James Daniel "Booney" Wade Missing Since Christmas Night

January 07, 2008

ROME, GA - Family members of 28-year-old James Daniel "Booney" Wade, are desperate to find information on their missing loved one, who has not been seen since Christmas night.

"Booney had been really depressed around the holidays because he didn't have money to buy his family, especially his daughter, Christmas presents," Booney's cousin, Jessica Coots, said in an interview with Investigation Discovery.

According to Jessica, Booney was feeling depressed because he was desperate to visit his 11-year-old daughter in Alabama. When he was unable to find a ride there he told a friend, identified only as "Buddy", that he would make it there on his own.

By Dec. 31, 2007, Booney's relatives began to suspect something terrible had happened to him. He never made it to Alabama and he had not been in contact with any of his family members since Christmas, something Jessica said is completely out of character for him. Their worry escalated even further when they discovered Booney had had not taken his cell phone or a change of clothes. After conferring with other family members, Booney's sister, Chassitty Hight, filed a missing persons report with the Rome Police Department.

Booney's profile at MySpace.com lists his last login as Dec. 24, 2007, the day before he went missing. In the "About Me" section of the profile he wrote:

"What up yall, my name is Booney Wade and I'm from Rome, GA. Right now I am in transition. I have a beautiful daughter that is 11-years-old named Alexis and she is my pride and joy above and before anything or anyone else. I am self-employed, and for the most part enjoy life. I have a universal personality so if you want to know more hit me up."

The photo section of the profile includes several photos of Booney's daughter, including one that he captioned: "My whole world in 1."

According to Jessica, her family has received very little help from local police. Friends and family members have conducted the bulk of the efforts to locate Booney and have posted flyers, conducted searches and contacted the media.

"I have talked to the [police] twice since New Years Eve. Once Thursday night and once Today," Jessica said. They told me that there is no investigation because they do not know if there had been a crime.

"The night that the police was called [to his sisters house] one cop told the other, 'Let's go find out what we can't find out.' That's pretty much what they have done. Nothing."

The family was further frustrated this past weekend when the police allegedly put a stop to a private search they were conducting.

"We had a search with friends and family helping us and we had to stop because the police threatened to take people to jail," Jessica said. "They have just been horrible and I think they just don't care about him because of his history and I don't think that's fair."

In a recent interview with the Rome News-Tribune, Chassitty described her brother as having suffered from bouts of drug abuse in the past. However, she also described him as "good hearted" and "very emotional."

A spokesperson for the Rome Police Department was unavailable for comment.

James Daniel "Booney" Wade is described as 5' 6" tall, 150 lbs., with shaved red hair and green eyes. He was last see wearing blue jeans and a yellow jacket. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (706) 238-5101.

Photo's Courtesy of Jessica Coots