Travis Brown vanished 9 months ago, John Cole disappeared 16 months ago

Families of two missing local men are still searching for answers as the months continue to pass without any sign of what happened to them.

“We’ve had zero new leads,” Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Curtis Dobbs told the Times last week. “It’s as if they just vanished.”

Those with any information pertaining to the disappearances of Travis Lee Brown of Gainesville or John Edward Cole of the Big Creek area, west of Theodosia, are asked to call the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department at 417-679-4633.

Travis Brown, missing 9 months

Travis Lee Brown, 51, was last seen around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, walking on Highway 5 north of Gainesville.

“Through investigation, we determined that the last contact with Travis was about 6 p.m. that evening,” Dobbs told the Times early this year. “We are uncertain as to the direction of travel. He has some ties to the West Plains area. He has some ties to the Branson area. And he has some ties to Florida.”

Ozark County Sheriff’s Office call logs show that Brown’s father, Ralph, Brown, reported his son missing on Dec. 15. 

John Edward Cole, missing 16 months

John Edward Cole, 46, of the Big Creek area west of Theodosia in Taney County, was last seen in May 2019.

Cole’s wife, Angela, reported him missing at that time.  He was known to walk far distances and be out of contact with his family for lengths of time, Angela told the Times late last year, but she says he has never been out of contact for this long. 

The Coles live in Taney County just past the Ozark County line, so the Taney County Sheriff’s Office  is leading the investigation. The Ozark County Sheriff’s Office is also actively investigating because of Cole’s ties here. 

Dobbs said no credible new information has turned up in Cole’s case. 

“We suspect something may have happened to him,” said Dobbs. “He walked a lot and had some health issues.”

According to Angela Cole, her husband is a severe diabetic and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

He was last seen May 22 walking on County Road 644 (Stehle Road) wearing a light gray shirt, blue jeans, black lace-up boots, a wallet with a chain and a ball cap. He is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 163 pounds with blue eyes and brownish gray hair. The tip of his left thumb is missing.

“Our son dropped him off at his cousin’s house in Ocie,” Angela told the Times in November 2019. “That was the last time any of us, his immediate family, saw him. A neighbor saw him walking on the Big Creek Bridge after that. The cousin whose house he went to said his brother was the last one to see him, and that was on Stehle Road.

“It may be a coincidence, but John and Travis both were walking [when they went missing], and both had mental problems,” said Angela.

She said she’s struggled with having no new information.  “The not knowing is the worst feeling ever.”

Public help needed

“We think eventually we will find [the men], but we need the public’s help,” Dobbs said early this year, “even as irrelevant as a detail may seem. I think the answers are out there.”

Anyone with information about Cole or Brown should call the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department. Information about Cole may also be reported to the Taney County Sheriff, 417-546-7250.