Case of Houston man who disappeared in Bastrop County remains mystery
BASTROP COUNTY, Texas - What happened to a man who disappeared outside of Bastrop County nine years ago is still a mystery. All that's been found is his jawbone, and it's unclear where the rest of his remains are.
May 2015 was the last time Angie Hamilton saw her son, Johnathan.
"Sadness and gloom and disbelief," she said, describing the past years. "Every morning, I still wake up, and know that Jonathan is gone. I have no answers."
She lives in Houston. She thinks Johnathan was contacted by a relative and they took off. She's not sure about what, but there was nothing unusual, until he didn't come home, and she reported him missing.
He was struggling with bipolar disorder and diabetes and didn't have his medication.
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In this "Missing in Texas," FOX 7 Austin's Angela Shen takes a look at the case of 26-year-old Houston man Jonathan Lee Hamilton, who was last seen eight years ago in Bastrop. Some of his remains were found four years ago, but where the rest of his remains are, and what happened to him, remains a mystery.
Two days later, she got a call from Bastrop law enforcement saying that her son was there. She and her family immediately drove up and saw his car, but didn't see him.
Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook said previously that he was interviewed by Bastrop police and was found to be of sound mind.
Hamilton says her son may have gone to someone's property, but the stories she's been told don't match up.
"Nobody helped Jonathan. One person could have helped him, and he could still be alive," she said.
In 2019, his jawbone was found on a sandbar on the Colorado River.
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"When I first saw it, I thought this could be a missing persons case or might give someone some closure or help a crime scene or something like that, so I definitely called it in," Remington Werner, who found the jawbone, said in 2019.
To this day, it's not clear where the rest of Johnathan's remains are.
"He's not been found. No one's been punished. We have no cause of death. Nothing," Hamilton said. "I believe that there's somebody out there that knows what happened to my son. I pray every morning and every night that you will get the courage to come forward."
Bastrop County says they've done an extensive search in this case but nothing else ever came up. There have been no new developments.
Hamilton believes they're not doing enough.
"Today, with all the modern technology and cameras and all the stuff, I just don't understand it," she said. "To lose your child, I believe is one of the worst heartaches a parent can endure. But the injustice that surrounds the loss of his life adds injury to insult."
May 28 would be Johnathan's 36th birthday.
"There are certain times of the year that are very hard. The holidays, crawfish season, car shows, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays. I have to keep myself in line in order to continue moving forward, searching for answers," Hamilton said.
She'll keep searching for what happened and make sure Johnathan isn't forgotten.
"Please help this family. Please help us get the answers that we know are out there," she said.