Missing Man: Donnie Payne--TN--9/14/2008

[Kelly]

Project Jason Profile:



Name:  Donnie Payne

Date of Birth:  02/27/1935
Date Missing:  09/14/2008
Age at time of disappearance:  73
City Missing From:  Cleveland
State Missing From:  Tennessee
Gender:  Male
Race:  White
Height:  5 ft 10 in
Weight:  125
Hair Color:  Brown/Gray
Eye Color:  Brown

Clothing:  Usually wears a hat, flannel shirt, and dark colored dress pants.

Circumstances of Disappearance:  Was reported last seen by a family member searching for aluminum cans on Sunday Sept. 14, 2008. Donnie always had his dog with him. (pictured)

Investigative Agency:  Bradley County Sherriff's Dept.
Agency Phone:  (423) - 728 - 7336

Print a Poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_DonniePayne.pdf

[LoriDavis]

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9239022

Family Of Missing Man Expects Death
Posted: Oct 25, 2008 06:44 PM EDT
Updated: Nov 8, 2008 06:43 PM EST
Bernadette Jay
Eyewitness News Reporter

CLEVELAND (WRCB) - "It's devastating not knowing. If we could just find out something. It would make us feel a lot better," said Wilma Black.

Fighting back tears, Wilma Black is on mission to find her big brother, 73-year-old Donnie Payne. He's been missing for more than a month. Saturday in Cleveland family members continued their quest to find answers. Already they've prepared themselves for the worst.

"He's not alive. I just know he's not alive. Wherever he is, I think he's dead," said Black.

"It's not what you want to think, but it's what your forced to believe. After three weeks, four weeks, then you have to face reality of what you might find," said Lisa Lehman, Payne's niece.

Payne lived off Lowery Street in Bradley County. The doors and windows to his home were left open. According to his family, he was last seen at an apartment complex dumpster searching for soda cans. Despite their pessimism, Payne's family is pushing forward to find him.

"We've done all kinds of telephone calls. We have also come out and handed out flyers within a 10-mile radius and talked to every church around to see if they would tell their congregations," said Black.

They hope their cries for help finding Payne will not go unanswered. They believe someone knows something to help solve this missing person's mystery.

"If there is anybody anywhere that knows anything about Donny or saw anything we would appreciate if they would give us a call," pleaded Black.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Donnie Payne, call the Bradley County Sheriff's Office at 423-728-7339.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.newschannel9.com/sections/missing-persons/

A missing persons report was filed Sept. 14, 2008 with the Bradley County Sheriff's Office for Donnie Lee Payne, who had his last contact with family members Sunday on Lowery Street.

Attempts by several relatives to find him have been unsuccessful and his cell phone has been turned off.

Payne is 73 years old and usually wears dark colored dress pants and a flannel shirt.  He is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 125 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

The Criminal Investigations Division is seeking any information. If you know the whereabouts of Donnie Lee Payne call (423) 728-7336.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.bradleysheriff.com/content/view/474/97/


Missing Person - Donnie Lee Payne   
Written by B. Gault, Public Information Office     
Wednesday, 17 September 2008 

A missing persons report was filed Tuesday with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office for Donnie Lee Payne, who had his last contact with family members Sunday on Lowery Street.

Attempts by several relatives to find him have been unsuccessful and his cell phone has been turned off.

Payne is 73 years old and usually wears dark colored dress pants and a flannel shirt. He is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 125 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

The Criminal Investigations Division is seeking any information. If you know the whereabouts of Donnie Lee Payne call (423) 728-7336.
 

[Kelly]

AAN Poster Notify Sent   Code 35

Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.html

[Kelly]

http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/case.cfm?id=66125

Smokey Mountain Man's Simple Life Scarred By Tragedy


At 73, Donnie Payne lived a quiet, simple life in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains in rural Cleveland, Tenn. He lived with his wife of just nine months, Hazel, and his beloved dog, a Jack Russell Terrier.

Donnie loved being outdoors, and enjoyed fishing and camping. Among his favorite places is an area known as Price's Creek on the Hiwassee River.

Wherever he went, he was always wearing a plaid shirt, dark pants and sporting some kind of hat, and he always had his beloved dog by his side.

Like his life, his culinary tastes were simple, and preferred the local diner rather than some fancy place.

No one knows what happened to him on September 14, 2008 to make him disappear. The last anyone saw or heard from him, he was headed out to look for aluminum cans.

Law enforcement says there may or may not be foul play. They just don't know.

Sadly, just one month after he went missing, his beloved wife Hazel died.

Several years prior to Donnie's disappearance, there was an arson on his property, and a dear friend of his died.

Police have ruled out any connection between the persons responsible for the fire and Donnie's disappearance.

According to members of Donnie's family, there have been many rumors about foul play.

One is that he was killed for a mere $200 and thrown into a dumpster.

While they fear the worst, they want to know what happened to him.  They hope the right person will hear their cry for help and provide police with the information they need to solve the case.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Donnie Lee Payne, call our hotline at 1-800-CRIME-TV.

[Kelly]

AAN Annual Poster Notify Sent to AAN Subscribers   Code 56

Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member and receive notifications about missing persons via email.

Click here to become a part of the solution: http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.html

[Kelly]

Donnie has been placed on Project Jason's 18 Wheel Angels campaign. A special poster has been made for him and can be downloaded and printed for placement. More information about the program, and the link for the poster can be found here:

http://projectjason.org/18wheel.shtml

In addition to the campaign, Donnie was also featured in a national trucking publications, either Independent Contractor or TruckJobSeekers. These free magazines are distributed in truck stops nationwide and have a circulation of about 150,000.

Independent Contractor and TruckJobSeekers are two of Target Media Partner's many publications. In partnership with Project Jason, they each feature two missing persons each per month. You can pick up your free copies at a local truck stop, but if it's far from you, you may want to call and ask if they carry that magazine. These are NOT with the regular for purchase magazines.

We hope this helps in the search for Donnie. Please consider printing and placing a poster in businesses in your community.



Thank you.

Kelly, Project Jason

[Kelly]

A story written for the 18 Wheel Angels campaign by the family:

About My Grandfather

I remember my grandfather taking me fishing. He would buy me rods and reels, teach me the methods, and spend time with me reassuring that he cared.

Now Donnie Lee Payne of Cleveland, TN (east of Chattanooga) is missing. The 73 year old with no mental deficiencies and was often seen searching for aluminum cans around his community. He usually wore flannel shirts with dress pants. Donnie liked to raise and care for small dogs and almost always had one with him. He could train them remarkably for their breeds. 

His disappearance awoke the community, because they knew that he was not the type to run off and leave his wife or animals.

Leads for law enforcement have dried up and critical information is needed to assist with this case. We would like any assistance you can provide to aid in the recovery of this beloved great-grandfather, Donnie Lee Payne. Any information should be forwarded to the Bradley County Sherriff’s Dept. @ (423) 728-7336 or Crime Stoppers @ (423) 698-3333.
 
Thank you for your assistance and consideration.
 
Toby Braswell, Grandson of Donnie

[Jenn]

NamUs Profile for Donnie: https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/4926

[LoriDavis]

http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/full_story/9543623/article-Today-is-two-years-since-Payne-went-missing?sms_ss=facebook

Today is two years since Payne went missing
by GREG KAYLOR, Banner Staff Writer Cleveland Daily Banner
09/14/2010

Two years ago today is the day Donnie Payne was reported missing. He was 74 years old at the time of his disappearance, and could have gone missing on a Sunday up to one month before it was reported to law enforcement, according to reports.

Bradley County Detective David Shoemaker continues to work the investigation into Payne’s mysterious vanishing.

According to the Missing Persons report, the Lowery Street resident always wore dark dress slacks and a flannel shirt. The report denotes conflicting times when Payne actually went missing.

Payne was noted for going around the area picking up cans in a wheelbarrow with his little Jack Russell terrier always in accompaniment.

According to Shoemaker, the terrier was found near the spot where Payne was last seen, but had been struck by a car and was dead.

The wheelbarrow was also parked near a dumpster, which Payne reportedly frequented in his search for aluminum cans.

“The case is still open and we continue to investigate, (and are) still searching and asking for information. There is speculation on the day he was actually last seen,” said Shoemaker.

Payne’s wife has since passed away.

“He was known to get cans from this particular dumpster near Ocoee Village Apartments, where we also found his wheelbarrow and his dog nearby,” explained Shoemaker.

After searching a number of locations, in and outside of Bradley County, investigators still have no definitive clues leading to where Payne might be.

Payne is described as being a white male who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs approximately 125 pounds. The report noted he may be in poor health, but had good mental capacity. Payne would not have had any identification with him at the time of his disappearance.

“There were no signs of foul play near the scene and around the dumpster,” said Shoemaker.

Anyone having information regarding Payne is urged to contact the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division Crime Tip Hotline at 423-728-7336 or 423-728-7337.

[Jenn]

Charley Project Profile for Donnie: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/payne_donnie.html

[LoriDavis]

Three years later and no sign of missing Bradley County man
Posted: Sep 14, 2011 1:21 PM EDT
Updated: Sep 14, 2011 1:23 PM EDT
By WRCB Staff

CLEVELAND (WRCB) - Wednesday marks exactly three years since the disappearance of an elderly man in Bradley County.

73-year-old Donnie Lee Payne was last seen by his family on September 14, 2008 on Lowery Street. They were unable to get an answer on his phone. He was at an apartment complex dumpster searching for soda cans.

Read more: http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/15461868/three-years-later-and-no-sign-of-missing-bradley-county-man

[LoriDavis]

Missing man's family: "We've spent three years looking"

Posted: Sep 15, 2011 9:10 PM EDT
Updated: Sep 15, 2011 9:24 PM EDT
By Callie Starnes, Anchor/Reporter

CLEVELAND, BRADLEY COUNTY, TN. (WRCB) - It's been three years since Lisa Lehman has seen her uncle, Donnie Payne.
 
"It consumes you," said Lehman, who lives in Kennesaw, Georgia, "it's a situation you never think you'll have to be in as a family."
 
"He's missing and you know there was foul play in it," added Wilma Black, Payne's sister, "but you just can't get anyone to help you."
 
The 73-year-old, who was well known in the East Cleveland community, was last seen collecting aluminum cans by an apartment complex near Lowery Street.

Read more: http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/15475783/missing-mans-family-weve-spent-three-years-looking-for-answers

[LoriDavis]

Fires, homicides dominated 2011 crime

by GREG KAYLOR, Banner Staff Writer
01/02/2012

[Excerpt..]

Several families and local law enforcement continue to search for clues into the disappearance of loved ones.

A number of missing persons cases remain on Bradley County’s list of active investigations including that of Marsha Ellen Rader Brantley, who disappeared in June 2009.

[Excerpt..]

Donnie Payne disappeared in Sept. 2008. Investigators have followed numerous leads with no luck. Payne was 73 years-old when he was last seen.

Read more: http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/full_story/16962535/article-Fires--homicides-dominated-2011-crime?instance=homesecondleft