From Whispers to Roars

Magic407 · Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 2:59 am Post subject: Jean Johnson Missing 2/25/07 TN

Search for missing Scott Co. woman, investigators fear foul play involved

March 2, 2007

By MELISSA DiPANE
6 News Anchor/Reporter

SCOTT COUNTY (WATE) -- Officers in Scott County are looking for a missing woman and they believe foul play may be involved in her disappearance.

The woman who's missing is Jean Johnson, 66, from Pioneer. She's 5'4" and weighs around 170 lbs. Johnson has reddish, brown, curly hair, blue eyes and wears glasses.

Investigators believe Johnson disappeared around 10:00 a.m. Sunday, February 25.

There is store surveillance video of a man in Johnson's van. He met up with another man and the two men later drove away in a Jeep.

Investigators found the van locked in Oneida. A cell phone may be missing from it.

But there was no sign of Johnson.

"Miss Johnson probably wouldn't have loaned out her vehicle, from what the family is saying. Therefore we're concerned her safety could be at risk," says Sheriff Anthony Lay, Scott County Sheriff's Department.

Her family says she has no medical conditions that would keep her from returning home.

Carl Harness, Johnson's brother, is worried something may have happened.

Johnson was supposed to have met with him in Kentucky last Sunday for a flea market, but she never showed.

"It's completely odd. She always lets me know where she's going or when she's going out of town," says Harness.

Melissa Lowe is a friend of Johnson's. She says lately the woman has been worried about her safety.

"She's been real scared lately. She thinks she's being harrassed by somebody. Tuesday morning I called the law because both her doors were open and her van wasn't home," says Lowe.

Deputies are towing the van to TBI's headquarters in Nashville for further investigation.

Lowe says she's just hoping for her friends safe return.

"I've been watching her trailer for three or four days just waiting for her to come home. I just want her to come home."

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=6169456&nav=0RYv
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Magic407 · Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:08 am Post subject:

Authorities searching for missing Scott County woman

By: Emily Stroud, Reporter
By: Katie Allison Granju, Producer

Date created: 3/2/2007 4:54:09 PM
Last updated: 3/2/2007 10:29:03 PM

Jean Johnson hasn't been heard from since last weekend. The Scott County Sheriff's Department is leading the investigation. They've called in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to help. And they needs the public's help, too.

Jean Johnson, 66, isn't the type to loan out her van or leave her home without telling her friends and family. So when her van turned up empty investigators became alarmed.

And so are her friends. "I'm real concerned about her," said Melissa Lowe. "I'm really worried. I'm really scared. I can't sleep. I can't eat. I'm worried to death."

Lowe lives down the street from Johnson. She says Johnson called her last Saturday, February 24th.

"Yeah, she said she was going somewhere and she'd be back and call me Saturday night and that she loved me," said Lowe.

Johnson talked to a family member about 9 o'clock Saturday night. That was the last time they heard from her. Chief Deputy Bobby Ellis says her family reported her missing Wednesday. Investigators soon found an important clue.

"Ms. Johnson's van was located in Oneida, Tennessee at the First Trust and Savings Bank in Oneida, unoccupied and locked," said Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay.

The sheriff hasn't slept much since then.

Investigators poured over surveillance video from the bank and a McDonald's restaurant. The video shows a green Jeep Cherokee parked in the bank parking lot just before 11: 00 Sunday morning. Johnson's Ford Windstar van pulls up beside it.

Sheriff Lay explained what's on the tape. "OK, the van's parked. You're going to see the door open, the left door open. Subject exists and walks around the front of the van."

The video shows two men walking around the van, possibly moving something from the van to the jeep. One man drives the van to the other side of the parking lot, walks to the Jeep and the Jeep drives away.

Three days later, after she was reported missing, investigators found the locked van in the bank parking lot but no sign of Jean Johnson.

"There is possible foul play," the sheriff said. "We're looking at all angles at this time."Her neighbor, and friend, is worried. "You don't find many friends in this world that's good to you and everything and she's a real good friend to me and I just want her to come home," said Melissa Lowe.

