In the autumn of 2008, a sense of unease settled over a quiet neighborhood on the south side of the James River in Richmond, Virginia. Benjamin Andrew Lott, a 43-year-old man, had vanished. The last known contact with him was on September 26, 2008, when he had a cheerful and normal conversation with his long-distance girlfriend. During the call, they finalized her plans to travel from New Jersey for an extended visit, and he promised to call her back in an hour. The return call never came, and Benjamin Lott was not heard from again. He was a man with a stable life, a good job at Wachovia Bank, and a close relationship with his college-aged daughter. His sudden disappearance left a void filled with questions and growing concern among those who knew him.
The initial discovery that something was amiss came from his girlfriend, who arrived in Richmond on September 30th as they had planned. He was supposed to meet her at the train station, but he never showed up.
After hours of waiting and countless unanswered calls to his three different phone numbers, she went to his home in the 6300 block of Elkhardt Lane. A chilling scene awaited her. The house was securely locked with all the burglar alarms activated. Inside, Benjamin's cats were discovered, unfed for some time. Further adding to the mystery, his black Saturn Vue was found abandoned in a shopping center parking lot, about five miles from his residence, and had been impounded.
The days turned into weeks, and the investigation into Benjamin's disappearance continued with few leads. Friends and family described him as a man who was very conscious of his personal security, so much so that even his long-term girlfriend did not have a key to his house or the alarm codes. He was a native of New York City and enjoyed hiking in the local area. An examination of his online activity showed his last blog entry on LiveJournal was on September 20, just days before he went missing. The circumstances surrounding Benjamin Lott's disappearance are perplexing; a man with a seemingly stable life and no apparent reason to leave abruptly vanished, leaving behind only a locked home, abandoned car, and a family searching for answers. The case remains unsolved, a lingering mystery with very little evidence to suggest what might have happened to him.Last Seen: Sep 26, 2008
