Cole Jackson

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Shelby County Sheriffs Department (TX)

Missing From:

Timpson, Texas

Summary:

Cole Duane Jackson, 33, left a gas station in Timpson, Texas, on July 13, 2006, in the area of FM 1645, driving a grey 2003 Dodge 4-wheel drive pickup truck. On July 15, 2006, Cole's truck was found abandoned in a wooded area off CR 4243, with the driver's side door open, and the truck still in 4-wheel drive.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Cole Duane Jackson, 33, left a gas station in Timpson, Texas, in the morning on July 13, 2006, in the area of FM 1645 and CR 4230 just south of Timpson, driving a grey 2003 Dodge 4-wheel drive pickup truck. He had been visiting a friend when he unexpectedly left the friend at a Whataburger fast food restaurant, driving off without explanation. Jackson was spotted by an elderly landowner about a half hour later, when he drove from a private pasture and drove through the landowner's fence and garden, damaging both. He offered the man $120 for the damage, apologizing and promising to be back the next day to help with repairs. He then said he had to leave because "bad people" were following him and left in his truck. On July 15, 2006, Cole's truck was found abandoned in a wooded area about 1-2 miles away off CR 4243, in a ravine or trail in the woods with the driver's side door open, keys in the ignition, and the truck still in 4-wheel drive. His two inhalers were inside the truck (he had severe asthma), and there was no sign of a struggle. In addition, he was acting paranoid and disoriented at the time of his disappearance and may be suffering from mental or emotional problems. His family stated he had problems with drug abuse in the past and had a minor criminal record as a results. His loved ones also found Jackson's White sneakers in the woods; his wedding ring had been placed inside one of the shoes. Nobody has seen him since. Cole has Brown hair and blue eyes with the initials "CJ" tattooed on his left shoulder blade. Anyone with information concerning Cole Duane Jackson's disappearance is asked to call the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office-Texas at (936) 598-5601. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call Shelby County Crime Stoppers at (936) 639-8477.

Additional Details:

Timeline: July 13, 2006 Before 8:30 am - Cole Jackson tells his family, or at least his brother Rebel Jackson, that he is going to a friend’s house in Timpson and will be home in 2 hours. