Please pray for this family

[KATinKY]

I was just reading the newspaper, and this article bothered me, so I researched more online to find out if they were found yet, and they havent. What is wrong witht his world, seems like no place is safe anymore, please pray that they find this family alive.
http://www.annointed.net/Category0-All.html

The whole Family is missing - Michael Hargon, Rebecca Hargon, and their four year old son, James
Mississippi Family Missing
Vaughan, Miss.
Associated Press
The parents of Michael and Rebecca Hargon appeared Wednesday morning on Good Morning America. Family members have passed out about 400 reward fliers covered with a recent family photo of Michael Hargon, 27, Rebecca Hargon, 29, and their four-year-old son, James.
The family is offering a $25,000 reward for the Hargons' safe return. Mississippi Crimestoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information on the family, missing since Saturday.

The Sheriff's Department and Mississippi Highway Patrol are handling the investigation.
Blood found outside the family's house in Vaughan, Miss., is being tested by the Mississippi Crime Lab.

Yazoo County Sheriff James Williams says the blood was found outside the house and shell casings were found inside the home.

[teenies*mom]

I heard about this - I couldn't imagine what happend but hopefully everything turns out okay but now-a-days you always fear the worst.

[Tasha405]

That is so sad. :(

[Nimue]

They had a peice in the paper yesterday about this again. This is so sad. The preacher at my moms church used to preach in this town and knew the family. The Husbands father was murdered in the house 10 years agao when it was a service station. The paper said that one of the guys was denied parole resently. I am wondering if this is retaliation for that. I really hope that they find them soon and safe.

[schsa]

I have no doubt that the bodies are buried somewhere and they will be found. But this whole situation is frightening.

[wubbywa]

How come everyone thinks they are dead? Could they have left on their own?

[KATinKY]

the reason I think they didnt leave on their own is because of what the paper says and family.

Authorities are still treating the disappearances as missing person cases, although the evidence may point to something more.
Investigators found dried blood droplets, bullet holes and shell casings inside the Hargon family home near the rural community of Vaughn in Yazoo County.
Relatives, who say they believe the Hargons were kidnapped, held a vigil at the missing family's home over the weekend. They've been praying for for the safe return of Michael Hargon, 27, his wife, Rebecca, 29, and their son, James, 4.
"There was a struggle in the house. There were a couple gunshots. There was some blood in the house, which leads me to believe that, I think, Mike was trying to protect his family," said Dave Fuemmeler, Rebecca Hargon's uncle.

I hope they are found alive and I been praying for their safe return, but the facts are there that they didnt leave on their own, and he just testified a week before against a guy going up for parole that killed his father, seems like there is a connection there.

[aimefisher]

I hope they find everyone alive, but if not I hope that at least they find the boy alive somewhere.

[wubbywa]

Any more information on this story--updates??

[Unicornmom77]

I saw on the news that there were bullet holes, blood spatters, and signs of struggle, to me it sounds like they were abducted, but ALL 3 of them? I dont know I am praying for them!!

[KATinKY]

this is what todays paper says, and is doesnt look so good yet, scary, sure hope they find them alive, I cant keep this family out of my mind.
VAUGHAN — A task force of about 50 law enforcement officers has followed more than 100 leads in the disappearance of the Hargon family.As time passes, the case gets tougher to solve, said Chester Quarles, criminal justice professor at the University of Mississippi.

Today marks the 11th day since Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their 4-year-old son, James Patrick, were reported missing. A family friend alerted relatives after she saw an open door to one of Michael Hargon's pickups. The front door of the house was open, too.
"In this case, there is great difficulty," Quarles said. "You can't find people or bodies. If you don't have an adequate description or (suspect) name in about 72 hours, solvability becomes incredibly low."
Yazoo County Sheriff James Williams on Monday answered questions at a news conference with Ed Worthington, special-agent-in-charge of the FBI in Jackson, and Warren Strain, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.
Williams said the investigation is considered a missing persons case. But, he said, "We know some sort of crime was (committed at the Hargon home), some violent-type crime."
Officials haven't yet eliminated possible motives or suspects, Williams said.
No search warrants have been issued in Yazoo County, said circuit court clerk Susie Bradshaw.
The task force includes Yazoo County deputies and detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the FBI.
The MBN's involvement is no indication officials think drugs were involved, Strain said. "We just had them come in and help," he said.
Test results have been returned on some evidence taken from the Hargons' home. But Williams would not comment on any of it, especially blood samples.
WLBT-TV in Jackson, meanwhile, gave the FBI tapes of about four days worth of video shot at the Hargon home. The FBI told station officials they wanted to give the video to a profiler to review, News Director Dennis Smith said.
"We gave them stuff we had aired," Smith said. "We told them they would have to subpoena anything else."
Law enforcement officials, volunteers and dog handlers spent Monday searching near the family's Yazoo County home. Bloodhounds followed scents from the home, but they circled back to the house, Williams said.
Deputies in Attala County were to continue searching today, Chief Deputy Willie McDaniel said.
Madison County deputies are looking out for the Hargons while on patrol, said Chief Deputy Eddie Belvedresi.
Holmes County Sheriff Willie March said deputies have ridden along county roads leading to Yazoo County.
Meanwhile, national television networks, including NBC and Fox, still were broadcasting information about the Hargons. Greta Van Susteren, host of Fox's, On the Record, was among the national television personalities covering the disappearance.
The Yazoo County Board of Supervisors on Monday added $2,500 to the reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the Hargons' disappearance.
Mail carriers will deliver 60,000 flyers about the Hargons on their routes, the U.S. Postal Service said.

[KATinKY]

there seems to be some kind of break in this case, from cnn.com. so lets hope for the best...
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/02/28/missing.family/index.html

CNN) -- Authorities are questioning a relative of a Mississippi family missing since Valentine's Day, said Warren Strain, a spokesman of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

Local authorities were granted search warrants for a home veterinarian's office near Taylorsville, Mississippi, in Smith County, about 60 miles southeast of Jackson, he said. They are questioning a male cousin of Michael Hargon, Strain said.

Michael Hargon, 27; his wife, Rebecca, 29, and their 4-year-old son, James Patrick, disappeared from their home in Vaughan, a rural area of Yazoo County, on February 14. Yazoo County is about 50 miles northwest of Jackson, the state capital.

Authorities found no sign of forced entry or robbery at the home but there were signs of violence, according to the FBI Web site, which did not elaborate. The Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper reported that blood and bullet casings were found at the house.

After receiving more than 400 tips, Strain said authorities received a break on the case Friday.

"We feel rather confident that this will be a turning point that could very well lead to the resolution of the case," Strain said.

Bill Hirtz, Rebecca Hargon's father, said Saturday he had not yet spoken with authorities regarding the search, but that a son-in-law had been told "they're working on something."
"I've got a lot of hope right now," he said.

[buttrfli]

Originally posted by KATinKY
WLBT-TV in Jackson, meanwhile, gave the FBI tapes of about four days worth of video shot at the Hargon home. The FBI told station officials they wanted to give the video to a profiler to review, News Director Dennis Smith said.
"We gave them stuff we had aired," Smith said. "We told them they would have to subpoena anything else."


WTH?! They could possibly have some evidence on tape and they are saying that the FBI has to subpoena them for information that was not aired?? How messed up is that? Had it been a family member or employee of that station, you bet your booty that they would be handing over everything they had.

I hope that everything turns out well with this family :(

[Jolie Rouge]

Man to Be Charged in Missing Family Case
By JACK ELLIOTT JR.

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-PLS&idq=/ff/story/0001/20040228/2140944119.htm

TAYLORSVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Investigators searching for a couple and their young son who disappeared on Valentine's Day said Saturday night they plan to charge a relative of the family in connection with their disappearance.

