In the winter of 2017, the family of 60-year-old Kenneth Wayne Jimson was plunged into a period of uncertainty and concern. On December 1st, Kenneth was last seen in Shelby, North Carolina, a day that began with a routine medical procedure and ended with his inexplicable disappearance. That day, he had undergone a minor outpatient procedure at Atrium Health in Shelby. His wife had arranged for a cab to pick him up after his discharge, but Kenneth never made it to the waiting vehicle.
The last confirmed sighting of him was near Care Solutions on East Grover Street, seemingly heading in the direction of a local Bojangles restaurant. Concern for his well-being was immediately heightened by the fact that he was believed to be dealing with a cognitive impairment, a detail that led authorities to issue a Silver Alert in the hopes of a swift and safe return.
The search for Kenneth was marked by moments of fleeting hope followed by disheartening silence. His family revealed that he had a history of wandering off; on a previous occasion, he was found heading towards Gaffney, South Carolina. This information provided a potential direction for search efforts, and for a time, authorities believed he might be in that same area again. A few months after he vanished, a promising lead emerged when witnesses in the southern part of the county reported seeing a man who matched Kenneth’s description. However, by the time law enforcement was able to follow up on the tip, the man was gone, and the trail went cold once more, leaving his loved ones in a painful state of limbo. His sister, Lauree Butler, expressed the family's anguish, stating, 'It's hard not knowing if he's alive or dead.'
Kenneth is described as a Black male, standing 5-feet, 10-inches tall and weighing around 200 pounds, with short black and gray hair and brown eyes. When he was last seen, he was wearing black jeans and a black jacket. A notable and distinctive physical feature is a significant dent on his lower forehead, just above his nose and between his eyes, the result of a past surgery. He also has a scar above his right kneecap and another on his left hip. The investigation into Kenneth Wayne Jimson's disappearance has been challenging, complicated by his cognitive state, which can make tracking his movements incredibly difficult. For years, his family has waited for answers, clinging to the hope that one day they will know what happened to him after he walked away from the medical center. The Shelby Police Department continues to ask that anyone with information regarding Kenneth's whereabouts contact them.Last Seen: Dec 1, 2017
