Carter County missing man’s daughter speaks about his possible contact with escaped inmate

(WJHL) – Victor Birchfield’s daughter, Tiffany Cole, said she suspected a connection to her father’s disappearance and Billy Fletcher’s escape before the Carter County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) confirmed a link .

Billy Fletcher walked off his work detail at the Carter County Detention Center on June 20.

Victor Birchfield was last seen the night of June 19 before heading to work at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport.

On June 20 around 6:50 a.m., security cameras at the airport picked up Birchfield leaving in his car. However, after this point, the driver is unrecognizable in the footage.

Cole said her father’s phone either died or was turned off on June 21.

On June 28, CCSO confirmed Birchfield’s vehicle was spotted in the Clemson, South Carolina area .

Cole told News Channel 11, she found that information out on June 21.

“That vehicle was last seen leaving Clemson, South Carolina on [SR] 123 headed towards Easley by the Issaqueena Trail and that was on a red light camera,” Cole said.

On July 1, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), confirmed Billy Fletcher was last seen June 24 leaving a Walmart in Greenville County, South Carolina .

Cole also spoke with Carter County Sheriff Mike Fraley about the investigation on the morning of July 1.

“Just reiterating that we as a family and our community are here to back them up and look for my dad,” Cole said. “I was able to express some of my frustrations with them. As a professional myself, I do understand there’s a process to things, but I feel like we were really slow to get that ball rolling. They assured me this morning that they don’t feel that way on their part. But, you know, as a family, we had gathered 20-plus hours of video footage. I had handed out thousands of fliers, spoke to hundreds of people in the community, probably 75 businesses, reviewing any footage that was possibly on the way of their journey.”

Cole looked into her father’s bank accounts and found two charges since his disappearance, one in Asheville, North Carolina and one in Clemson, South Carolina.

She said the cameras at the location in Asheville were not working.

“And then in Clemson, South Carolina, there was a [declined] charge at a Tiger Mart on his debit card. And again, we’ve tried to review footage there and we didn’t see my dad or my vehicle at that time. But at that point, we didn’t know to be looking for someone that may not be my dad.”

Cole is asking people to review their security cameras in those areas if they saw her dad’s silver 2003 Toyota 4runner with damage to the rear on June 20 or 21.

“Anywhere between the Elizabethton airport into Hampton through Butler on 421 or back even on 321 towards Boone down to Asheville and then Clemson, South Carolina.”

“That’s all we need is a tiny clip of seeing which way the vehicle traveled.,” Cole said. “That’s really what we’re trying to decide is if my dad and Billy Fletcher have encountered each other somewhere along this journey, where did that happen? Because that way we can determine, is my dad still here, where do I need to be looking for my dad here or in South Carolina or somewhere along the way?”

Cole said her father is important to many people. He works as an aircraft mechanic at the Elizabethton airport.

“He texted one of his customers shortly before he left the airport, said, ‘Hey, buddy, your airplane’s ready to go.'”

She told News Channel 11 that her dad is selfless and nothing comes before his family or friends.

“I’ve had people from elementary school reach out to me that remembered my dad and just what a kind human he is,” Cole said. “Anybody that is around my dad, knows that he is just a fun-loving, just adventurous guy. He was the absolute best dad that a girl could imagine having. But watching him become a papaw and help me raise my boys into the strong men that they are now today, I want him to be able to return so they get a life full of their papaw and not just their first 11 and 15 years of their life.”

Cole said she plans to put together a prayer vigil for her father.

If anyone has information about Victor Birchfield, contact the Carter County Sheriff’s Office at 423-542-1845 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

SLED asks the public not to approach Billy Fletcher and to call 911 in an emergency.

CCSO is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Fletcher.

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