Detective says he won't rest until he solves disappearanceBy: JOHN L. CRAWFORD, Community Newspapers
Lt. Tommy Reeves began sorting through the details of Jackie Markham's disappearance in March 2001, a little more than three months after she was reported missing. And though he has little physical evidence to point him in a particular direction, Reeves must believe that he will someday solve the case. After all, he postponed retirement last December for one reason: to find Markham. "This has been the most frustrating case I've ever worked because there is so little evidence to work with," Reeves said last week, sorting through boxes of paperwork he has compiled since taking on the case. "But I can tell you right now, I won't let this thing die. It's like a jigsaw puzzle to me. And once I pick up a jigsaw puzzle, I don't like to put it down until it's solved."
She reportedly had a phone conversation with friend and coworker, Archie Carroll, just minutes later from her home. That phone call was the last reported communication anyone had with Markham. Police officers canvassed the area with tracking dogs to no avail after Carroll reported Markham missing on Dec. 15. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement examined her home for any signs of foul play and found nothing. The little evidence that Reeves has had to work with was the location of Markham's purse, which was found in a ditch in Jacksonville. Former Nassau County inmate Ross Lane Emerson, who at the time was being held on murder charges after confessing to killing a woman in Yulee, immediately became a suspect because of his reported ties to the area where the purse was found. Reeves, who considered Emerson a prime suspect, spent countless hours trying to establish a good rapport with the believed killer, hoping to squeeze out any knowledge he had of Markham's disappearance. But to this day Reeves believes Emerson, who later committed suicide in his jail cell, had no knowledge of Markham's whereabouts. Reeves said he believes Emerson had reason to confess to ensure a longer stay in Nassau County. Reeves said Emerson constantly remarked how comfortable the Nassau County jail was compared to other jails he had been in and how he would do anything to avoid returning to the such places. "He told me, 'I know you think I did something to that woman in Callahan but I really didn't,'" Reeves said of a conversation he had with Emerson. "He had every reason in the world to tell me if he did it. We made life as comfortable as we could for him, so I believe he would have told me if he did it." Emerson sent Reeves a letter weeks before his death, again denying involvement in Markham's disappearance. So what does Reeves have to work with every day as he embarks on his quest for answers? "I go through telephone records and find out as much as I can," he said. "I'm trying to pin down every activity Jackie had leading up to her disappearance." Reeves said that though he believes foul play was likely involved, the lack of physical evidence dictates that he continue to treat the case as a missing person. "What little evidence we have leads us to believe that somebody abducted her," he said. "And the fact that there has been no usage of her credit cards reported and nothing on the use of her social security number leads us to believe foul play was involved. But without a body, we still have to treat her as a missing person." As for Markham's family, all they can do is wait and hope Reeves' efforts someday produce results. Markham's daughter, Lisa Chapnerkar, said she believes Reeves when he says he will stop at nothing to solve her mother's case. "I believe Lt. Reeves is trying to get to know my mother as if he was in the life of Jackie Markham so he will know the various people she comes in contact with on a daily basis," Chapnerkar said. "I hope and pray he finds answers for us." John L. Crawford is a reporter for the Nassau County Record in Callahan. |
