Almost a month after being last spotted at a Flowood gas station by a security camera, Mississippi State University graduate student Lester Jones of Tupelo remains missing. Jones was on his way to visit fraternity brothers in Jackson, but he never arrived.
Friends, family and concerned community members gathered last week to search the Jackson area in hopes of finding new information that could lead to Jones.
The search was organized by MSU alumni James Pattman, class of 1979, and Creston Burse, class of 2007.
“Along with Lester, we all are members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.,” Burse said. “We all know Lester very well and as a member, it was and is our duty to do all we can. This was just a small example, but the work continues and is far from over.”
Pattman said he did not take action sooner because, like many, he hoped Jones’s, disappearance would turn out to be a misunderstanding.
On Jan. 31, Pattman said he woke up with Jones’ situation weighing strongly on his mind. He said he knew it was time for someone to take action.
“I knew that others wanted to take action, but someone had to lead, and I committed to being the person to lead,” he said. “I began to place calls to key members of the fraternity in various areas of the country seeking their assistance in developing a strategy to create more awareness of LJ’s [Jones’s] disappearance.”
The plan became known as “A Call to Action” and included providing fliers with information and photos of Jones and the vehicle to be distributed via e-mail, Facebook or any another means. A press release was then written and submitted to media outlets around the state as well as other parts of the Southeastern United States.