Featured Case
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Herman J. Caldwell Jr.
Herman “Deac” Caldwell, 32, was last seen in Columbia, South Carolina on March 3rd, 1982. He withdrew $500 from his bank account that day; this was the last activity on the account. He told his mother he was going to Charleston, SC.
His family’s home was near Martin Luther King Boulevard in Hopkins, SC.
He was driving a black and gray 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix with the SC license plate number GOK 105 and VIN number 2K57TA195320, which is still missing.
In 1978, four years before his disappearance, Caldwell was robbed and beaten by three men in the 2300 block of Gervais Street. He was able to identify one of his assailants as Leroy Nolan, also known as Tony Shelton, and a year later, Nolan was arrested for the assault.
Nolan was released from jail in October 1982. Just before his disappearance, Caldwell told his father he was being threatened by Nolan.
In 2004, Nolan and two other men were charged with murder and kidnapping in connection with a double homicide that happened in 1978. They allegedly killed a woman and her two-year-old son on the same day Caldwell was attacked.
== Search Efforts ==
In 2024, Adam Brown searched bodies of water with sonar around Caldwell’s home in Hopkins, near Lake Marion, and locations in Charleston including the Goose Creek Reservoir, Ashley River at the W. O. Thomas, Jr. Boat Landing, and the Flynn Drive boat ramp where two deteriorated vehicles were found. They could not be positively identified at the time.
Investigating Agency:
Richland County Sheriff’s Department
803-518-0957 or 803-576-3462
Case number: 0604816512
Sources:
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/29623
https://www.abccolumbia.com/2023/03/03/41-years-later-family-continues-search-for-herman-deac-caldwell-jr/
https://charleyproject.org/case/herman-j-caldwell-jr
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/sc-herman-caldwell-jr-32-columbia-3-march-1982.661008/
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