The TBI forensic department in Nashville will inspect the van for clues and enhance the surveillance video. If you have information in this missing persons case, call the Scott County Sheriff's Department at 423-663-2245.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=42903
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Magic407 · Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 4:03 am Post subject:

Scott Woman Missing; May be in Danger

Posted: 3:58 PM Mar 2, 2007
Last Updated: 10:37 PM Mar 2, 2007

Reporter: Whitney Daniel

Oneida, Scott County (WVLT) - A Scott County woman has been missing for almost a week now and authorities hope you can help them find her.

Sixty-six-year-old Jean Johnson has been missing since Saturday night. She has reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. Johnson stands 5 foot 4 and weighs 170 pounds.

Volunteer TV's Whitney Daniel has more on the search.

The Scott County Sheriff's Department has called in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to aid them. They've recovered Johnson's van and are preparing to send it to TBI's forensic lab.

In a surveillance video, investigators believe they see two individuals leaving the area of interest in a Jeep Cherokee, but as they piece the puzzle together, they need your help, too.

"I knew something was wrong because I lived here about 8-years and she's lived there and we're friends and I knew her. I knew something was bad wrong with her," friend Melissa Lowe said.

Melissa Lowe says she's worried sick about her friend and neighbor Jean Johnson.

"The chair, everything on the front porch was turned over," Lowe said.

That's when Melissa called the law.

"The law come about 30 minutes later and locked her doors back for her and told me to tell her when she got home that they had locked her doors back for her... and she never come back," Lowe said.

Authorities say they're concerned as well.

"We're not ruling out anything at this time, there is possible foul play, we're looking at all angles at this time," Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay said.

Relatives last heard from Jean Johnson here at her home on Ditney Trail Road at 9 p.m. Saturday. A week later, they're still searching.

"Her van was located at First Trust and Savings Bank unoccupied and locked," Lay said.

This video surveillance tape from the McDonald's in Oneida is helping crack the case.

"The van came in from this side of the parking lot," Lay said.

The video shows a male taking something from Ms. Johnson's van and putting it into a green Jeep Cherokee.

"This is where we saw the movement of the people getting out of the vehicle," Lay said.

Then, the man left the van and drove off in the Jeep.

"Ms. Johnson would probably not have loaned her vehicle from what family is saying, so we're concerned her safety might be at risk," Lay said.

Meanwhile, Melissa clings to hope for her friend.

"I've been sitting up every night watching, to see if I see a light come on, just a light come on, to know that she's home because she's my buddy, you know, my friend," Lowe said.

The sheriff says there's about 50 yards between where the Jeep and the van parked, so they're hoping someone saw something.

If you have any information, call the Scott County Sheriff's Department at (423) 663-2245

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/6265302.html
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Gaia · Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 4:42 pm Post subject:

Scott Woman Missing; May be in Danger

Posted: 3:58 PM Mar 2, 2007
Last Updated: 3:18 PM Mar 3, 2007

Reporter: Whitney Daniel

Oneida, Scott County (WVLT) - A Scott County woman has been missing for almost a week now and authorities hope you can help them find her.

Sixty-six-year-old Jean Johnson has been missing since Saturday night. She has reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. Johnson stands 5 foot 4 and weighs 170 pounds.

Volunteer TV's Whitney Daniel has more on the search.

The Scott County Sheriff's Department has called in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to aid them. They've recovered Johnson's van and are preparing to send it to TBI's forensic lab.

In a surveillance video, investigators believe they see two individuals leaving the area of interest in a Jeep Cherokee, but as they piece the puzzle together, they need your help, too.

"I knew something was wrong because I lived here about 8-years and she's lived there and we're friends and I knew her. I knew something was bad wrong with her," friend Melissa Lowe said.

Melissa Lowe says she's worried sick about her friend and neighbor Jean Johnson.

"The chair, everything on the front porch was turned over," Lowe said.

That's when Melissa called the law.

