America's silent disaster:' Mysteries of the missing

FBI: More than 1,100 'active' missing-persons cases in Tennessee; exact number unknown

By Jim Balloch (Contact)
Sunday, June 28, 2009

The car of Megan Maxwell was discovered in flames April 26 by the side of U.S. Highway 25/70.

In the early-morning hours of April 26, Megan Maxwell drove to her father's home in Newport to check on him. From there, at 4:27 a.m., she called a friend to say all was OK and she would return home after finishing a cigarette.

About 90 minutes later, Newport Police Officer Derek Wright headed home after working a night shift. He came upon a car fully engulfed in flames on Highway 25/70 about six miles east of town.

The red 2001 Mitsubishi was Maxwell's. But there was no sign of the 19-year-old girl with bright hazel eyes and a wide, radiant smile.

She has not been seen or heard from since that early- morning phone call.

Every year, more than 750,000 missing-persons reports are filed with police agencies in the United States. Megan Maxwell became one of more than 1,100 reported missing in Tennessee this year as of May 1.

Most will turn up unharmed. Many were on a lark or a binge. Others fled to escape abuse or avoid responsibility. Some wandered off because they were confused or infirm. Some children are taken in custody disputes. Some missing persons do not want to ever be found.

But tens of thousands never return, as if they have blended into the wind. University of North Texas DNA Identity Laboratory Director Arthur Eisenberg has called this "America's silent disaster."

An unknown number of them are victims of crimes. And some of them have involuntarily acquired a new identity - John or Jane Doe, hastily scribbled on a yellow toe tag in a morgue far from home.

The FBI began keeping statistics on missing-persons in 1975. By the end of 2008, there were 102,764 missing- persons cases listed as "active" in the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. Almost half of those - 51,054 - were under the age of 18. Another 12 percent were between the ages of 18 and 20.

Tennessee has 1,107 of those active cases.

This year the U.S. Justice Department launched the final component of a new system designed to solve some of the mysteries of the missing in the United States.

Still, it can be difficult to find someone who has disappeared.

Few states have laws that mandate how police agencies should handle missing persons reports, according to the National Institute of Justice. Individual police departments have wide discretion in how to handle missing adult reports, including when - and even if - they will accept one.

Tennessee law does not address missing adults, but mandates that police agencies send the TBI copies of all reports of missing persons under age 21.

"It is literally not possible" for most police agencies to fully investigate every missing person case it receives, said Kenna Quinet, associate professor at the Indianapolis campus of Indiana University and Purdue University who has studied missing persons cases and serial murder. "There are too many of them, and not that many missing persons detectives."

Filing a report

It was the circumstances of Megan Maxwell's case that launched an immediate police investigation.

"In Megan's case, it was obvious from the start (that something was wrong)," Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults said. "But if that burned car had not been found - and given her age - we might not have gone with a full-tilt investigation right away."

Law enforcement officers, private organizations and volunteers have searched woods, river banks, rock quarries. On June 13, a Hamblen County landfill was searched.

In the meantime, Jeffrey Lee Stock, 41, of Del Rio, was arrested on federal charges of not registering as a convicted sex offender. He has been questioned in the case but not charged. Shults will only say that investigators from his department and the Cocke County Sheriff's Office are looking at "several" leads and angles.

Without some indication of foul play or endangerment, Shults and other law enforcement officers say, the report of a missing adult doesn't draw the attention that Maxwell's case has.

Federal law mandates that all law enforcement agencies accept reports of any missing person under 21 years of age, and file those reports with NCIC. But it's a different story with adults.

It's not a crime for an adult to disappear of his or her own choosing. A disappearance is not in and of itself evidence of a crime.

"They can decide to just go away for lots of different reasons," said Lt. Clyde Cowan, head of the Knox County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit. "We have located some who said they didn't want to go back, didn't even want (the person who filed the report) to know where they are."

If such a person is 18 or over, Cowan said, KCSO will notify the family that the person was found, but will not disclose where.

Shults said his department sometimes waits 24 hours before accepting an adult missing persons report, if there is no indication of foul play or endangerment. But he said that is not required, and each situation is judged individually.

Many people mistakenly believe there is a law that police can't take a missing persons report for at least 24 hours. That myth persists largely because of TV shows, Cowan said.

In a highly publicized 1999 Knox County case, Larry Meyer's wife waited 24 hours to report him missing because she thought the law required it, Cowan recalled. Meyer, 68, was eventually found hanging in a wooded area. The death was ruled a suicide.

Though their procedures differ in some ways, KCSO and the Knoxville Police Department both say they will accept a report without delay, and have it reviewed by a trained investigator.

"A lot of times, by the time we get all that done, the person has already returned or been found," Cowan said. If not, the report is usually entered in NCIC, even if there is sparse or no indication of foul play or endangerment.

"You don't want to be the one who didn't enter a report, and have it later turn out to be an abduction or a murder," KPD Capt. Gary Holliday said.

But unlike missing children reports, it is not mandatory that adult cases be entered into NCIC. That decision is entirely up to the agency with which the report was filed.

Matching reports with remains

This year, the U.S. Justice Department launched the third and final stage of its National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NaMus. Initiated in 2007, it is designed to foster comparison between a comprehensive database containing information about missing persons cases and another containing information about unidentified human remains in morgues around the country.

The missing persons database will also have a separate section accessible by law enforcement agencies, where investigators can include information they do not wish made public.

Many police agencies are just now learning of NAMUS and its free availability to them, said Todd Matthews of Livingston, Tenn., who is Southeast regional director for the project.

"We are hoping that law enforcement will use this as an investigative tool, and that getting this information to the public may provide some tips or leads for law enforcement," Matthews said.

Though most police agencies today pay better attention to missing persons cases than in the past, there is still room for improvement, says Dr. Steven Egger, a criminologist and professor at the University of Houston at Clear Lake.

"The problem with adult and even teenage missing persons cases is that unless you have a large police department with a section or investigator designated to deal with them, a lot of them can fall by the wayside," said Egger, a recognized authority on serial killers who has also studied missing persons cases.

Egger said he has found that some agencies are still less than attentive to reports of teenagers, and even pre-teens who go missing, because so many of them are runaways who quickly return or are repeat runaways.

Egger said he would like to see states adopt a uniform policy and system of handling missing persons reports and interagency sharing of them.

"Missing persons are of interest to me because I maintain that a number of them who are never found may well be victims of serial killers," Egger said. "But who knows how many?"

'Impossible to know'

There's another "How many?" question that cannot be answered: How many missing persons are there?

In 2008, there were 778,161 missing persons cases filed with NCIC. The 102,764 cases still listed as "active" includes those initially reported in previous years. NCIC began keeping missing persons reports in 1975.

