The Disappearance of James Davis Walker
I wrote this entry after being introduced to Slim's son Bobby Walker who still lives with the pain of his father's disappearance every day. The pain is shared with the rest of Slim's family who haven't had any answers in the long 24 years it's been since they last saw James Davis Walker. There is a Facebook Group started by Evaporate The Missing for James' case. They also did an entry on their site as well. Ed Dentzel from UnFound also covered the case. I also wanna point out that the reports to who went where on the day in question are all over the place depending upon the source being used. I dedicated Smooth by Santana to this entry. Maria Maria was the Number One song at the time. But I never really liked it as much as Smooth. Before I begin I wanna thank Slim's son Bobby Walker for letting me tell his father's story. When you hear Bobby talk about his dad. You hear the pain in his voice. You can even hear it in text messages. He lives with this every day. As well as his family. And it's not fair. I did discuss my analysis with him before publishing this entry. I tend to view cases differently from others who do the same work. And I definitely see this case differently. Here we go.
James Davis Walker
“My dad, man… dad was a character,” James’ son, Bobby Walker, told Dateline. “He was laid-back, friendly to everyone. He towered over all of us. Lanky guy, but, you know, he could just eat all day long and never gain a pound.”
James' son Bobby Walker to Dateline
March 27th 2020
Video by CrimeBlogger1983
(This video was made prior to me writing this entry)
”I try to tell people, like, if you had a family member just disappear, just kind of think of it that way,” she says. “It don’t make any sense. Someone knows something and they’re just not saying anything.”
Tiny Ruff Walker’s daughter.
The News And Advance: April 18th 2000
Ronoake Times: April 19th 2000
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James Davis Walker
"Slim" or "Pops"
Missing Since:
April 7th 2000
Missing From:
Bedford, VA
Date of Birth:
12/20/1946 in
Ronoake VA
Parents:
March 18th 1911-October 21st 1974
February 14th 1904-July 4th 1971
Height & Weight:
6'7, 140 pounds
Eyes & Hair:
Gray Hair (Balding)
& Blue Eyes
Wearing:
Black Sweatshirt,
Black T-Shirt,
Blue Jeans, A Black or
Green Baseball Cap
& Work Boots
Other:
Tattoos:
Initials "JW" & "PW"
on Left Arm
Cigarette Smoker
Possibly has
Early Stage
(Source: Ronoake Times:
April 19th 2000)
Address:
Thaxton, VA
Children:
James Walker Jr.
Agencies
Bedford City Police Department:
540-586-7114
Agency Case Number:
2000-01403
Namus:
Links:
Early Life
James Davis Walker was born on December 20th 1946 to Nelson Buckley Walker and Cloe Delle James-Walker in Roanoke Virginia. As with many kids of that era, James did not finish school. According to records he quit before attending High School. At the time of his first marriage his employment is listed as retail. At the Age of 19 James married Rosie Francis Amos on February 24th 1966. The couple ended up having one child together. The couple later divorced on April 3rd 1973. Slim later remarried to a woman by the name of Phyllis Jean Vance and the couple had 6 children together. (Making it 5 boys and 2 girls total for Slim) Slim enjoyed Woodworking & Fishing in his spare time. And according to his son Bobby, Slim was very handy with a Chainsaw. Slim also worked for a Saw Mill for a number of years. At the time, Slim did not have a steady source of income and was living in a trailer with his 2 friends Donald and Juanita Adams. He would also occasionally live with his other son, James Walker Jr. as well.
The Food Lion Store located at the Parksview Shopping Center
Details of Disappearance
Note: One of the many aggravating things about this case is the small details. Early newspaper reports and accounts indicate there were 3 people that went to the Food Lion on the morning of April 7th 2000. Then it changes to 4. I dunno what to make of it. But I wanted to point it out. The video overlooking the parking lot as well as inside the store hasn't been released. So all we are left to go on is what Law Enforcement has told Bobby. And what Bobby saw when he viewed the tape.
"Boy was I wrong"
Slim's son Bobby when discussing his dad's case with me recalling
his initial thoughts his dad was probably with friends at the time.
