Ricky Lynn Nelms was 20 when he travelled from Moulton, Alabama, to Wichita, Kansas, with a friend, Jerry Wayne Trussell, in early 1988 to work as roofers following storms. The last contact with his family came in February 1988, a phone call in which he said he was involved in a court case—his family believes it was related to cars—and that he hoped to avoid jail so he could return to care for his young son. After that call, Ricky was never heard from again.

Months of no contact were not immediately alarming because Ricky had a history of long absences, but his family reported him missing on July 18, 1988. The case went cold with few leads. Years later, Trussell was convicted for the 1997 murder of Franklin Punkie Harrod, and in 2023 he told investigators he had a role in the disappearances of both Harrod and Nelms, saying he buried them near each other in rural southern Butler County, Kansas. Searches for remains and confirmation of Ricky’s fate are ongoing and the case remains officially unsolved.

Does anyone have information about Ricky’s movements in Kansas in early 1988 or about travel between Moulton and Wichita that might help locate him?