State Highway Patrol spokesman Warren Strain would not say what Earnest Lee Hargon would be charged with, but said charges were ``adding up.''

Authorities detained Hargon, an adopted cousin of the missing family, earlier Saturday and can hold him for 48 hours without charging him. ``We will make that window,'' Strain said.

Investigators also searched Hargon's property in southern Mississippi on Saturday as they tried to solve the disappearance of Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their 4-year-old son, James Patrick.


There has been no trace of the family since Feb. 14. Lawmen reported finding blood and spent bullet casings at the family's home, but no signs of forced entry.


Authorities closed off a county road on both sides of Leaf River Veterinary Services as part of the investigation. The clinic is on Hargon's property, and his wife works there as a veterinarian, Strain said.


The search area included the clinic, Earnest Hargon's residence and the banks of the nearby Leaf River, Strain said. He said possible evidence was found but did not elaborate.


``We're very hopeful that the questioning and the search warrants will lead to a resolution about the whereabouts of the Hargon family,'' Strain told AP Radio. ``The latest developments have been dramatic, groundbreaking. We are very confident that the resolution of this tragic and awful situation is imminent.''


Several other people were being questioned but were not being detained, Strain said. Searchers were holding out hope that the family would be found alive, Strain said.


``Nothing has been ruled out,'' he said. ``We are still hopeful.''


The search, involving ground teams, dogs and a helicopter, was halted shortly before 7 p.m. because of darkness, Strain said.


Strain said there were five wood-frame structures in the area of the veterinary clinic and that crime laboratory teams were checking each building. Strain said officers were also searching the property, which includes woods.


Authorities declined to say whether they were looking for bodies or for other evidence.


Investigators also have been checking a piece of property Michael Hargon recently inherited from his uncle, Charles Hargon, to determine if it is linked to the disappearance, said Jennifer Hargon, Michael's sister. Earnest Hargon, Charles Hargon's adopted son, was not included in the will, she said.


Rebecca Hargon's aunt, Trudy Duncan of Poplar Bluff, Mo., said Saturday she had talked with family members in Mississippi about the search.


``I hope that they are OK. That's all I want,'' Duncan said. ``All we want is to see the media with some beautiful faces on there.''


Authorities have received about 400 tips, dozens related to a white van, Strain said. The van had been spotted in the area around the time they believe the family disappeared, investigators said.


A reward of $100,000 is being offered from information leading to the safe return of the Hargons.



02/28/04 21:39

[Jolie Rouge]

'Breakthrough' in missing family case
Charges delayed against cousin in custody
Monday, March 1, 2004 Posted: 3:54 PM EST

www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/03/01/missing.family/index.html

YAZOO CITY, Mississippi (CNN) -- Investigators have made a "profound" breakthrough involving a missing Mississippi family, Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain said Monday.

A court hearing for Earnest Lee Hargon, a cousin of Michael Hargon, who disappeared from his Yazoo County home with his wife, Rebecca, and the couple's 4-year-old son, James Patrick, on February 14., was delayed until Monday afternoon, Yazoo County District Attorney James Powell said after Strain's announcement.

Strain had previously said felony charges relating to the case would be announced against Hargon at the hearing. The new information will not change those charges, but could make the case against Hargon stronger, Powell said.

"Our case was rock solid to begin with," Strain said.

The breakthrough came "through the interview process," Strain said.

Hargon was arrested over the weekend on unrelated drug and gun charges involving a small amount of methamphetamines and an illegally altered AR-15 rifle, Strain said.

Strain told CNN earlier that an inheritance dispute between Michael and Earnest "goes to motive." An uncle died, leaving land to Michael Hargon and none to Earnest Lee Hargon, Strain had said.

