains a painful mystery for his loved ones. Given his critical need for medical attention and the puzzling circumstances surrounding his disappearance, including the discovery of his personal items, he is considered an endangered missing person. The lack of answers has left a void in the lives of those who knew the man who loved to talk and laugh, a man who disappeared on a day he was pleading for help.Last Seen: Mar 13, 2006
