Help find Michael "Austin" Davis

I'll be trying to post some updates here.  No new news yet.

We now know that Austin took a cab from home on 6-26 at about 10:30am and that he went 9 miles, but don't know to where or in what direction.  That is the last known wherabouts... in a cab.  Where was he going, what was he thinking?  These things we don't know.

Have you tried the sorrounding county jails? Bradford, Nassau, St. Johns, Alachua, Putnam? Not because he did anything wrong but maybe they detained him for other reasons as disorderly intoxication or to keep him from hurting himself. I would also check the hospitals and  contact his out of  town friends. I hope your hear from him soon. My prayers are with you and your family.

We've checked all of those, and JSO has now checked the places that couldn't tell us (like hospitals).  We've also gotten his cell phone records and it was last used the morning he disappeared.  We'll see where we go from here...

 Thanks.

Finally, some news coverage!

 http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=86379

There is now info at:

www.findaustindavis.com 

First Coast News (www.firstcoastnews.com)

FOX 30 WAWS (www.waws.com)

MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/findaustindavis)

Anita,

Please know that the entire American Cancer Society family has been praying for Austin's quick and safe return.  We've been hoping for positive updates, so at least the taxi ride is something to move forward with.  You all must be so thankful that there is finally some media coverage, too.  We've forwarded the information around and the Clay County volunteers have posted flyers, but please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help.  We're here for you, so please don't hesitate to ask.

We love you,
The ACS Staff and Volunteers

Thanks for the sweet comments Wendy and gang... trying to be positive each day.  We recently got a new lead- possible sighting in Gainesville, so we're beating the path there now with info and questions. 

Thanks to everyone providing support, sending fliers, keeping their eyes open, and praying for Austin and our family.

Austin's friends and family are continuously amazed at the wonderfull and warm support we have received in our desperate search to find Austin.  This expierence, as horiffic as it is, has served as a reminder of all the good and caring people in our community and for that matter, throughout the country. 

Our most recent lead has centered our search in the Gainesville area and Gainesville Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan and Commissioner Richard Bryant have taken personal interest in our search for Austin.  As a result, Alachua County Sheriff's Office has joined with JSO in the search.  We are greatly to Alachua County and the City of Gainesville for their help.

Detective Cummings of JSO has worked diligently in his efforts to locate Austin and has not left a stone unturned.  We feel certain that his efforts will bring Austin home to us soon.  Detective McKinnon is working side by side with Det. Cummings and both are working state-wide and with Georgia Law Enforcement Agencies in their efforts.  My sincere thanks is extended to both of these good men.

We have received considerable help from the media in Jacksonville, Lake City and Gainesville.  This includes numerous newspaper articles, radio announcements, TV spots and website links to Austin's Website now under construction (WWW.FindAustinDavis.com).  We are especially appreciative of the efforts of Mr. Lamar Thames and MyClay Today for assisting in notifying the public and Lamar's personal words of encouragement.  We are also grateful to each of our local TV stations who aired the story a couple of weeks ago. 

As an employee of Commander, Navy Region Southeast, I owe a debt of gratitude to all my co-workers and bosses for their understanding and tolerance during this difficult time, especially Mr. Bruce Toth, CAPT Cuny and our Chief of Staff, CAPT Schellhorn.  Monica and I are both grateful to her staff at Wellington Place Apartments and her bosses for their support and understanding.

A special thank you goes to our friends and neighbors who stepped up in our crisis and provided emotional and spiritual support and their love.  With their help, thousands of flyers have been posted throughout NE Florida and South Georgia.  Without these good friends, our desperation would be overwhelming. 

I greatly appreciate Austin's Mom, Christy, and the dedication with which she has persued our son's recovery, including changing her residence to be close during the search.  Hold tight, Christy, God is in control.

I not only appreciate but find great pride in my daughter, Anita, for her endless efforts to locate her brother.  She continues to work in a demanding job and keep her household running for her husband, Mike and our Grandson, Drew, while dedicating hours every day to our search.  I am proud of you, Anita.  Keep up the hard work and the faith.

Thanks to Austin's employer and his friends (especially Kelly) who have worked diligently over the past few weeks to locate Austin.  I have met friends of my son through this experience that give me comfort and make me realize the treasures he possesses.  Thanks to all of you.

Above all others, I thank my wife and friend, Monica, for her love, support and hard work in keeping me in check and focused on the things that matter.  I love you and appreciate you.

