Dakota Hiers, 31, disappeared after leaving his mother’s home in Ladonia, Alabama, on January 8, 2025. That morning someone reportedly arrived to pick him up for a side job; the identity of that person remains unknown and is a key detail for investigators. Dakota was in regular contact with his mother, so his sudden silence—calls going straight to voicemail—prompted immediate concern.

Surveillance footage later that day provides the clearest lead. A camera in the 1000 block of 16th Street in Phenix City captured him at 8:30 p.m. running eastbound toward the Chattahoochee River and the Georgia line. He may also have been seen near South Railroad and 16th Street earlier that day. At the time he was wearing a green and red Christmas-style hooded sweatshirt, pajama pants, and work boots. He is 5 feet 10 inches, 170 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes, and numerous tattoos on his chest and shoulders.

The Phenix City Police Department is handling the active missing person investigation. The identity of the person who picked him up and what led him to run east from 16th Street are unresolved. If anyone has information about Dakota’s movements that day or knows who picked him up, please come forward.