Missouri Police Need Help Solving 27-Year-Old Cold Case Mystery

A 14-year-old boy was last seen alive during the morning hours of October 9, 1999. Now, Missouri police are reopening the cold case to try and find out once and for all what happened to him under suspicious circumstances and they're asking for the public's help.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators have been invited by the Barry County Sheriff's Office to help them figure out what happened to 14-year-old Justin Hocutt, 14, of Seligman, Missouri. He was last seen the morning of October 9, 1999. Less than a day later, he was found deceased near railroad tracks not far from his home. A new bulletin from the Missouri State Highway Patrol says they have been given several leads over the years, but now there is a renewed effort to find out what happened to Justin. They say that there is evidence that has been resubmitted to their crime laboratory for testing. The hope is that new technology might help them get the breakthrough they need to finally solve this case.

Sergeant Bradley Germann said, “Hocutt was 14 years old at the time of his death and there is substantial evidence and/or circumstances regarding this case which make it suspicious in nature. We believe there are individuals who know details about the incident and what happened to Hocutt. This was likely not an accident, and we ask those individuals who know more about the incident to contact investigators. The Hocutt family deserves to know what happened to their child. I believe this case can be solved with the help from the community”.

If you have any information no matter how trivial you think it is, you can contact Sergeant John Mason, at 417-536-9405 or the Barry County Sheriff’s Office at 417-847-6556. I will echo what Sergeant Germann said. The Hocutt family deserves to know what happened to him and, if someone is responsible, they need to fact justice.