"The law come about 30 minutes later and locked her doors back for her and told me to tell her when she got home that they had locked her doors back for her... and she never come back," Lowe said.

Authorities say they're concerned as well.

"We're not ruling out anything at this time, there is possible foul play, we're looking at all angles at this time," Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay said.

Relatives last heard from Jean Johnson here at her home on Ditney Trail Road at 9 p.m. Saturday. A week later, they're still searching.

"Her van was located at First Trust and Savings Bank unoccupied and locked," Lay said.

This video surveillance tape from the McDonald's in Oneida is helping crack the case.

"The van came in from this side of the parking lot," Lay said.

The video shows a male taking something from Ms. Johnson's van and putting it into a green Jeep Cherokee.

"This is where we saw the movement of the people getting out of the vehicle," Lay said.

Then, the man left the van and drove off in the Jeep.

"Ms. Johnson would probably not have loaned her vehicle from what family is saying, so we're concerned her safety might be at risk," Lay said.

Meanwhile, Melissa clings to hope for her friend.

"I've been sitting up every night watching, to see if I see a light come on, just a light come on, to know that she's home because she's my buddy, you know, my friend," Lowe said.

The sheriff says there's about 50 yards between where the Jeep and the van parked, so they're hoping someone saw something.

If you have any information, call the Scott County Sheriff's Department at (423) 663-2245

http://www.volunteertv.com/news/headlines/6265302.html
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Mahatma Ghandi
"This is our moment, this is our time, this is our chance to stand up for whats right" Bono
"If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand up for much." Marian Wright Edelman

"Until They Come Home"

Magic407 · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:22 am Post subject:

Authorities searching for missing Scott County woman

By: Emily Stroud, Reporter
By: Katie Allison Granju, Producer

Date created: 3/2/2007 4:54:09 PM
Last updated: 3/3/2007 9:46:23 AM

Jean Johnson hasn't been heard from since last weekend. The Scott County Sheriff's Department is leading the investigation. They've called in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to help. And they needs the public's help, too.

Jean Johnson, 66, isn't the type to loan out her van or leave her home without telling her friends and family. So when her van turned up empty investigators became alarmed.

And so are her friends. "I'm real concerned about her," said Melissa Lowe. "I'm really worried. I'm really scared. I can't sleep. I can't eat. I'm worried to death."

Lowe lives down the street from Johnson. She says Johnson called her last Saturday, February 24th.

"Yeah, she said she was going somewhere and she'd be back and call me Saturday night and that she loved me," said Lowe.

Johnson talked to a family member about 9 o'clock Saturday night. That was the last time they heard from her. Chief Deputy Bobby Ellis says her family reported her missing Wednesday. Investigators soon found an important clue.

"Ms. Johnson's van was located in Oneida, Tennessee at the First Trust and Savings Bank in Oneida, unoccupied and locked," said Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay.

The sheriff hasn't slept much since then.

Investigators poured over surveillance video from the bank and a McDonald's restaurant. The video shows a green Jeep Cherokee parked in the bank parking lot just before 11: 00 Sunday morning. Johnson's Ford Windstar van pulls up beside it.

Sheriff Lay explained what's on the tape. "OK, the van's parked. You're going to see the door open, the left door open. Subject exists and walks around the front of the van."

The video shows two men walking around the van, possibly moving something from the van to the jeep. One man drives the van to the other side of the parking lot, walks to the Jeep and the Jeep drives away.

Three days later, after she was reported missing, investigators found the locked van in the bank parking lot but no sign of Jean Johnson.

"There is possible foul play," the sheriff said. "We're looking at all angles at this time."Her neighbor, and friend, is worried. "You don't find many friends in this world that's good to you and everything and she's a real good friend to me and I just want her to come home," said Melissa Lowe.

The TBI forensic department in Nashville will inspect the van for clues and enhance the surveillance video. If you have information in this missing persons case, call the Scott County Sheriff's Department at 423-663-2245.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=42903
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Magic407 · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:52 am Post subject:

Officers searching Scott Co. property for body of missing woman

March 9, 2007

By ADAM LONGO
6 News Reporter

SCOTT COUNTY (WATE) -- Officers with the several law enforcement agencies are searching a home and surrounding property in Scott County Friday for the body of Jean Johnson.

