Family Members and Authorities Desperately Search for two Alabama Men Missing in California

By Stacy M. Brown

Police in California and the Black and Missing Foundation seek assistance in locating two African American men from Alabama who went missing after they arrived in Sacramento on Friday, November 5.

Authorities said LaDexter Pelt, 25, of Green County, Alabama, and John DuBose Jr., 20, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, boarded a flight after Pelt celebrated his birthday.

Authorities said they know that the men arrived in California, but their whereabouts remain a mystery.

Heightening the tension, a hunter found a cell phone that belongs to Dubose, and police said it last pinged in the Sutter Bypass Wildlife Area, an approximately 3,200-acre region that includes two long, narrow parcels on each side.

Police have searched the area and have reportedly questioned the hunter but have not developed any new leads.

“This is a case that we’re very much watching,” said Derrica Wilson, the co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, which has spotlighted the plight of missing people of color for 14 years.

Pelt’s mother, Tracy Hunter, has expressed her fears and pleaded for her son’s safe return.

“I have every reason to be concerned because my child would’ve called me by now,” a shaken Hunter told reporters.

“He let me know that he made it to Sacramento, California, and we said goodbye for now. And that was it,” Hunter said, adding that both her son’s and DuBose’s phones are now disconnected.

“This is totally out of the ordinary,” she asserted.

Authorities said Pelt has short, black hair. He has brown eyes, stands six feet tall, and weighs 220 pounds.

DuBose is 5’6 inches and weighs 140 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.

“LaDexter and John, if you are out there, please contact your family members,” Hunter said. “We are distraught; we are mentally exhausted. And as a mother, I am mentally torn and heartbroken.”

Anyone with information should contact the Sacramento Police Department at 916-808-5471 or the Greene County Sheriff’s Department at 205-372-3152.

Individuals can also call the Selma Police Department at 334-874-2137 or contact the Black and Missing Foundation at http://www.BAMFI.org.