Mickey Wright Sr., a 46-year-old Shelby County code enforcement officer and devoted father of five, disappeared on April 17, 2001 while on duty in Memphis. He was last seen near the 2500 block of Lamar Avenue after reportedly issuing a citation at a car lot. Wright, an insulin-dependent diabetic, failed to return to the office at the end of his shift and did not check in his company truck and log.

Two days later a jogger found some of Wright’s personal items, including his work identification and badge, in a creek in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Ten days after he vanished his company Ford Ranger was discovered burned in a rural field in Marshall County, Mississippi. There was no sign of Wright, and investigators came to suspect foul play.

Investigators focused on Dale Mardis, owner of several commercial properties including the car lot where Wright was last seen. A tip led to his arrest in July 2004 on murder charges; witnesses said Mardis had confessed to killing Wright and claimed self-defense. Mardis later entered a no-contest plea to second-degree murder. Wright’s body has never been recovered.

Did anyone who knew Wright or worked around Lamar Avenue in April 2001 notice anything unusual that day?