On the foggy evening of March 10, 1970, 21-year-old Curtis Leon Havard and his friend, 30-year-old Bobbie Joe Sims, left a home in Escatawpa, Mississippi, to buy a pack of cigarettes from a local convenience store. The two men were never seen alive by their families again. Havard, a resident of Escatawpa, had just finished a shift at Halter Marine earlier that day. The night they vanished, they were traveling in Sims' vehicle. Concern grew quickly, and the following morning, both the Havard and Sims families reported them missing to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
The disappearance of Havard and Sims was immediately concerning due to the circumstances preceding it. Just three days before they went missing, Havard was scheduled to testify in court against two individuals from Escatawpa who were facing charges of theft and assault.
This impending court appearance led investigators and family members to suspect foul play was involved in the men's disappearance. The initial missing persons report, however, was treated as routine. Tragically, a significant development in the case came on March 19, 1970, when the body of Bobbie Joe Sims was found floating in Biloxi Bay. The coroner's report indicated that he had been in the water for several days. This discovery confirmed the families' fears and intensified the search for Curtis Havard.
Despite the discovery of Sims, the whereabouts of Curtis Havard remained a mystery. Investigators in 1970 suspected Havard had been killed following a confrontation near a store in Escatawpa, where witnesses reported hearing three gunshots on the night he disappeared. However, his body was never located. A potential lead in the case emerged seven years later when Havard's 1963 blue Ford Fairlane was discovered submerged in Lyons Lake, located off Nutbank Road in Helena, Mississippi. Despite this finding, there was no sign of Havard. Over the years, the investigation into his disappearance has faced challenges, with reports indicating a lack of substantial records in the case file. Curtis Havard was eventually declared legally dead in Chancery Court, a measure sought by his mother to settle his affairs. The case of Curtis Leon Havard is a long-standing and troubling mystery, beginning with a simple trip to a convenience store and evolving into a story of suspected murder and witness intimidation. Though he is presumed deceased, his case remains open with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, leaving his family without definitive answers for decades.Last Seen: Mar 10, 1970
