Missing Gainesville man found safe in Springfield New Year’s Day, two other local men are still listed as missing
Joshua Hannaford was found safe in Springfield Jan. 1. He'd been reported missing for nearly four months.
Gainesville resident Travis Brown has been missing since Nov. 30, 2019.
John Cole has been missing since May 22, 2019.
Gainesville resident Joshua Hannaford, who was reported missing Sept. 14, 2021, was found safe in Springfield Jan. 1, according to Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin. His family was notified the same day.
Two other local men, who haven’t been seen since 2019, are still listed as missing.
Travis Brown
Travis Lee Brown, 53, 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,” former Ozark County Cpl. Curtis Dobbs told the Times after Brown went missing. “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, 2019.
John Edward Cole
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 shortly after he went missing, but she says he has never been out of contact for more than a few months.
The Coles live in Taney County just past the Ozark County line, so the Taney County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation.
“We suspect something may have happened to him,” said Dobbs after Cole’s disappearance was reported. “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, 2019, 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. “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.”
Report information
Anyone with information about Brown should call the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department at 417-679-4633. Information about Cole may also be reported to the Taney County Sheriff, 417-546-7250.