7 minute read
Missing persons cases aren’t always what they seem
BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR
Every so often — about 20 times a year — Western North Carolina’s social media networks flare up with impassioned pleas from friends and family members of a missing person, begging for any information that could help bring their loved one home. But the reasons for the disappearances, and the results of the investigations, are often as unique as the missing persons themselves.
“Missing person cases are probably just like any other case,” said Tony Cope, a captain in the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office. “We get the report, we vet all the information, and we get our information out pretty quick. Generally, that generates a lot of leads. We follow up on those leads and usually gain information that usually leads to finding these folks.”
Cope’s been with the department for 22 years, and has handled missing persons cases for the past eight. Since 2018, Haywood County has averaged about 20 missing people a year, and local law enforcement usually finds them all.
“Missing persons are fairly small in this county as you’ll see by our stats, but those things can be very time consuming,” Cope said. “I’d say probably those are the hardest, because you have to get on those cases immediately and you have to follow those leads up in a timely manner, because obviously if it’s a child or even if it’s an adult, we want to bring those folks home safely and as quickly as possible.”
Contrary to popular belief, missing persons can be reported to local law enforcement agencies immediately — not after some arbitrary waiting period. Like many law enforcement matters, speed is of the essence in solving most cases, no matter the reason for a person’s disappearance.
“Some people just want to get away sometimes,” Cope said. “Sometimes they’re juveniles that are just not having a good day and maybe have run away, or those kind of things. They just feel like they need to get away for a little while. And typically, we find most of those immediately, sometimes while we’re responding to the call.” One such case recently involved a juvenile missing from Maggie Valley. She was reported missing on Jan. 18, and located fairly quickly, on Jan. 26. The advent of the internet has made spreading the word about missing persons much easier, something the HCSO takes full advantage of when possible. “Social media is the best avenue,” said Christina Esmay, HCSO’s public information officer. “We immediately post anytime someone’s notified as missing. We post some late at night, things like that, and we update immediately.”
Other cases, however, aren’t solved as quickly. Currently, the only person reported missing from Haywood County is Saundra Carrie Bryson. Bryson was last seen when she was released from the Haywood County Detention Center and had recently been served a magistrate’s order as a fugitive from drug charges in Alabama.
Facebook posts have been circulating Bryson’s image, pleading for details from anyone who may have seen her.
Bryson’s sister reported her missing on Jan. 19; she’s a white female in her mid-30s, 5’ 6” and 150 pounds, with short blond/brown hair. Recent reports of a deceased female in Asheville didn’t match Bryson, and as of press time on Feb. 1, Bryson remains missing.
“We’ve checked several locations in Haywood County that we’ve been told about where she could be and we’ve not been successful at finding her,” Cope said.
One of the possible reasons Bryson hasn’t been found is that she may not want to be — she has an active warrant for failing to appear for extradition and two more for probation violations. Through an intermediary, Bryson’s family declined to speak to The Smoky Mountain News about her disappearance.
“We continue to follow any of the leads that we get daily,” said Cope. “If anybody’s got any information, please call our number and follow us on social media for any updates. We want to resolve those cases very quickly. I know that parents and children, this just really wears on ‘em. They want to know that their family is safe and that we can bring ‘em home and get ‘em back safely.”
Persons with information on Carrie Bryson are encouraged to call
Follow the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office at facebook.com/HaywoodNCSheriff. If you have information on the whereabouts of Saundra Carrie Bryson, call the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office at 828.452.6666.
Cherokee man sentenced in child sex abuse case
Cherokee resident Forrest Cole Stamper, 28, will spend four years in federal prison after pleading guilty in federal court to abusive sexual contact of a minor.
Delivering the statutory maximum penalty for the offense, Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. sentenced Stamper to four years in prison and 15 years of supervised release. Stamper must also register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. Stamper is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
According to court documents, the crime occurred on Sept. 6, 2020, when Stamper was sitting on a living room couch next to the victim, a girl who was 10 years old at the time. The victim’s mother entered the room and saw Stamper with his hand on the victim’s groin and inner thigh. Both Stamper and the victim are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, meaning that the case fell under federal jurisdiction.
Stamper was first indicted on June 1, 2021, and at that time he faced three criminal charges, two related to the events of Sept. 6, 2020 and specifically alleging that he touched the victim under her clothes. A third charge alleged that Stamper assaulted a different person under the age of 16 in September 2019. However, those charges were dismissed in a Dec. 2, 2021 court order after Stamper pleaded guilty to the single charge for which he was recently sentenced.
The court file includes two character reference letters for Cogburn to consider at sentencing, as well as photos of Stamper smiling at his high school graduation ceremony and while playing football at Cherokee High School. One letter, from the prison chaplain who has ministered to Stamper for the past three years, asserts that Stamper has expressed “deep regret and repentance for his crime” and is likely to be a “very productive” member of society if given the chance.
The Cherokee Indian Police Department investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Prichard prosecuted it in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville.
Black History Month underway at WCU
A series of activities, exhibits and events is planned at Western Carolina University in recognition of February as Black History Month, including an inaugural scholarly discussion of diversity in Appalachia.
Among the many events will be a free community webinar about race and ethnicity in the mountains on Monday, Feb. 7, beginning at 4 p.m. The panel includes Ben Steere, WCU director of Cherokee Studies; Sophia Enriquez, assistant professor of ethnomusicology at Duke University; Joe Trotter Jr., professor of history and social justice at Carnegie Mellon University; Neema Avashia, civics and ethnic studies teacher at Boston Public Schools; and Trey Adcock, director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
View the livestream on the Appalachian Studies Association Facebook page or register to attend via Zoom at wcu.zoom.us/webinar/register/ WN_ryn7b7ShSAO02bWQ2DtxMQ.
A virtual series presentation on the WCU website is “The Black Fantastic,” a project by the University Communications and Marketing team to highlight excellence among Black faculty and staff.
WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center will feature “Ann Miller Woodford: The Artist as Storyteller” throughout the month as well, with in-person and video exhibit of paintings created by the noted Cherokee County author, artist and local historian.
To learn about additional events, visit wcu.campuslabs.com/engage/.
Free food distribution
A free food distribution with MANNA FoodBank Mobile Express will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 234 Church St., Waynesville.
Fresh produce and other fresh food items will be available, along with baby diapers and hygiene products (while supplies last). This is open to all. There is no paperwork to fill out, no forms and no ID required.
For more information, contact MANNA HelpLine at 800.820.1109 or Catholic Charities, Western Region Office at 828.255.0146.