Johnson, 66, has been missing since February 25 and investigators have said foul play may be involved.

Investigators started working at the search scene around 10:00 a.m. Friday. The property they're searching belongs to Johnson's ex-husband, Douglas Whisnant.

He was arrested Thursday on criminal trespass charges. He has a lengthy criminal history and had made threats to Johnson.

Investigators have information that Whisnant could be involved in explosive materials and his property could be booby trapped.

Scott County sheriff's officers, the TBI, the ATF, the Knoxville Police Department and Knox County sheriff's officers are all involved in the investigation.

Investigators have store surveillance video of a man in Johnson's van. He met up with another man and the two men later drove away in a Jeep.

Investigators found the van locked in Oneida.

But there was no sign of Johnson.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=6204024
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Magic407 · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:53 am Post subject:

Ex-Husband of Missing Scott County Woman Arrested

Posted: 8:16 PM Mar 9, 2007
Last Updated: 9:19 PM Mar 9, 2007

Woman Missing: Officers Search Ex Husband's Property

Oneida, Scott County (WVLT) - Two weeks ago Saturday, a Scott County woman disappeared after pulling up to another car in a shopping center parking lot in Oneida.

All day Friday, sheriff's investigators, drug-and-bomb dogs, even federal agents, have been looking for her body at the homestead of her ex-husband near Huntsville.

The ex: 59-year-old Doug Whisnant, is in jail on a trespassing charge.

But he has felony convictions, for possessing illegal weapons.

And he's a registered sex offender, for attacking a relative.

So the sheriff says, he's taking no chances.

We've had some reports saying that he is capable, not only of making class 3 weapons, which are machine guns, but also capable of making explosive devices."

Sheriff Anthony Lay won't say exactly what led investigators here, but neighbors tell WVLT they say Whisnant digging here with a backhoe shortly after Jean Johnson disappeared.

Miss Johnson divorced Whisnant more than a year ago.

But investigators say the former couple had been arguing recently, over terms of the divorce.

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/6412031.html
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Magic407 · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 5:44 pm Post subject:

Investigators search property of missing Scott County woman's ex-husband

By: Kay Watson, Reporter
By: Katie Allison Granju, Producer

Date created: 3/9/2007 4:52:09 PM
Last updated: 3/9/2007 6:54:30 PM

Authorities Friday are searching the property of the ex-husband of a missing Scott County woman.

Jean Johnson was last seen February 24. Vehicles seen in a surveillance video linked to her disappearance were located on the property of Douglas Whisnant, who was divorced from Johnson in 2005.

Neighbors told authorities that Whisnant has been doing excavation work on his seven acre Scott County property during the early morning hours.

Before beginning the search Friday, officers checked Whisnant's land for possible explosives.

Cadaver dogs and digging equipment were then brought in.

Whisnant was arrested for criminal trespassing and probation violations Thursday.

He is listed as a registered sex offender in Tennessee, with a 1997 conviction for sexual battery.

He was arrested for violating registry rules in 2005. Officers then discovered dozens of guns, other weapons and pornographic material.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=43147
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Magic407 · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:09 am Post subject:

UPDATE: Missing woman search turns up hidden weapons stash

By: Kevin Umberger, Photographer
By: Kay Watson, Reporter

Date created: 3/10/2007 5:46:11 PM
Last updated: 3/10/2007 5:53:49 PM

The son of a missing Scott County woman hangs on to hope, as the search for Jean Johnson expands.

Johnson, 66, was last seen two weeks ago on Saturday.

Her ex-husband Douglas Whisnant is behind bars and facing more charges.

None are related to Johnson's disappearance, but officers searching for Johnson say they found machine guns behind a hidden wall in Whisnant's home.

Having any gun is illegal for the convicted sex offender.