Even though NCIC received cancellation notice in 2008 of 745,088 reports, that also includes many that were filed in previous years, said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson.

Not only do local police not have to enter missing adult reports in NCIC, they are not always told when someone who has been reported missing resurfaces.

Additionally, the FBI does not know if it is receiving all reports of missing juveniles as the law requires, Bresson said.

"It is impossible to know for certain that every single record that is supposed to be entered has been entered," Bresson said. "But we regularly meet with and train police agencies about this system."

Related story

• Read the related story of Dennis Martin who went missing in the Smokies in 1969

Missing-persons reports filed with FBI in 2008*

In Tennessee

• Filed: 12,620
• Canceled: 12,415
• Still active: 205

Active Knox County cases for 2008 - 15

• Younger than 18: 10
• 18 and older: 5
• Male: 7
• Female: 8
• White: 9
• Black: 6

Active Knoxville cases for 2008 - 14

• Younger than 18: 9
• 18 and older: 5
• Male: 6
• Female: 8
• White: 8
• Black: 6

*Law enforcement agencies generally notify the FBI of all active missing-persons reports, but they have the option of not doing so if the person is 21 or older. Also, families don't always promptly notify local agencies when a missing person returns.

Source: FBI's National Crime Information Center

Jim Balloch can be reached at 865-342-6315.

Stock arraigned in U.S. District Court

Published: 10:44 AM, 06/18/2009

Source: The Newport Plain Talk

GREENEVILLE-Jeffrey Lee Stock, 41, of Newport, was scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court today on charges of traveling in interstate commerce and failing to register as a sex offender.

Stock, who was indicted earlier this month by a federal grand jury, is presently detained in the Grainger County Jail on charges placed by the Cocke County Sheriff's Office according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office.

U.S. Attorney Russ Dedrick said Stock violated the federal "Adam Walsh Act" by being a convicted sex offender who traveled from Florida to Tennessee and failed to register with authorities here.

Stock, he said, has also been identified by Cocke County authorities as "a person of interest" in the disappearance of Newport teenager Megan Maxwell.

If convicted of the federal charges, Stock faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years; a maximum term of supervised release of up to life; a maximum fine of $250,000, and a $100 special assessment.

The indictment of Stock is the result of an investigation by the United States Marshal's Service, the Cocke County Sheriff's Department, the District Attorney General for the Fourth Judicial District, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Knox County Sheriff's Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Smith will represent the United States.

Landfill searched for Maxwell

06/13/2009

Author: Nelson Morais
Source: The Newport Plain Talk

MORRISTOWN-As of presstime Saturday, search of a landfill in Hamblen County had not resulted in the discovery of the body of missing teenager Megan Maxwell.

The search of the TIDI Waste Landfill in Hamblen County began at about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and included the use of at least four highly-trained, human remains searching dogs, according to Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults.

Heavy equipment was being used to search for Maxwell's body in an area 90 feet by 100 feet, with a depth of zero to 10 feet, according to Shults.

Approximately two-thirds of the designated area had been dug up and sifted through by about 3 p.m. when the NPT last spoke with the police chief.

Shults said a total of 18 people were at the landfill participating in the search, including four employees of the landfill and officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), the Cocke County Sheriff's Department, the 4th Judicial District Attorney General's office, and the Newport Police Department.

Maxwell, 19, disappeared very early Sunday morning on April 26. Her Mitsubishi Eclipse vehicle was found burned up about six miles east of Newport. She has apparently not been seen or heard from since that day.

Shults said each scoopful of dirt and garbage in the landfill was picked up by heavy equipment and shaken and checked for Maxwell's body.

"It looks like we'll complete this search today," Shults said.

He said weather conditions were hot, and that officials were working in a wide open area without shade, but with a breeze.

Search of landfill for Megan Maxwell clues comes up dry

Search of landfill for Megan Maxwell clues comes up dry

Posted: June 13, 2009 10:42 PM

NEWPORT (WATE) -- Search teams scoured the TiDi waste landfill in Hamblen County today for any sign of missing Cocke County teen Megan Maxwell, but so far, no luck.

Teams of cadaver dogs searched a large area of the landfill but turned up no evidence of her. Maxwell, 19, disappeared over a month ago.

Her burned out car was found near the FrenchBbroad river in Newport...

Jeffrey Stock is currently the lead suspect in the case. Maxwell's mother says Stock and Megan's father were friends, and the two men argued over a truck the night megan disappeared.

No sign of missing Newport woman in landfill search

News Sentinel staff
Originally published 06:38 p.m., June 13, 2009
Updated 06:38 p.m., June 13, 2009

LOWLAND, Tenn. — The continuing search for a missing 19-year-old woman hit another dead end Saturday when a dig at a Hamblen County landfill yielded no clues.

The search for Megan Maxwell began April 26 after an off-duty Newport police officer spotted her 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse burning on U.S. Highway 25/70. She’d talked to a friend just before 4:30 a.m. as she left her father’s home on Mineral Street.

A dumpster near the father’s house was emptied around the time of Maxwell’s disappearance. That led authorities to the TiDi Waste landfill in Lowland outside Morristown, Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults said.

Newport officers, along with Cocke County deputies, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents and a team of nationally certified handlers of cadaver-finding dogs searched the landfill Saturday with no success, the chief said.

The state is offering a $10,000 reward for any tips leading to an arrest and conviction in Maxwell’s “death or disappearance.”

Jeffrey Lee Stock, a 41-year-old convicted sex offender from Del Rio, has been questioned in the case. A federal grand jury indicted him this week on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender.

Police described Maxwell as white, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and about 115 pounds. She wore a blue sweatshirt and tattered blue jeans the day she disappeared.

Police asked that anyone with information in the case call 423-623-5556, ext. 105, or 623-1285.

Update: Search for missing teen has family, police at odds

Alison Morrow Updated: 6/8/2009

The search for missing 19-year-old Megan Maxwell continued Monday afternoon, but Megan's mother, Lisa Maxwell, says it's what didn't happen that grabbed her attention.

"It's been 6 weeks now, and we have nothing. Nothing. I don't understand it," Maxwell said.

Megan went missing on Sunday, April 26. Her car was found burning near the French Broad River, and her whereabouts remain a mystery.

Police quickly launched a search of the river, but Maxwell believes since then, they haven't done enough to bring Megan home.

"The first three days of this, I got on camera, and I bragged about how well the police were doing," Maxwell said. "After that, everything went to nothing."

Last weekend, the Newport Police Department canceled a planned search of a Hamblen County landfill for the second time. They blamed it on logistical complications, but Megan's family says it's just another example of a faulty investigation.

"I'm getting angry. It just seems like we're having to get out here and beg," Maxwell said.

"As time goes on, you feel sad and you feel like Megan's being let down," said Megan's grandmother, Judy O'Neil.

"What if it were their daughter?" Maxwell sighed.

Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults responds that they're doing everything in their power to bring the investigation to a successful end.

"It doesn't look like progress is being made, but we're e-mailing constantly with outside agencies, phone calls, coordinating things," he said.

Chief Shults says they've called in help like the Knox County Rescue Squad and argues combing through miles of water without a lead would be a waste.

"If we start utilizing all our manpower and equipment researching and researching the same places, we're not gaining anything," Shults said. "If I could take Megan home today, it would be the best day of my life."

Chief Shults adds that patience and diligence now may make the difference between a succesful or failed prosecution later.

"We've got to prepare that it may be a while and we want to be thoroughly prepared to place the person who did this, or persons, in prison for the rest of their lives."

But with every hour that passes with no news, Megan's family says waiting gets that much more difficult.

"Each day that goes by is a wasted day," Maxwell said.

Search for missing teen has family, police at odds

6/8/2009

When Megan Maxwell's car was found burned and Maxwell herself went missing, Cocke County authorities launched a search to find the Newport teen.

In those first three days, Maxwell's mother and grandmother say they were very proud of the work that Newport Police and the Cocke County Sheriff's Office did.

But as the search has worn on with no sign of Maxwell's location, her family is seeing mis-steps and problems. Mother Lisa Maxwell said the investigation had gone downhill.

"What if it were their daughter? This would be different," Maxwell said. She said she understands the department is a small one, but she expresses frustration that more outside resources haven't been called in.

"Bringing Megan home would be the best day of my life," Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults said Monday. Shults said the department is doing everything it can in the search, investigating new leads.

But Shults said unless they have a new lead, a blanket search is not a good use of manpower, without a specific lead to bring them somewhere.

Shults did say he hadn't been in contact with the family as often now as in the early days of the search, but he does feel the department has pulled in outside resources wherever prudent.

Two searches of area landfills have been canceled due to equipment problems or the right dogs being unavailable.

Searches continue for Maxwell

Searches continue for Maxwell

06/08/2009

Author: Staff Report
Source: The Newport Plain Talk

NEWPORT-Although a search for Megan Maxwell in the Tidi Waste Landfill in Hamblen County this weekend was canceled, two other searches for the missing Newport teenager were held this weekend.

Maxwell has been missing since April 26, when her burned car was found about seven miles east of Newport.

According to authorities, they were unable to get a search organized at the landfill this weekend. No future date has been set.

However, CUE Center conducted a search on Douglas Lake Saturday and the Brushy Mountain Bear Club used members and volunteers to search in the Del Rio area.

In addition, CUE is offering a $5,000 reward for anyone who can lead searchers to the direct location of Megan Maxwell; this reward will only last for ten (10) days and will begin June 5th and end at midnight on June 15.
The public does not have to reveal their identify and can be assured the funds will be paid for information that will lead to the discovery of Maxwell.

Confidential tips can also be submitted through Megan's site.
Megan Maxwell website:http://www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com.

CUE Center volunteers also organized a candlelight service, distributed massive posters of Megan, requesting aid nationwide and even got her case featured on America's Most Wanted Show, which aired again June 6 and will remain on their Web site; they have also erected a Web site for Megan which can be viewed at www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com.

The Missing, a new Internet show produced in Crossville, has also joined the cause.
The Missing is an online program to help gain exposure for missing children and adult cases in hopes of bringing them home safely, as well as to help pass along information to help families keep their children safe.

In a recent episode host Scott Davis features information and the picture of Megan Maxwell the 19-year-old female missing from Newport.

Davis resides in Crossville. Visit this link to view this episode, MEGAN MAXWELL <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5fMzkg2a3c&feature=channel_page>.
"We feel that any additional exposure for a missing person is valuable, and where a person may not tune into local news channels or local papers they may look at the Internet," said Davis. "In some cases the victim may be taken out of the immediate area and someone that views our program from another state could make the call that makes a difference."

Currently the show has been visited by viewers in 50 states and an estimated 31 countries worldwide and has received thousands of views via their site and YouTube.
The program is broadcast weekly on the internet via www.YouTube.com/themisingtv <http://www.youtube.com/themisingtv> ; in and through links placed on their site at www.themissing.tv <http://www.themissing.tv/>; and shared with other similar sites to help gain exposure for the cases they will cover on The Missing.

CUE Center For Missing Persons continues their search for Megan Maxwell

Search resumes for missing Cocke County teen

June 07, 2009

COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Rescue teams plan to be back out in the morning searching for a 19 year old Cocke County teen who went missing more than five weeks ago and her car found burned.

41 year old Jeff Stock remains a person of interest in the case.

He was arrested within a day of Megan Maxwell's disappearance on charges of failing to register as a sex offender.

"It means a whole lot. The more people we have out here, the better chance we have of finding Megan," says Lisa Maxwell.

Megan Maxwell's mother holds on to hope that her 19 year old daughter will be found.

On Saturday, a bear hunting group served as a search team by land.

"A lot of areas have been covered but there are still areas that have yet to be searched and that's where we have to focus now," says Lori Roberts with the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

While a Ducks Unlimited group and the CUE Center for Missing Persons hit Douglas Lake searching rivers like the French Broad which dump into the lake for the missing teen.

"The cadaver dogs they can eliminate a large area where it's not possible to do on foot," says Eddie Elleman with the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

Lisa Maxwell feels the Netty Mountain area is a very important area to search, first because that's where person of interest Jeff Stock lives.

"Which is not real far from where the car was found burning so that's a real important area," says Maxwell.

After five weeks, the searching is getting tough for family members and those close to them but giving up is not an option.

"Because I have sixteen year old daughters, I would want someone to do it for me. Lisa would be here for me," says Teresa Moore.

And giving up is not being talked about by searchers either.

"We remain very optimistic that we will be able to locale Megan," says Roberts.

Meanwhile, Megan's family holds on to hope she will be found.

"It's tough. I mean, not knowing is the toughest part. We have to find Megan for closure," says Teresa Moore, a family friend.

"We're not giving up until she's found," says Maxwell.

A search of the Hamblen county landfill was postponed Saturday due to equipment issues.

Authorities say there were some dumpsters near the last known location of the girl that had been dumped at the landfill.

Megan's mother, Lisa Maxwell says they can always use more boaters, searchers, and kayakers to comb the French Broad River and other locations.

Volunteers search Douglas Lake for missing Newport teen

Volunteers search Douglas Lake for missing Newport teen

June 6, 2009 02:24 PM

By HARLOW SUMERFORD
6 News Reporter

NEWPORT (WATE) -- Lisa Maxwell watched from a boat ramp Saturday as a team of volunteers searched for her daughter Megan.

Similar searches over the last few weeks have been unsuccessful.

The 19-year-old from Cocke County was reported missing in late April.

"With each day that passes, I don't know, it gets harder. At times I feel like, I know deep down I'm probably going to get bad news, but we have to find her," Mrs. Maxwell said.

Saturday was an all-volunteer effort. Dozens of people donated their time, their boats, even specially-trained recovery dogs.

Crew members say they know there is a chance her body is in the lake, so they plan to search every inch.

A couple of boats cruised along the shoreline with volunteers and a cadaver dog on board. On board one boat was Libby, a certified cadaver dog trying to pick up a scent.

If she hits on a scent, a second crew will be called in to search that spot.

Leading the search Saturday was a non-profit group from North Carolina, the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

Still, a lot of people like Teresa Moore are from the Newport community.

Moore said she has known Megan since she was a little girl.

"We aren't going to give up hope and we aren't going to give up on finding her. We are here until, it doesn't matter if it takes another day, another week, six weeks, we aren't going to stop until we find her," said Moore.

Other crews, including members of Ducks Unlimited and a local bear hunters group, searched parts of the county by foot on Saturday.

Megan Maxwell

Crews, family press on in search for missing teen

Alison Morrow
6/6/2009

The search for missing 19-year-old Megan Maxwell brought crews to Douglas Lake again Saturday, this time with recovery dogs.

Maxwell was last heard from early the morning of April 26th. Investigators found her car burning just hours later.

Even though Sunday marks six weeks since Megan went missing, family members say every day the search continues is like re-living the first day they knew she was gone.

Riverbeds and forests have become the daily scenery for Megan's mother, Lisa, who says hope runs dry by the day. "You get very impatient, aggravated. When I get up, if I've gotten sleep at all, I just think, 'Today might be the day that we find her'," she said.


400 acres of land and water in and around Douglas Lake are the latest scene crews hope may hold the answer to the question of what happened to Megan.

"The dogs are looking to see if maybe Megan was put into the French Broad or the Pigeon River and could've possibly gotten down into Douglas Lake," said Lori Roberts with the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

The Newport Police Department had scheduled to search a nearby landfill Saturday, but cancelled it for logistical reasons.

Forty-two days of searching and waiting have passed with no news, and Lisa Maxwell says it still feels like day one.

"Since that day, my life has done a complete turn-around and I don't think it will ever be the same. I feel like there's just a great big part of me that's gone," Maxwell said.

Crews say that just checking sites off their lists is progress.

"We remain very hopeful that in the process of elimination, we will locate Megan," Roberts said.

For Megan's mom, though, success only lies in finding her.

"The worst is that I don't find her at all. I can't imagine going years and years without finding her," Maxwell said.

CUE's search of Douglas Lake will continue Sunday. Anyone with information is asked to call their 24 hour hotline at (910) 232-1687.

Search for missing Cocke County teen intensifies

WATE 6

By ERICA ESTEP
6 News Anc

Anchor/Reporter

June 5, 2009

NEWPORT (WATE) -- The search for a missing Cocke County teen is intensifying as her mother struggles to piece together the clues to find her.

19-year-old Megan Maxwell has been missing for more than a month. Her mother Lisa Maxwell says there are no new leads. "Not knowing, not knowing keeps you up at night," says Maxwell. "You can't concentrate on anything else. It never leaves your mind and it's just the not knowing and that is why we've got to find Megan."

Saturday a national search team will be combing Douglas Lake in Jefferson County using boats with sonar equipment and even cadaver dogs. They will be looking for Megan Maxwell's body, a difficult thought for her mother, but she's thankful for the help.

"Either way we have to find her," says Lisa Maxwell, "She's been missing, Sunday will be six weeks."

The search of Douglas Lake will focus on the outskirts of the lake, the cove areas where a body could easily become trapped if it surfaces.

The lake covers more than 30,000 acres. The search could take days.

Meanwhile, the prime suspect, Jeffery Stock has not been charged, but Megan's mother feels he's responsible. "I know he is," she says. "I know he is. That's why we've got to find Megan and prove it so he gets what he deserves."

The night Megan disappeared, her mom says Jeffery Stock was at Megan's father's home. "She had gotten a phone call saying something was going on at her dad's, the police were at her daddy's, so she got out of bed to go check on him," recalls Lisa.

Lisa says Stock and Megan's father were friends. That night she says the two were arguing over Stock's truck that Mr. Maxwell had towed. Lisa says Stock was there when Megan left to return home. An hour and a half later Megan's car was found burned alongside the highway.

Stock has a lengthy criminal history and he's a registered sex offender. He currently being held in the Cocke County jail on un-related charges.

Group to search Douglas Lake for missing Newport teen

NEWPORT (WATE) -- The CUE Center for Missing Persons plans to search Saturday on Douglas Lake and two rivers for missing Newport teen Megan Maxwell.

Crews will also go to the Pigeon River and the French Broad River.

CUE's search coincides with a search planned this weekend by local authorities at a Hamblen County landfill where trash from Newport is taken.

Maxwell, 19, was last heard from at 4:27 a.m. on Sunday, April 26. Her red 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was found later on East Highway 25/70 destroyed by fire.

Maxwell's family asked CUE to join the search in May. Besides helping put up ribbons and posters in Newport, CUE also brought in teams that searched wooded areas near the French Broad River, near where the teen's car was found.

Local enforcement has searched the French Broad River multiple times, but each search came up empty.

CUE is offering a $5,000 reward for "anyone who can lead us to the direct location of Megan Maxwell." The offer expires at midnight on June 15.

The state is offering a $10,000 reward, with no expiration date, for information in the case.

The public can submit confidential tips about Maxwell through the Web site www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com

PLEASE TUNE INTO AMERICAS MOST WANTED THIS WEEKEND,SATURDAY JUNE 6th,AS MEGAN MAXWELL'S CASE WILL ALSO BE A FEATURED STORY

HERE IS A RUNDOWN OF AMERICAS MOST WANTED SHOW FOR THIS WEEKEND ...

06/03/09 -CUE is back in TN today and will search Saturday 06/06/09, on Lake Douglas for Megan Maxwell.

CUE Center is offering a $5,000.00 reward for anyone who can lead us to the direct location of Megan Maxwell; this reward will only last for ten (10) days and will begin June 5th and end at midnight on June 15, 2009,

The public does not have to reveal their identify and can be assured the funds will be paid for information that will leads us to the discovery of Megan.

Confidential Tips can also be submitted through Megan's site.
Megan Maxwell website.
http://www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com


CUE Center volunteers are not sitting idle, they organized a candle light service, distributed massive posters of Megan, requesting aid nationwide and even got her case featured on America’s Most Wanted Show which will air again this Saturday night, June 6th and will remain on their website; they have also erected a website for Megan which can be viewed at www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com

CUE Center is offering a $5,000.00 reward for anyone who can lead us to the direct location of Megan Maxwell; this reward will only last for ten (10) days and will begin June 5th and end at midnight on June 15, 2009,

The public does not have to reveal their identify and can be assured the funds will be paid for information that will leads us to the discovery of Megan.

CUE is back in TN today and will search Saturday 06/06/09, on Lake Douglas for Megan Maxwell.

06/03/09 -CUE is back in TN today and will search Saturday 06/06/09, on Lake Douglas for Megan Maxwell.

CUE Center is offering a $5,000.00 reward for anyone who can lead us to the direct location of Megan Maxwell; this reward will only last for ten (10) days and will begin June 5th and end at midnight on June 15, 2009,

The public does not have to reveal their identify and can be assured the funds will be paid for information that will leads us to the discovery of Megan.

Confidential Tips can also be submitted through Megan's site.
Megan Maxwell website.
http://www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com


CUE Center volunteers are not sitting idle, they organized a candle light service, distributed massive posters of Megan, requesting aid nationwide and even got her case featured on America’s Most Wanted Show which will air again this Saturday night, June 6th and will remain on their website; they have also erected a website for Megan which can be viewed at www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com


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AMW Missing DATA FILE FOR Megan Nicole Maxwell

AMW Missing DATA FILE FOR

Megan Nicole Maxwell

19 4/26/09 June 04 2009 more

Missing Teen's Family Turns To Local Group For Clues Weeks after Tennessee teenager Megan Maxwell's mysterious disappearance, cops still have few leads on what might have happened. Megan's family has turned to a local group, the CUE Center for Missing Persons, and asked them to join the search. >>The Full Story More Missing Tenn. Women: >>Cops: Teen Kidnapped By Family Friend >>Family Gathers To Honor Jennifer And Adrianna Wix Last updated: June 03 2009

Quarry search for Maxwell turns up nothing new

Quarry search for Maxwell turns up nothing new

(c)2009 NPT PHOTOS BY DAVID POPIEL
District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn observes the search for Megan Maxwell in an old rock quarry Tuesday afternoon. Members of the Cocke County Rescue Squad, Cocke County Sheriff's Office and Newport Police Department continue to search for Maxwell, who has been missing more than a month. Inset is a photo crews searching near the banks of the quarry.

06/04/2009

Author: Nelson Morais
Source: The Newport Plain Talk

NEWPORT-Two divers with the Newport/Cocke County Rescue Squad on Tuesday came up empty when they searched the murky waters in the old county rock quarry for the body of Megan Maxwell. It took them two hours to complete their search in waters closest to the edge of cliffs that surround most of the quarry. They did not find her. "It yielded nothing," said Police Chief Maurice Shults of the search.

Maxwell, 19, disappeared early Sunday morning on April 26 east of Newport. Her Mitsubishi Eclipse vehicle was found burned. On a cliff overseeing the operation, Chief Shults said he and members of the Rescue Squad searched the area two weeks ago, but without divers at that time. Jimmy Dunn, district attorney general, who was also at the quarry, said, "We're doing what we do every day of the week-search" for Maxwell's whereabouts. The two divers with the Cocke County Sheriff's Department were Sgt. Armando Fontes and Danny Ray Reece, a school resource officer. Dunn said of the quarry, "In the 1970s, it wasn't uncommon to find bodies here."

In another development, the Brushy Mountain Bear Club announced it will sponsor a search for Maxwell on Saturday, June 6. Members of the club and any other volunteers from the community are welcome to participate in the search. Searchers will meet at the Jones Nature Center across from Del Rio Elementary School at 8 a.m. Organizers said they need hikers, as well as drivers in vehicles, to help with Saturday's search. Volunteer searchers are encouraged to wear orange shirts and bring hand-held radios or CB radios, if they have them. Organizers will provide water to the searchers.

Dump dig to check for body of missing teen

Dump dig to check for body of missing teen
Police say sex offender may know more about disappearance
By Matt Lakin
Thursday, June 4, 2009

Five weeks haven't brought an answer in a 19-year-old woman's disappearance.

Newport police hope digging through a landfill this weekend will.

The Morristown dump might hold Megan Maxwell's body, Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults said Wednesday. Investigators are questioning a man they think knows what happened, he said.

"Our first concern right now is the recovery of Megan's body," the chief said. "We're holding out hope she might be alive, but we want to see if she's there."

Police, rescuers, family and friends have searched for Maxwell since the morning of April 26, when an off-duty officer spotted her 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse burning on U.S. Highway 25/70 near a riverbank. She'd talked to a friend that Sunday just before 4:30 a.m., saying she was leaving her father's home on Mineral Street.

Investigators believe Jeffrey Lee Stock, a 41-year-old convicted sex offender from Del Rio, might know more, the chief said. He didn't call Stock a suspect but said Stock knew Maxwell's father and that Stock owned a car towed from the father's house that morning by police.

Stock's now jailed on a charge of violating the state sex offender registry law, the chief said. He's not charged in Maxwell's disappearance.

"We don't think he's being forthcoming with us completely," Shults said.

Stock's father, Terry Stock, said his son and the family have tried to cooperate with police.

"I hope they find this girl and get it resolved, but my son's not a suspect," he said.

Authorities have offered a $10,000 reward for any tips leading to the arrest or conviction of "any person responsible for (Maxwell's) death or disappearance." Five weeks of searching the French Broad River, quarries and acres of surrounding property have proven fruitless, the chief said.

The chief said investigators expect their next stop will be the Tidi Waste Systems landfill in Lowland outside Morristown - the last destination for city trash, including a bin near the father's house that crews emptied the day after Maxwell's disappearance.

"This weekend we'll try to do some excavation there," Shults said. "We know exactly where the spot is, and nothing's being placed on top of it. There could be something there. My hope every day is that we'll find Megan and bring her home to her mama, but we've got to be realistic."

Landfill to be searched for Newport teen

Landfill to be searched for Newport teen

June 3, 2009

NEWPORT, Tenn. -- A state prosecutor says a landfill in Hamblen County will be searched for a missing young woman from Newport.

WATE-TV in Knoxville quoted District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn as saying a trash container near the home of Megan Maxwell's father had been emptied not long after her disappearance April 26.

