Missing Person

Donald Fortson

Donald Ray Fortson, 52, was last seen Nov. 3, 1998, in the Cleveland area of Blount County. NamUs lists his case as open and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office as the investigating agency.

Incident date: November 3, 1998
Location: Cleveland, Blount County
Independent sources: 3

The record

Donald Ray Fortson was 52 when he was last seen Nov. 3, 1998, in the Cleveland area of Blount County, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s NamUs database. His case, MP4485, remains open and unresolved 1.

NamUs states that Fortson’s family has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the disappearances of Fortson and Eddie Hazelrig 1. The supplied record does not provide further circumstances or explain Hazelrig’s connection to the case.

The Blount County Sheriff’s Office is listed as the primary investigating agency 1.

A supplied Doe Network page contained only general information about that organization and no case-specific details about Fortson 2. A WHNT page identified as covering missing-person cases in north Alabama could not be retrieved and therefore could not be used to verify additional information 3.

Timeline

November 3, 1998Confirmed
Donald Ray Fortson was last seen in the Cleveland area of Blount County, according to NamUs.
Current status in supplied NamUs recordConfirmed
NamUs lists case MP4485 as open and unresolved.

Documented claims

Donald Ray Fortson was 52 at the time of his disappearance.
Confirmed
Source: U.S. Department of Justice NamUs · Single-source claim.
Fortson was last seen Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1998, in the Cleveland area of Blount County, Alabama.
Confirmed
Source: U.S. Department of Justice NamUs · Single-source claim.
NamUs case MP4485 is open and unresolved.
Confirmed
Source: U.S. Department of Justice NamUs · Single-source claim.
Fortson’s family has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the disappearances of Donald Fortson and Eddie Hazelrig.
Confirmed
Source: U.S. Department of Justice NamUs · Single-source claim.
The Blount County Sheriff’s Office is the primary investigating agency.
Confirmed
Source: U.S. Department of Justice NamUs · Single-source claim.
The supplied Doe Network document contains no case-specific information about Donald Fortson.
Reported
Source: Doe Network · Single-source claim.
The supplied WHNT source could not be retrieved because it returned a 403 error.
Unknown
Source: WHNT · Single-source claim.

Sources

NamUs Missing Person Case MP4485: Donald Ray Fortson — U.S. Department of Justice NamUsOpen
Doe Network case page 3266DMAL — Doe NetworkOpen
Missing persons cases in North Alabama — WHNTOpen