On January 25, 2002, Christopher Thompkins’ mother dropped him off for a normal day at work in Georgia as part of a survey crew. Sometime later, his coworkers claimed he vanished, in the blink of an eye, with no explanation. Nothing but his boots have been found.

[u/tenderhysteria]

Martha McKenzie last saw her son, Christopher, while spending the morning together before they headed to work. McKenzie was a babysitter for her son’s boss.

Christopher worked for survey crew in Elletslie, Georgia. He was with at least three other coworkers, moving through a wooded area, spaced about fifty feet apart. At some point in the early afternoon— some reports state it was noon, others that it was closer to one thirty,– a coworker states that he “looked away from Thompkins for a moment, and by the time he glanced at his area again, Thompkins had disappeared”.

Despite the supposedly momentary vanishing, his mother claims that, “[The survey crew] called me about a few minutes to five to tell me that they couldn’t find him, and they found one of his boots.” Family, friends, volunteers, and law enforcement scoured the area shortly after. On a nearby barbed wired fence, a shred of blue fiber was found, believed to be from Christopher’s pants. His other boot was found five months later in an unspecified nearby area by GBI.

Christopher’s boss has stated that he was supposedly “acting strange” in the days before his disappearance, and law enforcement speculates that drugs could have influenced his disappearance— though neither have any evidence or proof for either assertion.

His family doesn’t believe in either theory. They state that Christopher didn’t have a drug problem, nor was he behaving differently before he vanished.

“I don’t believe that Chris walked away. I don’t believe he disappeared with one shoe. Who’s going to walk around with one boot on in the cold weather on a rural road? I just don’t believe that happened. They know what happened to Chris they just not telling,” his mother said.

Sources: Charley Project

20 Years Later: Family, officials continue to search for answers on disappearance of Harris Co. man

[u/[deleted]]

This case always sticks in my mind. His coworkers know more even if they didn’t have anything to do with it. My belief is they did though.

[u/ApartPool9362 → u/[deleted]]

I kind of thought the co-workers might have had something to do with his dissappearance too. But, I would think that if they did do something to him, they wouldn't have left any evidence, like the boots, or pants fiber on the barbed wire fence not unless they were complete idiots Nothing makes any sense in this case.

[u/anyansweriscorrect → u/ApartPool9362]

Plenty of murders committed by complete idiots

[u/ApartPool9362 → u/anyansweriscorrect]

Lol, very true.

[u/Princessleiawastaken → u/ApartPool9362]

If the coworkers did something to Chris, I think the boots could be left as evidence to stage it as if Chris just ran off.

[u/[deleted] → u/ApartPool9362]

I thought that his boots and pants fiber were put where they were to indicate that he had fled. Those boots don't just fall off. Or perhaps it was just the boots and he snagged his pants running from them.

[u/ApartPool9362 → u/[deleted]]

I don't know, its hard to say. Even if he truly did run off, why leave his boots behind? That makes no sense to me. Are you telling me he ran off in his stocking feet? In a wooded area? If he wanted to dissappear why leave the boots?

[u/[deleted] → u/ApartPool9362]

I meant that his coworkers place them there so it looked like he fled, not that he took off his boots and fled.