Michael Anthony Cole Jr. was a 16-year-old Sidney Lanier High School student who was last seen the evening of January 25 in Montgomery, Alabama. His family reported him missing when he did not return home, and an Emergency Missing Child Alert was issued. Local authorities used drones during the search, and three Montgomery City Council members offered a joint $5,000 reward for information.

On the night of January 29 his body was found in the 6500 block of Selma Highway; investigators ruled his death a homicide. Court testimony later described that Michael had been with four other young men who went to a Gaston Avenue home and fired into it, reportedly over alleged stolen guns. During that shooting, Michael was struck in the back of the head by a bullet and died. A detective testified the others placed his body in a car, and one suspect later said he suggested burning the body before the remains were left along Selma Highway.

Montgomery police arrested Nicholas Treyvon King-Sheppard, Nedvin Maynard Jones Jr., and Jerel Brown; all were charged with felony murder and held without bond. A judge found probable cause to send Nedvin Jones Jr. to a grand jury after a February 28 preliminary hearing. Does anyone have information about Michael’s last movements or the events on Gaston Avenue that night?