Danny Federico
reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com
Suwannee Valley Unsolved is currently investigating the murders and disappearances of 41 individuals, 30 of which occurred in Columbia County and 11 of which occurred in Suwannee County. In an effort to keep these cases alive and moving, the group's creator, Jason Futch, in coordination with the Suwannee River Regional Library, hosted “Cold Cases of the Suwannee Valley” in Branford on Monday, Jan. 9.
The presentation, held in the Hatch Park Community Center, was centered around three homicides, Darlene Messer, Deborah Howard and John Robert Thomas. In an effort to bring awareness to these horrific crimes, Futch dove head first into the past, with the assistance of the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office, the Lake City Police Department, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and Suwannee Valley Crime Stoppers. Over 80 people attended the presentation, and almost 200 people viewed the event live on Facebook.
Retired Detective Sgt. Randy Roberts with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office kicked the event off by presenting Darlene Messer's case. Messer was abducted from the Suwannee Swifty Convenience Store in Lake City on Sept. 18, 1989. Her body was later discovered floating in a body of water beneath the Swift Creek Bridge in Union County—approximately 15 miles from where she disappeared—on Sept. 20, 1989. Her death was reportedly caused by blunt force trauma. Although there are persons of interest in the case, the investigation is still ongoing.
The Suwannee County Sheriff's Office and Retired Detective Jake Brooks then presented Deborah Howard's case. Howard was last seen on Sept. 25, 1976, at a bar in Lake City, Fla., before she returned to Live Oak with her boyfriend, George McCraney. An official investigation began in 2015 after her family came forward to report her missing. McCraney, who is serving a life sentence on unrelated charges, was developed as a suspect. He was interviewed at Florida State Prison, but has been uncooperative and avoids questions concerning Howard. He is still a suspect in her case.
The final presentation came from Investigator Greg Burnsed with the Lake City Police Department. Thomas was murdered on Dec. 9, 2001, in a home on the corner of Northeast Washington and Broadway Streets in Lake City. An altercation occurred at the home, leading to Thomas being shot in the face. Although a woman was arrested for the murder in 2002, a grand jury did not indict her for the charges. She still remains a person of interest.
Heather Landacre, Thomas's aunt, closed out the presentation by delivering a family impact statement. “To the person that is still of interest in this case, we all want you to know that you took a beautiful soul—a beautiful person...He had a bright future, he wanted to play baseball for Florida State University. He never got to do that,” Landacre said. “I was 14-years-old. I didn't have a voice back then, but I have one now. I now look out into a crowd, anywhere I go, and wonder, is this the person? Could you have been the one that took our nephew, our friend, our brother? I'm hoping that you watch this—that you see this, and you decide you're finally going to come forward. And as a victim impact statement, I would also like you to know that if you're caught, we pray that you are shown no mercy, just like you showed him none the night you killed him and left him there alone...As long as I'm alive and breathing, John will have a voice.”
The full “Cold Cases of the Suwannee Valley” presentation can be viewed on Suwannee Valley Unsolved's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SuwanneeValleyUnsolved.