JUSTIN GAINES

Vigil Held for Missing College Student

By Catherine Kim
WXIA-TV Atlanta

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA -- Nearly a month and a half after a Gwinnett County college student disappeared many of the leads in the case have gone cold. But Sunday night, the family of Justin Gaines gathered in Snellville for a vigil to pray for his safe return.

Nearly 100 people gathered in the hopes that others would hear their prayers. “This Thursday will be six weeks that I haven’t seen or talked to my son,” said Gaines’ mother, Erika Wilson.

But so far, those prayers have remained unanswered.

But new clues are emerging. Just this week, private investigators released a surveillance tape from the Wild Bills nightclub, the last place Gaines was seen on November 1st.

"Security guards were saying he was in good spirits," Wilson said. Guards saw Gaines get into a car.

After countless hours of combing the area around Wild Bills, Gaines' family is finding they have nowhere else to look. "It's really hard to realize that we really don’t know where he is," Wilson said.

So, friends and families continue to put the spotlight on Gaines, not letting anyone forget who he is, and that he’s missing.
http://www.crimeandjustice.us/forums/lofiversion/index.php?t11575.html

More Help in Search for Missing Teen

Reported by: Jerry Carnes
Last Modified: 12/18/2007 8:22:07 PM


Erika Wilson's didn’t have the heart to put up her Christmas tree this year. Her daughter had to do it.

Now, Erika finds it hard to look at a tree that smiles at her with homemade ornaments made years ago by her son Justin.

"It's torture,” said Wilson. “Without Justin, how can it be the same? When you don't know where your child is, when you go to sleep when it's cold outside and you don't know if he's warm, it's hard to think about Christmas."

It's been well over a month now since 18-year-old Justin Gaines was captured on security video entering Wild Bill's Club in Duluth.
His family and friends have searched a 30 square mile area around the club trying to find out what's happened since that night, without any success.

Now, they want to decorate the area with billboards and buttons and posters to remind everyone of the case.

The owners of Urban Flats restaurant in Snellville have declared this Thursday “Justin Gaines Day of Hope.” The business will donate all of that day's profits to help the family pay for their efforts.

"There's a mom and dad and five or six brothers and sisters who are hurting,” said owner Bob Rodgers. “We wanted to do something to benefit them."

Erika Wilson said one of Justin's brothers once asked for a laptop computer to take to college next year. Now, he says he wants nothing for Christmas except to have his brother back home. Erika, meanwhile, avoids her Christmas tree except to look at one ornament, and angel given to her by a friend.

"It says ‘you're in my hearts and prayers,’" said Wilson. "It's there for Justin so he comes home safely."

Family still lives with not knowing

By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/23/07
AJC Gwinnett News reporters and photographers covered thousands of stories this year. We asked our staff to share with readers how a particular story touched them — personally or professionally. "Touched by a Story" is the result. In the next few days, we hope you also will be touched by these stories. In the process, you will get a glimpse into the workings of the journalists who hustle every day to bring you the news.


It is surely every mother's worst nightmare having a child who doesn't come home.

Erika Wilson and her husband, Steve Wilson, of Snellville, are still living that nightmare today, almost two months after their 18-year-old son Justin Gaines disappeared from a Duluth nightclub on Nov. 1. There have been no solid clues, no leads to follow, no body, nothing. It must be, in a word, terrifying.

Gaines vanished a few hours after friends dropped him off at Wild Bill's nightclub in the Gwinnett Place mall area of Duluth.

Friends have told Gaines' family that he used fake IDs to buy alcohol that night, a commonplace infraction for fun-seeking college students.

The muscular, outgoing teenager was last heard from shortly before 2 a.m., when he made several calls from his cellphone to friends asking for a ride home. None of his buddies were able to pick him up, and he never returned home, family members said.

The former Brookwood High School student was living near Athens, attending the Oconee campus of Gainesville College, but he frequently returned to Snellville to visit his family on weekends.

The family graciously allowed me into their home as search parties organized in the weeks after the disappearance and allowed me to witness their emotional roller coaster. I don't know if I could have done the same in their place.

Something else that touched me even more than this family's tragic circumstances was their obvious love and concern for one another. They were short on sleep and worried out of their minds. On top of that, they had to worry about caring for the six other children in their blended family. Yet in the banquet hall of Berkmar United Methodist Church in Duluth, while search party volunteers organized one morning, I saw Erica Wilson lean into her husband and whisper "I love you," as he patted her arm and replied, "I love you, too."

Steve Wilson rarely let his wife out of his sight, worrying aloud to me at one point, "She could fall apart at any minute." Gaines' grandparents also jumped in, eager to help, and they were thrilled to be given the task of handling the sign-up sheet for volunteers.

Each day, I hoped there would be some news to bring this family closure, even if it was the worst-case scenario that he had been found dead. It never happened. The family went on to celebrate Thanksgiving without him, and now it appears that Christmas will be the same.

The Wilson family remains determined to find him. They have hired a private investigator, opened a Justin Gaines search fund and started a nonprofit organization to help pay for fliers and billboards. Every Thursday, they return to the "18-and-up" night at Wild Bill's to put fliers on all the cars, hoping patrons will provide a clue to Gaines' disappearance.

"This is the hardest thing, just not knowing anything," Erica Wilson said in an interview last month, adding "I'll never give up on finding my baby, never."

• Andria Simmons is the AJC Gwinnett News police news and courts reporter. Reach her at 770-263-3660. If you have any information on this missing persons case, call 1-877-270-9500.

Posts: 1642



Tough Christmas for Missing Teen's Family

The holidays are usually a joyful, fun-filled time for families. But for one metro Atlanta family there's an empty seat at the dinner table.

Justin Gaines, 18, has been missing for nearly two months.

The family will tell you their lives are now forever referred to by one marker: what happened before Justin disappeared and after.

On this Christmas, as family members from as far away as Ohio and Las Vegas laughed and caught up, it is almost unbearable for Erika and Steven Wilson.
Their son Justin disappeared November 1st from the Wild Bills nightclub in Gwinnett County.

Friends say he called them late that night asking for a ride home but no one could make it. No one knows what happened after that.

Gwinnett County Police are investigating Justin's case.

In the meantime, family members have set up a Web site asking for information, put up billboards and have passed out an estimated 5,000 flyers.

Holidays Hard for Gaines' Family

As some are cleaning up in the kitchen others catch up with cousins while others fuss over the newest babies in the family. By all outward appearances this is a typical family Christmas dinner until you notice the sudden, fallen faces and palpable moments of sadness as they remember who's not there.

"It's not the same its not Christmas it's not anything like Christmas," said 21-year-old Joe Wilson.

He misses his younger brother, Justin Gaines, who's been missing now for nearly two months. His absence is felt hardest by his parents Steven and Erika Wilson.

"Christmas won't be the same you go through the motions because of the other kids can't go without because you're not emotional there but it still won't be the same," said Steven Wilson.

Justin Gaines is a freshman at Gainesville College and lives in Athens. Friends last saw him the night of November 1, 2007 going into the nightclub Wild Bills in Gwinnett County. Friends say all he had with him was two fake IDs, a little cash and a cell phone. According to one friend, Justin called him asking for a ride home but the friend couldn't make it. Justin was never heard from again.

For Justin's mother spending Thanksgiving without him was hard enough. Christmas, she says, is excruciating.

"Every day is harder. New Year's is going to be hard because it will be two months that he hasn't been home if he doesn't come home before then," said his mother.

Gwinnett county police are investigating Gaines' disappearance and the family has hired a private detective. In the meantime they've set up a website in Justin's name, www.justingaines.com, along with erecting billboards and passing out an estimated 5,000 flyers. Now all they can do is wait for someone to call the toll free hotline number with information.

"Somebody knows where he is and I just wish they'd let us know so we could find him and know what's going on to help our family," cried Erika Wilson.

Police Suspect Foul Play In GA College Student Disappearance

Gainesville State college student Justin Gaines has been missing since November 1, 2007, and up until February, 2008, police had treated his case as a missing persons case. But police now say they have information to suggest Justin met with foul play.

http://amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=51347


Police investigate possible foul play in teen's disappearance

By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/08/08

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/02/08/gaines0209.html


'Foul play' in Gaines case? Police say leads may point to that

By Andria Simmons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/09/08

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/02/09/gaines0209.html?cxntlid=inform


Foul Play Suspected In Justin Gaines Case
Reward For Information Raised To $25,000

http://www.cbs46.com/news/15252622/detail.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4S_G-b2stI

Nice personal Video of Justin. He sure is a handsome guy! Wish there was some news. I do fear when it comes, it won't be good. I also think his friends know more. I follow along in scangwinnet forum with his Mom Erica. I am not a member and don't post, but it is sad to see so many in pain. So many in pain, all over....so sad.

Human remains found in woods

POSTED March 13, 2008 4:02 p.m.
A city worker found skeletal human remains in a wooded area of Gainesville this morning, police said.

Capt. Chad White said the remains were found about 9:20 a.m. near the intersection of Pine Street and Summit Street.

The remains were being sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab in Decatur. A cause of death and how long the person had been dead could not be determined at the scene. The gender of the remains also could not be determined. It was unknown whether foul play was involved, White said.

White said detectives will be looking through missing persons reports as part of the investigation.

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/4143/

~~~~~~~~~~
Gainesville is about 33 miles North of Duluth--where Justin was last seen.

GAINESVILLE - Gainesville Police now know the identity of the skeletal remains found last week.

The body was found last week by utility workers in a wooded area near the intersection of Pine Street at Summit Street.

Lt. Brian Kelly said the body "has been classified to be a male subject." He added: "There does not appear to be any signs of forced injury or trauma, indicating foul play."

According to Kelly, the man appears to be in his mid-50s.

The cause of death and when death occurred has not been determined. The man's name is being withheld pending notification of relatives.

http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=208178&c=1

Family holds onto hope missing man will be found

March 30, 2008
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Under other circumstances, the burgers, beer and country music at VFW Post 9871 would have put smiles on everyone’s faces.

Instead, the mood Saturday night was somber as the family of North Ridgeville native Justin Gaines raised money to continue the search for the 18-year-old college student who disappeared from his Georgia home five months ago Wednesday.

“We’re very hopeful until we find proof otherwise that Justin is alive and safe somewhere,” said his aunt, Kelli McGill.
Gaines

Justin’s mother, Erika Wilson, said her son went out with friends on Halloween and was last seen at a Georgia bar called Wild Bill’s.

He asked her what shirt he should wear because he was going out to meet girls, Wilson said.

Police told the family recently that they now believe Justin’s disappearance is due to foul play, though they won’t tell Wilson why they believe that.

She said detectives give her weekly updates on the search for her son — saying they are looking at phone records and trying to get Justin back on “America’s Most Wanted,” which has featured his story twice.

The Georgia State Defense Force has already conducted two widespread searches, McGill said, and the family continues to print fliers and hire experts to look for Gaines.

Wilson also has a private investigator trying to track down her son. She said the PI has been volunteering for months, but they want to raise money to pay him to stay on the trail seven days a week.

Justin moved to Georgia as a second-grader, and many of his old friends have rallied around the family in the past few months, Justin’s aunt, Lisa Stout, said.

“People we don’t even know have helped us. The whole family is touched,” she said.

Gaines’ family also was raffling off things Saturday, including a Cleveland Browns helmet donated by Riddell. McGill said she was hoping the dinner and raffles would raise about $4,000 to continue the search for Justin.

This will be an especially tough week for the family, she said. Monday will mark Justin’s 19th birthday.

A nationwide fund has been set up through National City Bank to help fund the family’s search. Contributions may be made at any branch

http://www.chroniclet.com/2008/03/30/family-holds-onto-hope-missing-man-will-be-found/

Mom's new job: Find missing son

She's determined on mission she never desired

By Andria Simmons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 05/02/08

Erika Wilson's job pays nothing, causes unbearable stress and so far has produced no results.

But she is determined to pursue what became her life's work exactly six months ago —- helping authorities find her missing son, Justin Gaines.

"I never wanted this new life," Wilson said. "I didn't ask for it, but it's my job now."

Working from a garage turned into a home office, she has focused on making buttons and bumper stickers, raising funds for a reward, handing out fliers, setting up a telephone tip line and maintaining a Web site —- anything to make sure the public doesn't forget her son.

Searches yield nothing

No one has seen or heard from Gaines since he disappeared from Wild Bill's nightclub off Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth early on Nov. 2. Weeks of volunteer search parties' scouring the area turned up no clues. "Not a shoe, not a shirt, nothing of his belongings," Wilson said.

Gaines was 18 and a freshman at the Oconee campus of Gainesville College in Athens. He had been home visiting his family in Snellville.

Gaines reportedly called several friends that evening asking for a ride home, but none could pick him up. Wilson suspects Gaines got "the wrong ride" from someone who hurt him.

She also clings to hope that he is alive somewhere.

While the case remains unsolved, Wilson said she has no desire to return to her job in real estate.

Erica and her husband, Steve Wilson, have also hired private investigator Bob Poulnot of Lawrenceville.

"I know it's been a long time," Poulnot said Thursday, "but we're still working on leads and we don't intend to give up."

Gwinnett police spokesman Officer David Schiralli said investigators have no more leads to follow. "Every possible avenue that we could follow up, we followed through on," Schiralli said. "Now we're just waiting for anybody else to come forward with new information."

Schiralli said investigators have placed many items into evidence, and 75 were delivered to the GBI lab for analysis. He declined to talk about specific pieces of evidence. Schiralli said the GBI will soon meet with Gwinnett investigators to review the case "from an outsider's point of view."

Time doesn't erase loss

Some of the six other children in the Wilsons' blended family —- ages 13 to 21 —- have celebrated birthdays in their brother's absence. When Gaines' 19th birthday passed March 31, Wilson developed such a migraine headache that she couldn't move from her bed.

Steve Wilson, Gaines' stepfather, decided that day to have a likeness of Gaines tattooed above his heart. Wilson said her husband wanted to see his son's face every day in the mirror when he dresses.

Today, family and friends will gather for a cookout and candlelight vigil in remembrance of Gaines at Bethesda Park at 225 Bethesda Church Road in Snellville.

The Wilsons are offering a $25,000 reward to anyone with information leading to Gaines' whereabouts. Anyone with information can call 1-877-270-9500 or visit www.justingaines.com.

Until they get the tip they've been waiting for, Wilson's work continues.

"Every day I cry, pray and hope for answers," she said. "I can't imagine doing this another six months. I want to quit this job."

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2008/05/02/gaines.html

Still 'nothing' on student's fate
18-year-old not seen since nov. 2

May 13, 2008
Six months after Justin Gaines disappeared from a Duluth nightclub, his family and police know little more about what happened to the Gainesville State College student than they did in November.

Gaines, who lived in Athens and attended Gainesville State's Watkinsville campus, has not been seen since Nov. 2.

His family has raised a reward fund of nearly $25,000 for information leading to the recovery of his remains or to the conviction of the person responsible for his disappearance - much of the money raised with fundraisers like a bowl-a-thon planned for this Saturday in the Ohio town where many of Gaines' relatives still live.

The last glimpse the Gaines family had of him was from a video security camera at a popular Duluth club named Wild Bill's. The camera caught Gaines laughing and talking with friends about 2 a.m. Nov. 2.

Friends had dropped the 18-year-old off earlier that night at Wild Bill's where a crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 people typically gathers on Thursday nights, his mother said.

The club is across Pleasant Hill Road from Gwinnett Place Mall near Interstate 85.

When the Brookwood High School graduate was ready to go home, he called several friends for a ride but had no luck. The telephone calls were the last contacts Gaines had with anyone who knew him, as far as friends and family know.

"It's just frustrating. It's just been such a long time, and I don't have any answers," said Justin's mother, Erika Wilson.

Since that November day, Gwinnett County investigators have put more than 2,000 man-hours into trying to track down what happened, followed leads to 14 counties and conducted 18 land, water and air searches in six counties, according to Officer David Schiralli, a public information officer for the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Police have told Wilson they suspect foul play, but neither police, a private investigator Gaines' family hired nor volunteer horse trackers with Texas EquuSearch have been able to trace Gaines beyond the Wild Bill's Saloon parking lot, Wilson said.

"Nothing," she said.

No transactions appeared on his bank account and no activity on his cell phone, which his family still pays - "no nothing," she said.

"He's just a responsible kid. He would be in contact with us," Wilson said of her son, who was in his first semester at Gainesville State College's Oconee County campus. He planned to transfer to the University of Georgia.

"Right now, we are looking for anyone to come forward with any new information to move forward," Schiralli said.

Gaines, a husky 5-foot-10 and 230 pounds, was wearing ripped jeans and a gray Abercrombie shirt when last seen, according to a flyer his family has distributed widely. His hair was in a buzz cut. His 19th birthday was March 19.

The family has raised reward money both in Georgia and in northern Ohio, where Justin's mother and father grew up and where his father still lives.

"We will never let anybody forget this kid, no matter how long it is," said Kelli McGill, an aunt who helped organize a fundraiser for this Saturday - a bowl-a-thon at Rebman Recreation in Lorain, Ohio.

Lorain is west of Cleveland near North Ridgeville, Ohio, where Justin spent the first year of his life and where many of his relatives live.

Police and Gaines' family asked anyone with information about his disappearance call Detective T.R. Tobler of the Gwinnett County Police Department at (770) 513-5300 or the Texas EquuSearch toll-free number (877) 270-9500.

Wilson wonders if people have paid less attention to Justin's disappearance because he is male.

"People don't think males are in danger. They think 'They're healthy males, and why did they take off?' " Wilson said.

But bad things can happen to men as well as women, said Wilson.

"I've got an idea he got a ride from the wrong person," she said.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 051408

