COLUMBUS, Ga. — The months-long search for Samuel “Sam” Hewitt Jr. ended in heartbreaking confirmation when investigators found his body on family land in Russell County, Alabama, on Nov. 18, 2018. Hewitt, 49, was reported missing on May 22 after relatives lost contact with him.
Authorities said the scene and physical evidence are consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Family members first raised the alarm in late May when Hewitt failed to return as expected and could not be reached by phone.
Surveillance video captured his pickup truck leaving a Columbus location the day he vanished, and friends, relatives, and local volunteers immediately joined law-enforcement searches.
For months, the hunt moved across rural roads, woods, and waterways as community members plastered flyers and shared appeals on social media in hopes of finding him.
Early in the investigation, police attempted to locate Hewitt’s vehicle using OnStar tracking services, but the effort failed to produce a fixed position.
Investigators later determined the truck’s battery had drained long before officials could get a signal, leaving the vehicle untraceable at the time and significantly complicating the search.
The family property where he was eventually located is remote and difficult to access, which was thickly wooded and cut by unmarked tracks.
These were the conditions that hampered search crews over the summer and into the fall.
When deputies from the Russell County Sheriff’s Office reached the parcel in November, they found Hewitt inside his pickup with the engine running.
The truck’s keys were in the ignition, and a firearm was resting in his lap. Sheriff Heath Taylor said preliminary findings and the on-scene evidence were consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that there were no signs pointing to foul play.
Officials completed a formal death investigation and gathered physical evidence at the scene to support their conclusion.
For the Hewitt family, the discovery brought painful clarity after half a year of uncertainty. Relatives had spent those months combing terrain, checking leads, and holding out hope for a different outcome.
Friends still remember Sam Hewitt as a private man who loved the outdoors; the family property where he was found was a place he often visited to hunt and be on the land.
That familiarity, close relatives said, made the location both heartbreaking and, in a small way, fitting.
Residents and search volunteers who participated in the months of looking expressed shock and sorrow at the news.
Volunteers who tramped through thick brush and crossed creeks said the property’s isolation and the lack of clear access routes made comprehensive searching difficult conditions that investigators acknowledged at public briefings after the discovery.
Sheriff Taylor emphasized the challenge, “remote parcels like the one where Hewitt was found can easily conceal a vehicle, especially when battery power for tracking systems is gone.”
Public records list Samuel B. Hewitt Jr. as born June 19, 1968; his date of death is recorded as Nov. 18, 2018.
Law enforcement officials noted that while the initial determination was consistent with sui**de, their office continued routine follow-up work to close out the investigation and to ensure the family received any information they needed.
Sheriff Taylor also expressed sympathy for the Hewitt family and acknowledged the emotional toll a protracted missing-person case takes on loved ones and the community.
The case underlines how technical setbacks and geography can slow or stall missing-person searches.
A dead battery disabled the vehicle’s tracking capability; thick woods and private property rights limited where volunteers and deputies could effectively search; and, over time, the window to find someone alive narrows. T
hose realities are painful reminders for families and first responders alike of the practical obstacles that can turn an urgent search into a long, uncertain wait.
Community leaders and local mental-health organizations used the case to remind residents that hardship and emotional distress sometimes go unseen, and they urged anyone struggling or concerned about a loved one to reach out for help.
In situations with questions of self-harm, officials and advocates consistently encourage early contact with crisis resources and mental-health providers rather than silence.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, help is available. In the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for immediate, confidential support. If you are in the UK, call 111 or 0808 115 1505.
Local health providers, clergy, and community organizations can also offer counseling and other resources.
The discovery of Sam Hewitt’s body closed a long chapter for his family and neighbors, an outcome that answers one set of questions but leaves many others in its wake.
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