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WHNT News 19
Kansas investigators follow up on tips in case of Lawrence County man missing since 1988
By Wil Day,
25 days ago
EL DORADO, Kan. (KSNW) — The Butler County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas has been searching an area in the southern portion of the county in connection to a missing persons case .
Franklin “Punkie” Harrod (L) and Ricky L. Nelms (R) whose bodies are missing and haven’t been recovered. (courtesy Butler Co. Sheriff’s Office)
Despite a body not being located, three people were tried and convicted for Harrod’s murder, with one of them still serving their prison sentence.
“He provided information to us recently, and as we were interviewing and talking with him, he revealed another individual that was missing from 1988,” Butler County Sheriff’s Detective Glenn Hopper said.
That individual was Nelms.
In early 1988, Nelms left his parents’ home in Lawrence County. He was headed to Wichita, Kansas where he had a job as a roofer. Investigators say he phoned home in February of that year and talked to his mother briefly, but that was the last time anyone ever heard from him.
After six months without a word from him, Nelms’ mother says she reported him missing to Alabama authorities.
During an interview in 2005 , a Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office captain told News 19 that the person Nelms left for Wichita with was later found to be a relative of one of the suspects in Harrod’s disappearance and murder.
Hopper says the man currently in prison for Harrod’s death has been cooperating and told investigators he was responsible for burying Harrod and Nelms.
After asking for help from the public last month, Hopper says they have been receiving tips from the public daily.
“We’re not really pursuing any angle of prosecution for somebody that’s already been convicted,” Hopper said. “We’re just looking for the information to just tell us where the remains are so we can get them back to their loved ones.”
If you have any information that could assist investigators, call 316-322-8817 or 866-484-5924 or by email at crimetips@bucoks.com .
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