Missing man's body found Sunday

A search party Sunday helped Daniel McCoin of Poplar Bluff locate the body of his missing son, Travis McCoin.

Travis’ cellphone died early last week when he was talking with his father. His conversation was the last contact the 38-year-old had with family and friends. Their worries worsened when his car was seen later in the week parked on Wolf Creek Road.

When Travis had not been located by the weekend, his family requested help searching for him. They understood the results might not be good, but they wanted to find him. They wanted answers.

Family, friends, neighbors, National Forest Service employees and retired National Park Service employees showed up. Daniel McCoin said they brought four wheelers, side by sides, horses and some walked, hunting for his son. His body was located off a logging road around 1:45 p.m. Sunday by National Forest Service law enforcement officer Steve Buckman. Also helping with the search was Forest Service acting Patrol Capt. Casey Hutsell.

Butler County Coroner Jim Akers said McCoin’s clothing was found at the car along with a substantial amount of cash, which “we were able to use to rule out robbery or foul play. My heart goes out to the family. This is a heartbreaking situation and I really, really feel bad for this family and what they had to go through. I would like to thank all the agencies, but the family really did the majority of the work. They found the friends and family, and along with the community coming together, it shows how tight knit and how good of a community we live in. That is true togetherness.”

While foul play is not suspected and additional investigation will be done, Akers said it could be difficult at this stage to determine a final cause of death.

Daniel McCoin said, “We would like to thank everybody who came out and searched. We would have never found him if it was not for family and friends coming out and searching.”

Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs said his deputies also had searched for Travis.

Daniel McCoin said his son was close to his stepmother, Ryvonna, his mother, Patricia Worley, uncle Benny, aunt Teresa and sister Chelsey.

A memorial service will be from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday at Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home and the funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday.