‘Something Is Extremely Wrong’: Family Pleads for Help Finding Missing Hampton University Graduate Last Seen In 2020
A family is pleading for help finding a Hampton University graduate who has been missing for months.
Marcus Thompson’s family hasn’t heard from him in eight months or seen him since last year. His mother Lynetta Thompson, is now pleading for help locating her now-32-year-old son.
Lynetta told Dateline her son is family-oriented and always made it a priority to spend time with loved ones and that its extremely unlike him to be out of touch for such a long period of time.
Thompson was living with his mother in Richmond, Virginia, after moving back home in 2019 after he’d spent several years working in finance in Pittsburgh.
Thompson was in good spirits at the time, financially stable and planning to start an entrepreneurial venture, although as a single childless man, he would sometimes come and go.
“He was single — not married, no kids — so he was living his life,” Lynetta said. “He’d go visit friends from school and they’d go on trips. When he left last year I didn’t think anything of it. He’d check in with me or someone eventually. But he never did.”
Lynetta reported Thompson missing on Nov. 4 last year. A few weeks later he was located safe by state police in Fairfax. Lynetta said that at first she thought Thompson was OK, but after time passed and Thompson missed the holidays, she grew more concerned.
A family communicated with Thompson in January, but that was the last time anyone heard from him. Even when a cousin passed away suddenly in March and the family tried to reach out to Thompson, they got no response and later learned his cell service was no longer active.
Lynetta attempted to file another missing person report with the Henrico County police but was told Thompson was an adult who was allowed to not contact his family and that a report couldn’t be filed unless she had a reason to believe he was in danger.
In the meantime, mail and unpaid bills piled up at the home. Eventually, a traffic ticket from June 14 linked to Thompson’s car in Washington, D.C., showed up at her home, but Lynetta is unsure her son is even in possession of the vehicle anymore.
Friends and family members have passed out flyers and spread information on Thompson on social media, as Lynetta continues to fear that something with her son has gone “extremely wrong.”
The Virginia NAACP said on social media that Thompson is a former executive committee member.