On the morning Friday April 7th 2000, Donald and Juanita Adams along with their roommate James Davis Walker (Who went by "Slim") left the trailer they resided at 2790 Cool Springs Rd in Thaxton Virginia to go to the Food Lion in Bedford. According to initial reports, At around 9:15 a.m. Donald and his wife Juanita along with Slim got out of the vehicle. The vehicle is said to be either a 97 or 98 Ford Taurus. Donald and Juanita entered the Food Lion store located at the Peaksview Shopping Center at 1515 Longwood Avenue in Bedford. Slim stayed outside the front of the store and sat down on a bench to smoke a cigarette. Donald and Juanita stated they went inside the Food Lion and purchased some bathroom cleaning products and came out and Slim was gone. Slim wasn't on the bench he supposedly sat down on. I do need to point out that according to initial reports from the Roanoke Times, A woman did see a man matching Slim's description sitting on the bench outside the store. (Who this woman is and if she was thoroughly vetted is anyone's guess. This aspect seems to get no attention. See the article just below this part of the entry.) That same morning at around 10:45 a.m. Donald Adams called the Bedford Police Department and requested a certain officer by the name of Tracy Pannell (Who has since passed away) whom he was friends with. Donald Adams informed him of the events. And a Missing Persons Report was filed through Officer Pannell. (It's important to also point out that Donald has also since passed away. Prior to passing. He and Juanita also divorced.) Slim's son Bobby was at work that morning when he received a call from his sister Tiny stating their father was missing. At first Bobby thought that his dad was with a friend. And that everything was fine. "Boy was I wrong" he recalled as we discussed his father's case.....
The Roanoke Times: August 4th 2000
The Initial Investigation &
Conflicting Statements
Overhead view of the surrounding area around the Food Lion
In the hours and days after Slim seemingly vanished. Law Enforcement scoured the vicinity of the Food Lion, Including the wooded area in the hopes of finding Slim or anything that could lead to his whereabouts. This all proved fruitless. 3 days after Slim went missing, Bobby's Professor (Bobby was studying plumbing at the time) suggested that they go to the Food Lion and obtain the video surveillance footage of the day his dad went missing. (Why Law Enforcement didn't do this is rather baffling to me.) The manager of the store was helpful and provided the footage. According to Bobby, When he reviewed it. He was surprised. Nowhere in the footage does it show his dad with Donald and Juanita Adams at the Food Lion that morning. Bobby called Law Enforcement that night and informed them that the footage did not have his dad on it. Bobby gave the tape to Law Enforcement. He later was given his own copy of the tape. (More on the tape a little later.) According to Bobby, There was a considerable amount of glare on the video due to the way the car was positioned directly in the path of the morning sun light. It's hard to make out details. Bobby later followed up with Law Enforcement. He was informed that the footage does not show Juanita on it at all. According to him, He was told the footage actually shows Donald Adams along with two other people. Those people were Rose Heath Dooley (A Friend of Juanita and lets just say an interesting person. See bottom of entry for more info on her) and Bruce Carter (Juanita's brother who also has since passed away). Apparently when Donald was questioned regarding the events not matching what was on the footage. Donald is said to have changed his story. Donald now claimed that Slim stayed in the car to smoke a cigarette and when they returned he wasn't there. However, Bobby stated in the footage that he viewed, None of them seem to look around for Slim when they got back to the car. Nor do they seem surprised that he is missing at all. According to Bobby they simply got in the car and left. Not long after Slim disappeared, The Bedford Police Department is said to have sent the tape off to a third party to have it enhanced. According to Bobby in the UnFound Interview which can be found at the bottom of the entry. Tracy Pannell is said to have stated that they were able to discern 4 sets of legs getting out of the car the morning in question. Bobby however remains skeptical about this as he believes the footage to be too low of quality to be able to ascertain this. When Bobby followed up after hearing the Department sent off the tape. He was told that the Department has no record of it being sent off. (Which is interesting because Newspaper articles indicate they did. This could be just poor record keeping.) According to Law Enforcement, They followed up with Juanita soon after her first interview. In the second interview she recanted everything she said in the prior interview on the advice of somebody. Nothing further has been added to that aspect of the case as far as I know.
The Tape
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The Ongoing Investigation
"I'm an innocent man. I didn't kill nobody. Never have. Never will"
Donald Adams
On Saturday January 13th of 2001, Acting on a tip from an inmate by the name of Raymond Thomas Hudson. (Hudson had also passed a Lie Detector Test regarding what he claimed occurred) Law Enforcement searched a Pond on the property of 2790 Cool Springs Rd near Thaxton. According to Hudson, Donald Adams once bragged to him at a bar that he had killed someone and buried him in his yard. That he had shot him in the back of the head with a 9 mm gun. And constructed a small pond to obscure the grave. Adams stated that he remembered having a conversation with Hudson. But nothing like that was said. In addition to searching Adams yard and pond, Authorities also search another pond nearby. All to no avail. Nothing was found. Authorities stated that Adams had been cooperative with Law Enforcement and he had passed a Lie Detector test. (I'm told it came back as "inconclusive") Adams wasn't happy with how Law Enforcement left his place a mess. They also confiscated firearms he had in his possession.
"I dunno how this other guy's polygraph overrides mine."
Donald Adams
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The News And Advance August 4th 2003
2015 to Present
Tuesday July 28th 2015
"I believe working as a team, and the cooperation between the Sheriff and I working together ourselves, And our manpower and we believe we can get more accomplished and closer to solving the crime."
Chief Foreman of the Bedford Police Department
Law Enforcement seemed to think they were closer to getting a resolution to Slim's case in 2015. Police Chief Todd Foreman said they were tackling the case as if it just happened. In doing so, Authorities once again visited a site near 2790 Cool Springs Rd. to conduct a search for the remains of Slim. They focused their efforts on Taylor's Mountain. Close to where Slim was living at the time. And despite using a backhoe, Nothing was found. After the search was conducted authorities stated they were confident that Slim was not at that location.
Analysis
Before I begin my analysis. I want to stress a few things. As I stated at the beginning of the entry. I have discussed my analysis with Slim's son Bobby prior to publishing this entry. I did this because we may not entirely agree on what may have happened to his father. In doing so, I want to be clear that I am not attempting to debate him on the facts of the case. I am simply pointing out alternatives that I haven't seen anyone else cover. And in doing so, I am doing it in the most respectful way possible. I stress this because when I covered Teekah Lewis' case. I was accused of attacking the mom when I said some of the things she has stated in the past didn't make sense. I stressed that my heart went out to her. And I'd be doing the same thing she was doing if I were her. But nonetheless, Because my take on the case went against the popular and preferred analysis. I was made into a person that was victim blaming. And I wasn't. I don't look at cases and want to come to the same conclusion as everyone else. And it's not that it hasn't happened before. Sometimes I agree with the general analysis of some cases. But I am a very analytical person. And most who do this work are not. I don't look for "sexy" solution to the cases I cover. I look at the most logical and probable one. I know Bobby has expressed his opinion that the case is mired in corruption. He has stated this in his interview with the UnFound Podcast. He believes that that officer Tracy Pannell, Who took the missing persons report from Donald Adams was too friendly with Adams. And that Adams requested him to help cover up the fact that Adams killed his father. And I understand why he feels that way. I can see the thought process. I'm NOT gonna actually write out my own personal opinion on this case in this entry. I will however highlight aspects of both sides of this argument. This will allow the readers to come to their own conclusion. There are a few things that strike me when I analyse this case regarding the actions of Don and Juanita Adams. Or whoever it was that was actually at the Food Lion that morning.
1) Did Donald Adams change his story?
The initial details of who was at the Food Lion that morning with Slim came from the phone call Tiny received from Law Enforcement on the morning their father disappeared. Which she relayed to her brother Bobby. Is it possible that the person relaying the information either told Tiny wrong. Or there was some kind of miscommunication regarding who was actually there that morning? I only ask this because when you read over all the news reports. When you watch the news interviews and go over what Law Enforcement has said. At no time do they indicate that part of the story has changed. One has to take into account Juanita's interviews tho. And the quote from Jason Hinton saying that Juanita initially gave a good interview. And then later recanted her previous statement in the second interview on the advice of somebody. Was that "somebody" legal council? When you take into account Juanita recanting her story. That tends to favor Bobby's take that something other than a disappearance occurred when it relates to his dad's disappearance.
2) Why Stage An Alibi To Cover Up A Crime In A Public Place?
If Adams and whatever group of people he was with at the Food Lion that morning WERE indeed responsible for Slim's disappearance. Why would they stage an alibi at a public place? If something did happen to Slim. And they ARE the guilty party. Why not simply state that he walked off from the trailer at some point and never returned? That would be a helluva lot safer than to plan all this at a public place in front of cameras and possible witnesses. They could have simply said that something along the lines of
"He left and I figured a family member picked him up. I had no idea anything was wrong or I would have said something to someone."
