Huntsville police say they have no specific reason to believe a missing Huntsville realtor is in danger but are “actively” looking into the case and would like to speak to the people who last saw him before his disappearance.
According to information provided by the Huntsville Police Department, police received a report that Ronald “Ronnie” Dumas Jr. was missing the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Police say the person who filed the report said they had last spoken to Dumas on Sunday, Dec. 15. Although it was not immediately known to Alabama authorities, Dumas’ car had been found Monday morning, abandoned on Interstate 40 near Camden, Tenn., west of Nashville.
After the missing persons report was filed on Tuesday, Huntsville police entered Dumas in a National Crime Information Center database and attempted to call his cell phones, which were not on.
Wednesday, Dec. 18, Huntsville police learned that Dumas’ car had been impounded in Tennessee. After being informed Dumas was missing, troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol searched on foot in the area where the car had been found.
On Thursday, investigators requested Dumas’ cell phone location data.
On Friday, Dec. 20, an investigator examined Dumas’ car and found that it likely had broken down before being abandoned. Meanwhile the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents helped search and collect information.
Investigators also received data Friday showing that on Monday morning, Dumas’ cell phone had traveled west on I-40 “well past” the point where the car was found. This provided “reason to believe that someone was following Mr. Dumas, or a motorist stopped and helped him continue his travels.”
“We are cooperating with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and our local agencies,” Huntsville police said. “We know that Mr. Dumas has family in Chicago. We know that his cell phones are not on.”
The person who filed the missing persons report told police that other people were audible in the background as they last spoke with Dumas on Dec. 15. Police say they do not know who those people were but hope they will come forward, or that someone can identify them.
Police say they have “no driving force that is leading us to believe that Mr. Dumas has been the victim of a crime.”
Family and friends aren’t so sure: Talia Berryhill, identified as the mother of his children, told WAFF-TV 48 that “Ronnie doesn’t just walk away from family. That is not who he is. Something is wrong.”
To provide an anonymous tip, call 256-532-7463 or submit information to Huntsville Area Crimestoppers at 256-53-CRIME.