Missing
Michael Wayne Grimes
Grimes, approximately 1999; Rodney Wayne Cearley
Date and time person was reported missing : 01/18/1999
Missing location (approx) :
Nacogdoches, Texas
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 05/30/1968 (53)
Age at the time of disappearance: 30 years old
Height / Weight : 6'0, 200 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A white shirt, blue jeans and boots.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Grimes has reconstructive plates and screws implanted in the right side of his face. He has tattoos on his upper left arm, the top of his right shoulder, both forearms, his chest and his abdomen. Grimes has scars on his face and right wrist. His nicknames are Mike and Hammer.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Grimes was last seen Ken's Wrecking Yard on U. S. Highway 59 north in Nacogdoches, Texas on January 18, 1999. He has never been heard from again. At the time of his disappearance, he was working as an informant for the East Texas Drug Task Force. Authorities investigated the possibility that he met with foul play as a result, but discounted this theory.
In March 2006, Rodney Wayne Cearley was charged with murder in Grimes's case. He is the last person known to have been with Grimes before his disappearance, and Ken's Wrecking Yard is owned by his parents.
A photograph of Cearley is posted with this case summary. At his December 2007 trial, he admitted to killing Grimes, but said it was in self-defense. He said he stabbed Grimes to death and buried his body in a wooded area, and did not tell the police what happened because he thought no one would believe his story.
Grimes's ex-wife testified for Cearley, saying her former husband had violent temper when he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and had physically abused her on several occasions. Three witnesses, however, testified that Cearley had confessed Grimes's murder to them.
Cearley was convicted of murdering Grimes, although his body was never located. He could have faced anything from probation to life in prison for the murder. He was sentenced to 20 years. After his conviction, Grimes's family pleaded with him to reveal the location of the body.
Foul play is suspected in Grimes's disappearance due to the circumstances involved.
Other information and links : ncy
Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office
936-560-7794
September 2021 updates and sources
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Lufkin Daily News
The Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel
October 12, 2004. January 2, 2008; date of disappearance corrected, Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
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