Missing man, 74, discovered after officials' overnight search
By John Joyce
Published in News on April 20, 2015 1:46 PM
Full Size
News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
The truck of missing person Bennie Ray Toms, 74, is towed off the scene where his search was taking place on Ditchbank Road on Sunday night.
The body of Bennie Ray Toms, 74, who was reported missing Sunday afternoon, was discovered early this morning in a wooded area off Ruskin Road.
A family member found Toms deceased at about 8 a.m., the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said.
The official cause of death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, Maj. Tom Effler said.
"No foul play is suspected," Effler said.
A massive search in the area of Ditchbank and Dollard Town roads conducted by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and Arr-Mac Search and Rescue Team turned up nothing Sunday evening.
Toms was reported missing by his wife who said he left around 12:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon, shortly after finishing breakfast.
"She said the only thing he said out of the ordinary was that he needed some alone time, maybe an hour or two, and that a man needs to be alone sometimes," Det. Sgt. Matt Miller said.
By 10 p.m., severe weather forced the search -- conducted mainly on ATVs due to the terrain -- to be called off. The search resumed at about 11:30 p.m., but was terminated at 1 a.m., again due to weather.
In the lull between search efforts, Miller debriefed deputies and firefighters participating in the search on what he knew leading up to the disappearance.
After Toms left, witnesses said they saw his vehicle near the dump off Ditchbank Road. The Ford Ranger was later found by the side of the road in the 900 block of Ditchbank Road, abandoned with the keys still in the ignition.
Toms, 74, was known to be meticulous, Miller said. Leaving his vehicle unlocked with the keys in it was "out of the ordinary' for the retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant. Also unusual was his failing to show up for his regularly scheduled shuffleboard game with friends at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Non-Commissioned Officer's Club.
A search of Toms' residence, a second building he owned off of Sandstone Drive and around the abandoned vehicle, turned up no signs of foul play or a struggle.
Searchers were organizing to go out again this morning when deputies learned of the discovery of the body. A Silver Alert issued late last night has since been canceled.