Most of all, I thank my heavenly Father for keeping Austin safe and bringing him back to us soon.

Keep the Faith,

Jim Davis (Austin's Dad)

We are still focusing on the Gainesville area after a few possible sightings there.  We've spent a few nights visiting homeless shelters, a homeless encampment, and just talking to people on the street.

No luck yet. 

We're starting to understand those people who give up everything else except the search for a loved one, even when it means living on the streets.  While trying to keep life as 'normal' as possible for my 4 year old, we continue on...

Please help us find Michael Austin Davis age 26.  Austin in my only son.  He disappeared the morning of 26 June 2007 and despite a desperate and comprehensive search, we have been unable to locate him.Austin's last known contact was with a taxi driver in Jacksonville, Florida with whom he took a nine mile ride from his sister's home on the Westside of town to an undetermined location.  Prior to taking the taxi ride Austin telephoned his employer Mr. Dick Neddo of Megabytes Computers, from his sister's house to advise him that he needed to take care of some personal business and would be riding to work with an unidentified friend.  The personal business related to paying outstanding traffic tickets and picking up his vehicle from an impound lot in Green Cove Springs, Fl.  Austin had about $1400 cash on his person.The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office began a Missing Persons investigation and assigned Detective Cummings lead detective on the case.  Detective Cummings concluded that the morning Austin Disappeared, he took a nine mile taxi fare to a still unknown location.  The taxi driver is the last person known to have seen Austin.  Difficulties and delays in locating the driver for questioning occurred.  Detective Cummings questioned him and rode on the route the driver claimed to have taken Austin  He remembered Austin, the location he picked him up, discussions they had in the taxi, the exact fair and tip, but he does not remember where the ride ended.During this search I have been bouncing back and forth between the possibilities of foul play and my son's deep depression and mental state that would cause him to run away or maybe even take his own life.  Events that led up to Austin's disappearance:    On 08 June 2007, Austin was stopped by a Clay County Sheriff's Deputy for driving with a burned out headlight.  Upn running my son's license in the National Crime Information Center the deputy determined that Austin's driver's license had been susended for unpaid traffic tickets.  During a permissive search of his vehicle, the Deputy discovered a small amount of marijuana (less than 20 grams) and a pipe.  His car was towed and impounded and Austin was incarcerated overnight.  On 09 June 2007, I learned of his incarceration and posted bond for the charge of driving on a suspended license.  No bond was required for the marijuana charge.  I knew that Austin had smoked pot on occasion, but he did not do other drugs.  This has been confirmed by his closest friends who are aiding in the search for Austin.With the exception of a couple of traffic tickets, this was Austin's first and only encounter with the law.  During our ride home, he displayed emotions of embarrassment and shame.  I had been concerned about his depression and psychological state for months.  Just a few months earlier, he experienced a failed relationship with his longtime girlfriend, dropped out of technical school and moved home.  Despite the love of others and success in a new computer job, Austin was still heartsick.  During the weeks prior to his disappearance, he called a friend from a wooded area and expressed his anguish and pain.  My greatest fear was finding my only son dead in the woods.I recruited and organized a team of twelve friends, naval officers and enlisted men and women that I wrk with in the Antiterrorism/Force Protection staff of Commander Navy Region Southeast.  I have worked in the Navy Law Enforcement and Antiterrorism Program side by side with NCIS for over twenty years but have never had such a daunting task as searching for my own son.Our search turned up nothing.  A week later JSO conducted a search with bloodhound and aerial resonance operations of the woods with negative results.  JSO has also conducted surveillance and reconnaissance operations over a wooded area near our old house on the Westside of Jacksonville based on advice of a forensic psychic recruited by a family member.  The results were also negative.  My greatest fear was put to rest.On Father's Day, Austin spent the day with me and seemed to have a good time.  I knew he was embarrassed about the night in jail, but I felt he was dealing with the situation and his feelings.Only after two weeks of wrestling with JS to release information to the public were we able to get local media to pick up Austin's story and inform the ublic of his disappearance.  Media has included all NE Florida/Jacksonville TV stations, newsaper articles and radio announcements.  Along with friends, family and people we had never met, we posted thousands of fliers throughout communities in Northeast Florida and South Georgia.  We have saturated the internet with network postings, blogs and websites dedicated to finding Austin (www.findaustindaviscom) We have received numerous leads including reported sightings in other Florida communities and have followed each one to a dead end.  We desperately need network coverage to find Austin.  I believe that with the help of others, we will find my son.Jim Davis