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/051408/news_20080514079.shtml

Written by his Mom:

Thursday, May 22, 2008

May 19th-20th 2008

These first two days of the week have been hard. Monday I totally feel apart just thinking of Ben Graduating on Wednesday. I keep thinking about how just a year ago we were watching Justin Graduate and seeing his excitement in going off to college. I am so proud of Ben and he is so excited he will be entering college. I on the other hand am scared of him leaving. I was excited for Joe and Justin when they graduated and were going off to school. Now I am worried to let him even leave but I know I have to let him follow his dreams.

I am not sure how I will handle graduation. I want to be so strong for Ben but I just know my heart will be aching for Justin thinking how it was just last year he was on that field getting his diploma and now I don't even know where he is.

Tuesday My mom and Step dad have arrived for Graduation tomorrow. It was great seeing them again and spending time with them. We grilled hamburgers out and all enjoyed dinner together. I know Ben is glad they were able to come down from Ohio to watch his graduation.

I have spent the last months not really listening to music except for Find your way Home by Tara London. But I have listened to some other song that Steven or I have found on Justin's I pod. I couldn't believe how much music he has on that thing. But Steven on day listening to it stumbled across a song he has on it that neither of us had heard. When Steven played the song I knew why he wanted me to hear it. It is certainly song we can relate with and as I listen to it now my tears flow and my heart aches so much. My pain is so real and is never goes away. This is a song called The Tin Man by Kenny Chesney.


The Tin Man
-------------

Saw a man in the movies that didn't have a heart
How I wish I could give him mine
Then I wouldn't have to feel it breaking all apart
And this emptiness inside would suit me fine

It's times like these
I wish I were the tin man
You could hurt me all you wanted
I'd never even know
Well...I'd give anything just to be the tin man
And I wouldn't have a heart and I wouldn't need a soul

I couldn't see your leavin' comin'
It took me by surprise
Even now still seems like a dream
But I know I can't be dreamin'
'Cause as I lay down each night
The pain's so great that it won't let me sleep

It's times like these
I wish I were the tin man
You could hurt me all you wanted
I'd never even know
Well..I'd give anything just to be the tin man
And I wouldn't have a heart and I wouldn't need a soul
Well I'd give anything just to be the tin man
And I wouldn't have a heart and I wouldn't miss you so.


With Hope and Love,
Erika and Steven Wilson

http://www.justingaines.com/familymessage.cfm

5/29/08

http://tinyurl.com/52d9y6

North Ridgeville Family Hopes National Exposure Will Help Find Missing Son

Video where Justin's father talks about his son and the epidemic of so many missing male college students

Justin Gaines Featured On "Without A Trace"

The case of a Gwinnett County teenager who has been missing for seven months was featured on CBS' "Without A Trace". CBS 46's Tony McNary reports.

Family of missing adult son tries to help others

Justin Gaines last seen at a Duluth nightclub on Nov. 2, 2007

By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 08/12/08

Time is a parent's worst enemy in missing persons cases.

Erika Wilson believes a time lapse of almost two weeks between the Nov. 2 disappearance of her 18-year-old son, Justin Gaines, from a Duluth nightclub and the launch of a full-scale search may be the reason her son remains missing more than nine months later.

Now she's working to help other families beat the clock.

"The first 72 hours are so important," Wilson said. "There is so much information that people need that they don't always get."

Some of the things people don't get — help with making fliers, raising money, organizing volunteers or hiring private investigators — Wilson wants to help provide with her new nonprofit organization, aptly named the Justin Time Foundation.

The foundation's first fund-raiser is Thursday at Little Gardens restaurant in Lawrenceville. Festivities will include music, food and a silent auction.

Although her focus has broadened to helping others, Wilson said she still yearns to find her missing son.

In Gaines' case, his age and reputation as enjoying the party life may have worked against him. Witnesses told police he was using a fake ID at the club to buy alcohol the night he vanished.

Because Gaines was a legal adult, police listed him as a missing person but did not immediately begin searching for him.

"It's a national problem that there is not a standard protocol law enforcement follows for missing adults," said Bob Poulnot, a private investigator hired by the Wilson family. "That is probably based on the assumption they have a right to be missing."

It was not until February that Gwinnett Police announced they suspected foul play.

Gwinnett police spokeswoman Cpl. Illana Spellman said Friday that detectives have since suspended the investigation because no new leads have surfaced.

"The investigators involved in the Gaines case worked tirelessly for several months to exhaust all possible leads," Spellman said.