That would make them seem less guilty than claiming they took Slim to a grocery store in the morning and he walked off. Saying he walked off in the area of 2790 Cool Springs Road would be a lot better of a story to try and sell. There is nothing around that area. They could've implied that he may have walked off. Just look at the surrounding area....
And compare it to the area surrounding the Food Lion....
If Adams and whoever was with him that morning ARE guilty. Why park in front of security cameras to begin with? Why not scout out the area ahead of time and park away from cameras? Why risk saying Slim was at a public location knowing he is 6'7. Not an easy guy to miss. I'd also like to point out that according to the newspapers a woman did see a man who matched Slim's description on the bench outside the store that morning. I have discussed this with Bobby. And he tends to think that aspect is part of Adams covering up the real story of how his father went missing. And I understand and respect his opinion on that. I really wish there was more on that detail available. Because it's a very vital and important aspect to the case. It potentially places Slim where Adams and the rest claim he was that morning. I know I am looking at this logically. And the downside to this is people who commit crimes aren't very methodical and logical people. But if I murdered someone, I sure as hell wouldn't say that the person I murdered was with me and a few others at this grocery store when he wasn't. And then park right in front of the cameras that could catch me in my own lies.
3) Why The Hell Would You File A Police Report If You Killed Someone?
I'm sure it has been done before. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure it's been done plenty of times throughout the Annals of True Crime. And I also know that people who murder others aren't particularly the most intellectual of persons. But it points the finger directly at you. You are the last person who saw the person you are reporting. Not intelligent. It makes absolutely no sense to do this. Bobby stated in his UnFound Interview that he thinks he probably last saw his dad 2 days prior to him going missing. 2 days isn't a long time to clean up a crime. Assuming they needed to clean up anything. And that's presuming that if a homicide did indeed occur, It happened prior to the day he was reported missing. If Bobby is correct. I'm not saying he ISN'T. His father could've been murdered in the wooded area around 2790 Cool Springs Rd. The surrounding terrain would make it an easy source for the disposal of the body. I will point out that the area in question has been searched twice by Law Enforcement. And nothing was found. But that doesn't mean Slim isn't there. It just means he hasn't been found yet. That happens all the time. Just read David Paulides. That idiot writes books on how "spooky" it is that search teams often find remains of missing people in areas that were already searched. There is nothing mysterious about it. People are human. People miss things.
4) Law Enforcement's Stance On The Case Has Changed Over The Years.
"I believe working as a team, and the cooperation between the Sheriff and I working together ourselves, And our manpower and we believe we can get more accomplished and closer to solving the crime."
Chief Foreman of the Bedford Police Department
This supports Bobby's take on the case. Tracy Pannell stated early on in the investigation that they were certain that Slim was at the Food Lion that morning. He is also supposed to have said that the enhanced tape shows 4 sets of legs getting out of the car as well. However, Over the years Law Enforcement has repeatedly stated that they believe a crime did indeed occur. So something must've changed regarding their mindset. Which is interesting. They also have stated that the Primary Suspect is also deceased. They never state the name of the person. But it's clear it's Donald Adams. Whether this is because over the years a new set of eyes was put in charge of the investigation. Or whether it's a combination of things. I did read that the County took over the investigation from the Bedford Police Department at some point.
5) Additional Things To Consider
Slim's Mental Health was in question. According to interviews done by the newspapers early on in the investigation. Bobby stated Slim was prone to occasional confusion.
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Closing Thoughts
Is it possible that Slim was at the Food Lion that early morning and simply walked off? If not, Who were all 4 of the people supposedly seen in the video that morning? Is it possible the initial story got mixed up that morning and no one lied? Could it be a miscommunication or bad reporting? What changed Law Enforcement's mind on the case. Is it possible that Officer Tracy Pannell helped his friend Donald Adams out? As far as I was able to tell. Serviced his community honorably during his tenure with the Bedford Police Department. Regardless of what happened to Slim. I firmly stand behind Bobby and Slim's family in their quest to find a resolution to this 24 year old cold case. Thanks for reading.
Additional Records (Slim)
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Additional Records (Donald Adams)
Additional Records (Tracy Lance Pannell)
Additional Records (Rose Dooley)