As part of the probe, authorities went to Earnest Hargon's house near Taylorsville, which also is the location of a veterinary clinic owned by his wife, Lisa, Strain said. She is listed in the phone book as Lisa Ainsworth, a veterinarian.

The search for the Hargon family was focused Saturday and Sunday on a 160-acre site in Smith County, about 100 miles south of their home. The land, partly covered with woods and marshland, and with a river running through it, is partly owned by Earnest Hargon.

Michael Hargon's family was reported missing after a friend saw the door open at their home in Vaughan, Mississippi, about 35 miles north of Jackson. Investigators said there was blood at the scene but no sign of forced entry. Relatives said nothing appeared to be missing.

Investigators have been searching for a white van, which several people said they saw racing from the neighborhood where the family lives on the day they disappeared.

Michael Hargon is a construction worker, and his wife is a physical therapist, family members said.

[Jolie Rouge]

Bodies of Three Miss. Family Members Found
By SHELIA HARDWELL BYRD

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20040301%2F2124011865.htm&sc=1110

YAZOO CITY, Miss. (AP) - The bodies of three family members who disappeared from their home on Valentine's Day were found in a wooded area of Mississippi on Monday, and a relative was charged with murder, authorities said.

Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Highway Patrol, told CNN that the bodies of what are believed to be Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their 4-year-old son had been found. J.P. Morgan, a driver with Mississippi Mortuary Services in Rankin County, said the mortuary was called to pick up the three bodies at about 5:15 p.m.

The discovery of the remains and the charges against Earnest Lee Hargon capped an intense three-week search for clues in the case. Hargon, a 43-year-old truck driver, was arrested on unrelated drug charges Friday, and authorities rushed to the search area in southern Mississippi on Monday morning.

Teams of law officers using portable lights searched through scattered rain and into the evening hours for the bodies.


In a Yazoo County courthouse about 100 miles away, Earnest Lee Hargon heard the three capital murder charges read and was ordered held without bond.


He is a cousin of Michael Hargon, 27, who disappeared on Feb. 14 along with his 29-year-old wife and their son, James Patrick. Friends and relatives of the family, many visibly shaken, attended the brief court appearance.


Blood and spent bullet casings were discovered at the family's home in Yazoo County after their disappearance. Investigators have not found a .22-caliber weapon that apparently was fired in the house.


Prosecutor James Powell said the slayings occurred during the kidnapping of one or more of Michael Hargon's family. He said Hargon had acted alone.


``We've been saying all along since we've anticipated filing these charges that our case is rock solid,'' Strain said.


Investigators have been checking a piece of land that Michael Hargon recently inherited from his uncle, Charles Hargon, to determine if it is linked to the disappearance, said Jennifer Hargon, Michael's sister.


Earnest Hargon, Charles Hargon's adopted son, was not included in the will, she said. Strain said the property is a consideration in the case, but not necessarily a motive.


``It could be a potential motive, but it's not the only one,'' Strain said.


Family members at the hearing declined to discuss the deaths. Louis Fischer, Michael Hargon's first cousin, screamed at Hargon after being turned away from the crowded courtroom.


``It's been a long, emotional 17 or 18 days and I let my emotions get the better of me,'' Fischer said later. ``I promised my aunt (Michael Hargon's mother) that I wouldn't do that.'''


Minutes before lawmen were to bring Hargon into the courtroom Monday, Strain announced a delay due to ``profound new developments'' in the county where the search is being conducted.


State troopers and deputies closed entrances to the land while helicopters and state Crime Lab trucks moved in to assist in the ground search. The property consists mostly of pine woods.


Intense searches of Hargon's home and 160 acres around it were carried out over the weekend by teams using horses, off-road vehicles, a helicopter and tracking dogs.


Families in the area said the land being searched was owned by Tony Moran, whose family lives about a mile from the property. Family members at the Moran home would not comment on the search. The Moran property is several miles way from Earnest Hargon's home near Taylorsville.



03/01/04 21:23