Search for missing man continues

Lenoir County resident Brian Burks said he was one of the last to see Miller Jones before he went missing Saturday.

Burks said he saw Jones walking along the railroad tracks that cross Neuse Road at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. Burks said he approached Jones and asked him if he was lost.

“He told me he was heading to Greenville,” Burks said. “He seemed coherent.”

Jones, 62, was living with his daughter at her Manning Street home before he went missing. A Sliver Alert — a missing person alert for older people — was issued for Jones on Sunday.

Burks said he spoke with law enforcement officials Saturday about his conversation with Jones. He is still concerned that Jones remains missing. He also said he didn’t know Jones before he saw him walking on the railroad tracks.

“He said he was walking to Greenville but he was walking in the direction of Dover,” Burks said.

Nearly 50 search and rescue crew members spent Tuesday looking for Jones, according to Lenoir County Emergency Management Director Roger Dail. Additional searches were conducted Wednesday and Thursday along several creeks near where Jones was last seen at the 1200 block of Neuse Road.

Jones weighs 160 pounds and is 5 feet 9 inches tall. According to Dail, Jones has dementia.

“He had never walked off before,” Dail said. “We will continue to look for him.”

Rescue teams from Kinston, Lenoir County, Jones County, Wayne County, New Bern, Carteret County and Greenville have participated in search and rescue efforts this week.

Dail said teams searched along the Neuse River and also walked along the railroad tracks from British Road to Clarks in Craven County, looking for Jones.

“He used to live in Greenville,” Dail said. “We told the people who live in his former house to be on the lookout for him.”

K-9 rescue search teams and a State Highway Patrol helicopter also assisted with the search efforts. Dail said search crews don’t plan to conduct many more extensive searches for Jones.

“We will have sheriff deputies (continuing to) look for him,” Dail said.

The Kinston Department of Public Safety is asking anyone who sees Jones to call 252-526-6654 immediately.

Chris Lavender can be reached at 252-559-1078 or clavender@freedomenc.com.