Christopher Thompkins, 20, vanished from a rural Harris County job site on a Friday in late January 2002. He left his Ellerslie, Georgia home that morning to carpool with a four-man surveying crew working off County Line Road; the men worked in a line about 50 feet apart. Shortly after a lunch break at approximately 1:30 p.m., a co-worker who had been talking with Christopher looked away and then found him gone. He had left his work tools behind.

Family and friends searched that evening and the next morning and found one tan FUBU work boot, a piece of blue fiber from his navy Dickies pants caught on barbed wire, and twelve cents near his tools. Bloodhounds were unable to pick up a scent. In July 2002 Christopher’s other boot was discovered miles from the site, casting doubt on any theory that he simply walked off. At the time he disappeared he wore a blue and gray plaid hooded jacket, a black skull cap, and a black watch.

His employer later said Christopher had been acting strangely, though his mother said his behavior was normal. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the inquiry but the case remains unsolved. Anyone who was working near County Line Road in late January 2002 or who has information about Christopher’s movements that day is asked to come forward.