The 19-year-old Maxwell had checked on the welfare of her father and phoned a friend that she was coming home. Her burned car was found later that morning along a highway.

Dunn said equipment will be used to excavate about a dozen feet into the landfill over the weekend and searchers hope to have cadaver dogs to aid them.

The state is offering a $10,000 reward in the case.

Person of interest in Cocke County teen's disappearance

Jun 2, 2009

NEWPORT, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Megan Maxwell has now been missing for more than 5 weeks.

But new tonight, details of a man arrested on an unrelated charge, but perhaps not unrelated to her disappearance.

Cocke county Sheriff Claude Strange confirms 41 year old Jeffrey Lee Stock is being held on a sex offender violation.

Strange calls him a person of interest in Maxwells disappearance.

Megan's mother says Jeffrey Lee Stock was a friend of Megan's father, and was last seen with Megan by a police officer.

Megan's mother Lisa Maxwell says, "I think there's some people out there who know something. They're just not speaking up and I don't understand that."

The Cocke County Sheriff identifies 41 year old Jeffrey Lee Stock as a person of interest in connection with Megan's disappearance.

He's being held on an unrelated sex offender violation but Newport police say evidence puts Stock at Megan's father's home, the last place she was seen alive.

Megan's father had Stock's car towed from his home the morning she disappeared.

"The first encounter anyone with law enforcement was when he came back when the wrecker was loading the truck," says Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults.

Maxwell says her daughter only knew Stock as an acquaintance of her father's.

"She didn't like him and I know that she had run him off from up there before," says Maxwell.

It was just over an hour and a half later when Megan's Mitsubishi Eclipse was found burning off Old Asheville Highway.

Maxwell's mother says police told her Stock was seen driving Megan's car and visiting acquaintances moments before the car was found burning.

"Said Jeff pulled up in the car and asked for a lighter and was fiddling with something in the trunk of the car," says Maxwell.

Maxwell says she feels Stock had something to do with her daughter's disappearance but says she's committed to finding her daughter.

Maxwell says, "I want Megan found no matter what it takes, no matter who we got to get in here to get it done. The number one thing is finding Megan."

Stock's case of failing to register as a sex offender was sent to a Cocke County Grand Jury May 20th.

Lisa Maxwell says they're offering a five hundred dollar reward for any information on jewelry and stereo equipment, she says, was stolen from Megan's vehicle.

Megan's case will be featured on the show "America's Most Wanted" this Saturday June 6th.

Police plan to interview person of interest in case of missing Newport teen

Kevin Massey
Updated: 6/2/2009 8:41:18 PM
Posted: 6/2/2009 8:09:27 PM

Police in Newport plan to question a person of interest in the case of missing teenager Megan Maxwell.

The man was behind bars Tuesday on unrelated charges, according to Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults.

The 19-year-old disappeared in April. Her burning car was found a few miles from her home.

Extensive searches since then have failed to come up with clues.

Shults said the person of interest is not considered a suspect at this time and is not charged in the Maxwell case.

June 02 ,2009 Press Release- CUE Center

*** For IMMEDIATE RELEASE*****
06/02/09


Missing Persons Organization Gains National Attention for Missing Teen
CUE Center for Missing Persons continues the search for Megan Maxwell


Wilmington, NC – It has been more than a month that Megan Maxwell vanished in the early morning hours on April 26, 2009 and little remains known about her disappearance other than her vehicle, a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse that was found burning the morning of April 26th on U.S. Highway 25/70 by a passing off-duty officer. Megan was last seen at her father’s home on that same day before she vanished.

As days turned into weeks her family and friends conducted their own searches with the aid of volunteers and an urgency to locate Megan. Now they have reached out to the CUE Center for Missing Persons who traveled from North Carolina and brought in additional resources from other states searching for close to two weeks; “we had to leave temporarily to re group and bring back more search teams, we will not give up:, said CUE’s founder, Monica Caison. “Once the landfill search is conducted the center plans to return and re focused their search in areas on land and water”, she added.

In the recent search effort CUE brought in K9 cadaver to search on land and water, sonar equipment, water/boat teams and had planned to work from the air however that promised to the group fell through; “we now have a private group willing to fly for us to search from the air and that will happen very soon” said, Monica Caison. The group’s volunteers are not sitting idle, they organized a candle light service, distributed massive posters of Megan, requesting aid nationwide and even got her case featured on America’s Most Wanted Show which will air again this Saturday night, June 6th and will remain on their website; they have also erected a website for Megan which can be viewed at www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com

This past Saturday night Megan would have graduated from Cox County High School, her parents attended as they watched the entire graduating class swift by wearing yellow ribbons in honored of Megan and listen to a speaker who made an announcement about Megan and to remember her in prayer, said Lisa Maxwell, Megan’s mother. “It was bitter sweet, but it made me feel good that others cared enough to include her”, she added.

“Our family in collaboration with the CUE Center is offering a $5,000.00 reward for anyone who can lead us to the direct location of Megan Maxwell; this reward will only last for ten (10) days and will begin June 5th and end at midnight on June 15, 2009”, said Lisa Maxwell, the missing teens mother. “The public does not have to reveal their identify and can be assured the funds will be paid for information that will leads us to the discovery of Megan, said CUE’s founder, Monica Caison.
In addition to the $5,000.00 reward, a family member who wishes to remain anonymous is offering a $500.00 cash reward for information on the whereabouts of Megan’s car speaker and her Jewelry; both rewards are offered with no questions asked.
“It is our hope that with the numerous efforts being made and people willing to help in this case a resolution will follow for her family soon; many times it becomes unbearable and we want to leave no stone unturned to locate Megan”, said, Monica Caison. This is a real tragedy and is happening to our family, it is about our daughter, we want her found and our voices heard”, said Lisa Maxwell.

In anyone has information of the whereabouts of Mean Maxwell or her disappearance is asked to call the Newport Police Department 423-623-5556 or center for Missing Person (910) 343-1131 or the 24 hour tip line (910) 232-1687, all calls are confidential.

You may also submit a tip on Megan’s website at http://www.helpfindmeganmaxwell.com


Reward Information - Recap
Governors Reward $10,000.00
10 Day Cash Reward $5,000.00
Speaker and Jewelry Information Cash Reward $500.00

America’s Most Wanted
http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=65255



CUE Center for Missing Persons
PO Box 12714
Wilmington, NC 28405
(910) 343-1131
(910) 232-1687
cuecenter@aol.com
www.ncmissingpersons.org




In 1994 the CUE Center for Missing Persons was founded to aid cases of missing persons nationwide; funded entirely by donations and staffed by volunteers. CUE Founder Monica Caison, has dedicated her life to the plight of missing people; which is focused on finding the missing, advocating for their causes, and supporting their families. Since its inception, CUE has helped more than 8,500 families in what is often the most confusing and desperate times of their lives

Americas Most Wanted

AMW.com | Megan Maxwell - Missing Person

April 26, 2009 ... America's Most Wanted is a long-running American TV show produced by 20th Century Fox, and is the longest-running program of any kind in the ...

CLB votes to help in Maxwell search $10,000 appropriated for landfill search

05/19/2009

http://newportplaintalk.com/story/29237

Author: Rick Hooper
Source: The Newport Plain Talk

NEWPORT-The Cocke County Legislative Body voted Monday night to provide $10,000 to help search the Tidi-Waste Landfill in Hamblen County for Megan Maxwell, a 19-year-old Newport woman missing since April 26.

The money was offered by Sheriff Claude Strange from his department's reserves in the gas fund line item.
"We need to investigate every avenue," said Fourth Judicial District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn, who first posed the request to the Finance Committee in a meeting prior to Monday's CLB meeting.
"A few years ago, we had a lady disappear and it was learned years later that her body went into the landfill. I would hate for it to come up four or five years later that this happened to Megan Maxwell."

Dunn said investigators want to search a 250 ft. by 250 ft., 12-foot deep section in the landfill.
"We will need at least two pieces of equipment and it costs $120 per hour to operate them," said Dunn. "If you can help, we would appreciate it. If you can't, I understand."
Dunn initially requested $7,000 for the search effort. Cocke County Detective Derrick Woods, however, suggested providing $10,000 for the project.
"I've been talking to the people at the landfill and it could take two days or two weeks," said Woods.
"I don't think Dunn would ask us for this if he didn't have a reason," said CLB member Norman Smith.
"General Dunn's Office has worked very hard on this case and I think it would be good if we could help," added County Mayor Iliff McMahan Jr.

Henry "Skip" Gregory moved to transfer the funds for the search in the Finance Committee, with a second offered by Love Henderson. Members unanimously approved the measure as did the full CLB.

Group mounts new search for missing Newport teen

May 19, 2009

NEWPORT (WATE) -- The CUE Center for Missing Persons is searching wooded trails near the French Broad River Tuesday for Megan Maxwell, 19, who's been missing for three weeks.

CUE has brought in search teams from Missouri, Kentucky and North Carolina, along with dog teams and sonar equipment.

The search area is near the spot where Maxwell's red 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was found on East Highway 25/70 destroyed by fire.

Maxwell was last heard from at 4:27 a.m. on Sunday, April 26.

Megan's mother, Lisa Maxwell, asked CUE to help with the search for her daughter.

Search teams from Newport and Cocke County searched the river previously, but so far, there's been no sign of Maxwell.

Family and friends held a candlelight vigil on May 14. The next day, they put up posters and ribbons on a two-mile stretch of road in Newport.

The state is offering a $10,000 reward for information in the case.

If you have any information about this case, call (423)-623-5556.

Search efforts continue for Maxwell

5/17/2009

Author: Nelson Morais
Source: The Newport Plain Talk

NEWPORT-District Attorney Jimmy Dunn told The Newport Plain Talk on Friday that law enforcement officers were "pursuing every possible avenue" to find Megan Maxwell, who disappeared early Sunday morning on April 26.
"If someone calls us, we check it out immediately," Dunn said.
He said on Friday that members of the Knox County Rescue Squad were bringing underwater sonar equipment to Newport to help with the search, but emphasized it was not being used to follow up a specific lead.
"We've got to do it all. It takes time," Dunn said of the search for potential locations of Maxwell.
Search parties of volunteers from the community have daily formed beside the Dollar General store on West Highway 25/70 and gone out to look for clues to Maxwell's whereabouts in several areas, so far without success.

Maxwell's 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was found burned the morning she disappeared.
Maxwell is described as being 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighing approximately 115 pounds. She was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt and blue jeans. The jeans had large holes in the fabric.

Anyone with information as to Maxwell's whereabouts, or as to the events leading to the fire that destroyed her vehicle, is asked to call the Newport Police Department at 423-623-5556 ext. 105 or the office of District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn at 423-623-1285.

A missing person/runaway report filed Monday, April 27, said Megan Maxwell's mother, Lisa Maxwell, reported her daughter had been missing since 4:27 a.m. on Sunday, April 26.

Police have person of interest in missing Cocke Co. woman's disappearance

Apr 29, 2009

NEWPORT, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Newport Police have a person of interest in connection with the disappearance of a Cocke County woman whose car was found destroyed by fire along a highway.

The police chief will only say their "person of interest" is a male acquaintance of Megan Maxwell, 19, and investigators are interested in what he knows about Maxwell's disappearance.

That person's name has not been released.

Maxwell was last heard form around 4:30 Sunday morning.

About an hour-and-a-half later, an off duty Newport Police officer found her car burned along east highway 25/70.

Tuesday, the Newport Rescue Squad had boats searching the French Broad River near where her car was found.

If you have any information about her disappearance, you are asked to call Newport Police at 423-623-5556 extension 105.

Cocke Co. authorities search river for missing teen

By SHELBY BAKER
6 News Reporter

NEWPORT (WATE) -- Cocke County authorities searched the French Broad River Monday for a missing 19-year-old woman whose car was found destroyed by a fire.

Megan Maxwell is 5' 6" and weighs around 115 pounds.

She was last seen wearing a blue sweat shirt and blue jeans with large holes in them.

Police say Maxwell was last heard from at 4:27 a.m. on Sunday, April 26.

Her red 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was found on East Highway 25/70 destroyed by fire and police say they suspect foul play.

Lisa Maxwell prays and waits for any word on her daughter, Megan. "Words can't describe it. I'm numb."

She was with Newport Rescue crews all day Monday as they searched a section of the French Broad River, about 150 yards from where Megan's car was found.

"Right now, we are just concentrating on her last known location and it's not really that big of an area so we are trying to put together that time frame," says Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults.

The chief says they're following up on several leads and trying to stay optimistic. "As time passes, we begin to lose hope that she is missing, and we think maybe it's worse than we first expected."

Since Megan was reported missing Sunday morning, family and friends have been calling her cell phone non-stop and leaving messages.

"I said Megan please call, everyone is worried about you, and with everything I've heard I just want you to call us so somebody will know you are ok," says friend Laura Goode.

Meanwhile, Megan's mother is asking anyone with information to come forward.

"It's important to get in touch with the police department, any lead right now is critical," said Maxwell.

Police say they plan to continue searching for Megan Tuesday morning. Her car will also be turned over to forensics.

