MONROE COUNTY — Almost nothing about Terry Wayne Lesley’s case can be found in the public record, including any news coverage from the time he went missing until now, 40 years later.
Lesley was last heard from June 6, 1986, which was his 27th birthday.
A search of Newspapers.com turns up no stories about his disappearance. There’s also no wedding announcement, obituary or other newspaper record that might say more about who he was or what happened to him.
Photo from FindAGrave.com by: Judy Harden Malone on Jan. 5, 2012According to MissingSippi.org, Lesley was a white man with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed about 160 pounds.
He was living at his ex-wife’s home when he disappeared. According to MissingSippi’s case information, he called his sister-in-law the night of June 6 and told her he’d be at her house the next morning. He was planning to move in with her and his brother.
He never showed up, and he hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
A search of his name today does turn up one more piece of information. A Find a Grave memorial lists a Terry Wayne Lesley born June 6, 1959, and died June 6, 1986, the same day he disappeared. The memorial places his burial at Friendship Cemetery in Itawamba County.
The memorial doesn’t say how or when his death was determined, or what happened to him.
A comment left on the page by a user identified as Lawana Lesley raises more questions.
“Miss and love you so much, wish we had the answers about your murder, it will always be an unsolved mystery…” the comment reads.
It isn’t clear whether the comment reflects firsthand knowledge, what the family believes or information from an official investigation. That isn’t the only readily available public reference that describes Lesley’s death as a murder.
A Websleuths chat thread from several years ago discusses the case, and quickly devolves into an argument, as internet discussions will.
There are no news reports immediately available on his disappearance, no obituary explaining his death and little to indicate what investigators may have believed happened to him.
If the Find a Grave information is correct, Lesley disappeared, and apparently died, on the day he turned 27.
Anyone with information about Terry Wayne Lesley’s disappearance or death is asked to contact MissingSippi at [email protected].
