Law enforcement digging in search for man missing since 1988

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Law enforcement agencies have been digging in search of a man who has been missing for decades.

Digging continued on Monday on the site of a private property in Sedgwick County in the search for Ricky Nelms, who has been missing since 1988.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office learned of Nelms’s disappearance while searching for Franklin “Punky” Harrod, whose body has never been found, although three people have been sentenced for his death.

Ricky L. Nelms, originally from Trinity in northwest Alabama, had moved to the Wichita area to work as a roofer. His family last saw him in February 1988 when he left with an old friend to return to Wichita. After six months without a word from him, Nelms’ mother reported him missing to Alabama authorities. His disappearance remained unsolved.

Butler County investigators searched a plot in Butler County in June after a tip.

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