"It was actually a wall and he had a picture on it," Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay explained. "Fresh paint, fresh mud for the sheet rock. There were several weapons recovered in there, legal weapons for you and me, and illegal machine guns as well."

Saturday, Lay got a ride in a Knox County Sheriff's Department helicopter to scan rivers and ponds near Whisnant's home.

The rescue squad will drag some of the pond bottoms by boat.

Investigators have also been digging for two days, in the same spot neighbors say Whisnant began bull dozing after Johnson was reported missing.

"I'm hoping she's not there, and she's alive," Johnson's son Johnny Crabtree explained.

Crabtree and his sisters, who have been watching crews move dirt on Whisnant's seven-acre property, worry he had something to do with her disappearance.

"She finally decided to go on with her life, and he didn't want that," Crabtree said. "I think he really wanted to get back together."

According to Sheriff Lay, Whisnant hasn't said a word since he was taken into custody Thursday morning.

Sheriff Lay is hoping to find clues -- like fresh tire tracks near a river bank -- that will lead them to Johnson. He said they are looking for an area with mud and grass that matches what they collected from Johnson's mini-van.

"It is frustrating in a way," Sheriff Lay admitted. "We want to find Ms. Johnson and make her family feel at ease, and then you're meeting negative results. It is frustrating."

Her frustrated family wishes a second person seen in surveillance video would come forward.

"I would say if he wasn't that involved, to turn himself in and let us know where she's at," Crabtree said. "And maybe he could get himself out of it, and let the other person get convicted that did this. And we could find our mom, and she could come home if she's still alive."

Whisnant is scheduled to appear in court on the weapons and criminal trespassing charges Monday.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=43157
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Magic407 · Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 5:06 pm Post subject:

Searchers hunt Scott Co. woods for signs of missing woman

March 15, 2007

By HANA KIM
6 News Reporter

SCOTT COUNTY (WATE) -- Scott County officials have launched another large-scale search for the body of a missing woman.

Jean Johnson, 66, has been missing since February 25.

Last week, investigators brought in bulldozers and dug up the yard of Johnson's ex-husband, Douglas Whisnant.

Now, they've searching for evidence in other wooded areas of the count. Johnson's two brothers were in the middle of the search parties Thursday.

"This family needs closure. We need closure bad," says one brother, Carl Harness.

They searched in the rain, hoping to find any trace of Johnson.

"If there's no luck on foot, they'll get back down here and get an ATV to get back on the rough terrain," says Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay.

"It's my first incident of this nature. I take it as a personal mission to try to help the family," the sheriff says.

"I don't give up hope for nothing. There's a lot of people praying for her and the family," her brother says.

So far, investigators have Johnson's Ford Windstar van and several other items. But no one has been charged yet in her disappearance.

Her brothers say Johnson had a bad breakup with a boyfriend recently.

About 50 people are helping with the search. Among them are people like Jeff Chitwood, who volunteered their time, saying Johnson's story has touched them.

"The thought that this could be my mother really breaks my heart, or anybody's mom for that matter," Chitwood says.

Searchers canvassed nearly 100 acres Thursday.

Crews are looking in caves and low-lying areas as well. The search could continue into the weekend.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=6233833
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Magic407 · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:53 pm Post subject:

Missing Woman's Brother Speaks About Search

Posted: 10:22 PM Mar 15, 2007
Last Updated: 6:34 AM Mar 16, 2007

Scott County (WVLT) - Scott County authorities say they haven't given up their search for a missing woman.

Sheriff's deputies and dozens of volunteers were back out searching for 66-year-old Jean Johnson on Thursday. They've been looking for the woman for about two weeks now.

Thursday, authorities said they searched the area between her home, and the home of her ex husband, 59-year-old Doug Whisnant.
Some of Johnson's family members also took part in the search.

"I don't give up hope for nothing. I don't give up hope for nothing. There's a lot of people praying for her, and praying for the family," brother Carl Harness said.

Authorities were on Whisnant's property last week using a backhoe to search for evidence. Whisnant is in custody on criminal trespassing charges.

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/6524732.html
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