John Smith South, 54 and known as Junior, vanished from Mountain City, Tennessee after a night out on December 17, 1998. He was due to help his daughters and granddaughter decorate a Christmas tree on December 18; when they arrived his house was empty, doors unlocked, the wood stove cold and his white 1985 Subaru Justy gone. His tool belt remained in the home, suggesting he hadn’t planned a long absence.

South was a Vietnam veteran who suffered health problems linked to Agent Orange exposure. Friends last saw him at a local bar after work on December 17; he never returned home and neither he nor his car has been located. Authorities treated the circumstances as suspicious and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department and later the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have investigated. Volunteer searches, including underwater efforts by Chaos Divers, have not produced a breakthrough.

What details do readers in the area remember from that December 1998 timeframe, or information about the Subaru Justy that might help the family find answers?