Poulnot released several new details recently about the last sighting of Gaines, a freshman at the Oconee campus of Gainesville College in Athens.

A surveillance camera at Wild Bill's nightclub shows the muscular teenager leaving the club around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 2, holding a cellphone to his ear and walking in a manner "not indicative of an intoxicated person," according to Poulnot.

Someone else reported seeing him around 2:30 a.m. outside of the club, Poulnot said, where he appeared to be waiting for a ride.

The family — which includes Erika and Steve Wilson and six other children in their blended household — believes that Gaines got "the wrong ride" by someone who hurt him that night.

Poulnot said nine months of investigation has led him to suspect Justin may have been the victim of a homicide.


What: Justin Time Foundation fund-raiser and silent auction

When: 7 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14

Where: Little Gardens restaurant, 3571 Lawrenceville Highway, Lawrenceville.

Cost: $35 per person or $60 per couple pays for music, beer and hors d'oeuvres

For more information: Call 678-886-6127, 404-242-3640 or e-mail justintimefoundation@comcast.net
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/08/12/missing_adult_son.html

Missing Georgia Teen Not Forgotten By Family, Friends
Sunday, November 2, 2008 – updated: 3:20 pm EST November 2, 2008

SNELLVILLE, Ga. -- An 18-year-old Georgia student missing for a year hasn't been forgotten.

Justin Gaines' mother and about 150 friends and supporters gathered Saturday in Snellville to keep Gaines' memory alive and to continue the search for him.

The search began Nov. 2, 2007, when the freshman at Oconee campus of Gainesville College in Athens disappeared from a Duluth nightclub.

His mother, Erika Wilson, said they have distributed thousands of fliers, bumper sticks and buttons bearing his image.

Police said they are no closer to finding Gaines.

Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. David Schiralli said there is no new information, but the case is still open.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/17868881/detail.html?rss=atl&psp=news

Family gathers to remember missing teen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, November 01, 2008

On the first day of November, a month indistinguishable from the difficult ones just past, a mother tried to forget that her son may never come home again.

And so, instead of giving in to her fear, Erika Wilson on Saturday afternoon did what she has done since she first learned her son was missing: She kept Justin Gaines’ memory alive.

About 150 family and friends gathered around tables decorated with cowboy boot confetti and ate barbecue brisket, cole slaw and mac and cheese at the Snellville Masonic Lodge. Each hoped their donations of $5 a person for the meal, and their purchases of raffle tickets, would help bring Justin back home.

They have been searching for Justin since Nov. 2, 2007, when the Snellville teen — then an 18-year-old freshman at Oconee campus of Gainesville College in Athens — disappeared from a Duluth nightclub. They have distributed thousands of fliers, bumper sticks and buttons bearing his image. “Have you seen me?” they all ask.

A year later, neither Gwinnett County police nor the family’s private investigator, Bob Poulnot, are any closer to finding him.

Cpl. David Schiralli, a Gwinnett police spokesman, said last week, “I can tell you now that there is no new information. The case is still open, and investigators are waiting for any new leads to surface or someone to come forward.”

Poulnot said he’s not giving up. But he acknowledged that the longer Justin Gaines is missing, the greater the odds he will not be found alive.

“He had a close relationship with his family and friends. He was enrolled in college and doing well,” Poulnot said. “It’s very unlikely he would not call his family and let them know his whereabouts within a few days, much less in a whole year.”

The approximately $1,400 raised Saturday will help pay for the private investigator; keep Justin’s cell phone service activated; print more fliers, bumper stickers and buttons; and maintain a Web site, www.justingaines.com.

By keeping Justin’s image before the public — by praying until something happens — his family hopes to eventually turn up clues to his whereabouts.

As strains of Keith Anderson’s “I Still Miss You” played softly in the background, family and friends, many wearing buttons bearing Justin’s image, milled in and out of the lodge dinning hall. Some stayed to talk. Others ordered to-go plates and left.

At 5:30 p.m., everyone gathered in a circle.

The Rev. Randy Rainwater of Grace Fellowship Church in Snellville said he was at a loss for words.

“This is one of the hardest things I’ve even been a part of,” he said, before bowing to pray for peace and comfort for the family. “My prayer is that someone some where will be brave enough to tell the truth.”

That’s Wilson’s prayer, too.

She wonders how much longer she can do this, but she also thinks what life would be like if she didn’t keep looking for Justin.

“You have to have hope,” she said. “I couldn’t function if I didn’t.”

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/11/01/gaines_1102_web.html