If you have information about Megan's whereabouts or the car fire, call the Newport Police Department at (423)-623-5556 ext. 105 or the office of District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn at (423)-623-1285.

Update: Friends to search again for Megan Maxwell; reward offered

Emily Stroud
5/1/2009

Family and friends plan to search again Tuesday for a missing Newport teen, last seen at her father's house.

Megan Maxwell went missing on Sunday, April 26, after checking in on her father early that morning.

The only sign of her since then was her car found burned on the side of the road.

Community members in Cocke County were out in force Friday, searching for any sign of Maxwell's whereabouts.

They plan to search again Tuesday. Volunteers will meet in the Food City west parking lot in Newport, which is the same location where they met for Friday's search.

Friday, they fanned out to search for clues but found nothing.

Thursday, Gov. Phil Bredesen authorized a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any person responsible for Maxwell's disappearance.

The first community search

Multiple law enforcement agencies have been searching for a Newport woman who was last seen last Sunday.

Now the Cocke County community has joined the search for 19-year-old Megan Maxwell.

Dozens of volunteers gathered Friday morning in a grocery store parking lot. They split into groups, grabbed maps, and went to designated areas between the spot where Megan was last seen Sunday morning in Newport and the area in Cocke County where a police officer saw her burning car an hour and a half later.

The father of Megan's best friend coordinated the effort. "It's been a really tough last few days for people close to Megan. We hope to find her," Randy Lane said.

Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults appreciates the extra eyes looking for clues. "Our prayer is that we find Megan, we get to hug her, and send her home," he said. "We want to be able to bring some closure to this family. We want to be able to solve this missing persons incident and if there's evidence of foul play, we want that found."

Cocke County High School let kids out of class Friday to join the search effort. Friends of the family and strangers also helped.

"I've got daughters of my own, and I would hope somebody would come to fine mine if one of mine we're missing," searcher Randy Hurley said.

Volunteers searched in two shifts, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday.

They did not find anything.

Thursday, Governor Bredesen authorized a $10,000 reward for tips in the case.

$10k reward offered in missing Newport woman's case

By News Sentinel staff
Originally published 03:14 p.m., May 1, 2009
Updated 03:14 p.m., May 1, 2009

NEWPORT - Authorities have offered a $10,000 reward for any tips in the case of a woman who disappeared over the weekend.

Megan Maxwell, 19, was last seen April 26. Gov. Phil Bredesen authorized the reward late Thursday from state funds for any information leading to the arrest or conviction of "any person responsible for (her) disappearance or death."

Police say they have a "person of interest" in the case but have filed no charges.

Maxwell, described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 115 pounds, had been driving a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse that was found burning Sunday morning on U.S. Highway 25/70 by a passing off-duty Newport officer, according to Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults.

Further investigation showed that Maxwell was still alive at 4:27 a.m., when she called a friend to let her know that she was leaving her father's home in Newport after checking in on him, Shults said.

"She'd gotten a call that there was something wrong with him," he said. "She called her friend and said, 'I'll finish this cigarette, and I'll be that way.' "

Maxwell's car was found only a few feet from a riverbank, and "some leads have indicated some activity at the river" before the car burned, Shults said.

Police say they're pursuing several leads and thus far don't believe her disappearance was related to "domestic violence or anything like that."

She was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt and blue jeans with holes in the fabric.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Newport Police Department at 423-623-5556, extension 105, or the DA's office at 423-623-1285.

Candlelight vigil for Megan Maxwell

Candlelight vigil for Megan Maxwell

May 15, 2009
Reporter: Lauren Davis


COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- It's been nearly three weeks and there is still no sign of Megan Maxwell, 19 of Newport.

On Thursday night, family and friends held a candlelight vigil to bring more attention to the search for the missing teen.

Hollie Lane cries for her best friend Megan Maxwell. She hasn't seen or heard from her in 17 days.

"I miss talking to her,” Lane said, “I mean we were inseparable. We were together all the time and just after school she's not there. That's when it hits me the hardest."

Megan went missing on Sunday, April 26th. Police later found her burned out car near the French Broad River, but no sign of Megan.

Family and friends have searched woods and water to find her, but nothing has turned up.

“It just keeps me hoping she's alive and out there, because we don't have any signs that she's not,” said Lane.

More than 100 friends prayed for Megan's safe return at a vigil and tears fell down their faces as they embraced one another. They also wore t-shirts with her face and donned yellow ribbons.

The candle lighting was to remind everyone Megan is still missing.

Randy Lane says, "We're doing this to let people know she's still missing,” said Randy Lane, the volunteer coordinator. “We are still looking for her, and Megan, if you can hear this, we're looking for you and we'll find you eventually."

Candlelight vigil held for missing Newport teen

5/14/2009

Video

It has been 17 days since a Newport teen disappeared.

Police found 19 year-old Megan Maxwell's burning car a few miles from her home last month, but there has been no sign of her since.

Thursday night, family and friends held a candlelight vigil.

Those in attendance hoped the event would spark new leads and douse false rumors that Maxwell has been found.

"People I've talked to say they thought Megan had been found because they hadn't seen anything or heard anything on t.v.," said Randy Lane, the volunteer coordinator for the search.

"It [rumors] gives us false hope. It hurts the investigation tremendously," said Megan Maxwell's mom, Lisa Maxwell.

The group also wanted to refresh East Tennessee's memory of Maxwell's picture and story.

"Somebody has to know something. A small thing would help," said Maxwell's closest friend, Hollie Lane.

Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults said investigators are following new leads everyday to their end.

Investigators have already searched the French Broad River.

Civilian teams have walked trails five times in the area where Maxwell's car was found.

A search and rescue team from North Carolina is also in Newport.

Another civilian group will gather Saturday to continue a foot search.

They will meet at 9 a.m. at the Western Plaza Shopping Center in Newport.

Missing persons group joins search for Newport teen

Posted: May 14, 2009 03:13 PM
Updated: May 15, 2009 09:44 AM

NEWPORT (WATE) -- A group called CUE Center for Missing Persons has joined the search for a missing Newport teen.

Megan Maxwell, 19, was last heard from at 4:27 a.m. on Sunday, April 26.

Her red 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was found on East Highway 25/70 destroyed by fire.

CUE Center for Missing Persons, which is based in Wilmington, North Carolina, sent a team a team to Newport to help with the search for Maxwell.

Family and friends held a candlelight vigil for Maxwell Thursday night.

On Friday, they're hanging ribbons around Newport and putting up posters.

On Saturday morning, another search effort will be mounted for Maxwell.

Newport police have said they have a person of interest in the case, but haven't released any further details. Searches of the French Broad River near where Maxwell's car was found came up empty.

The state is offering a $10,000 reward for information.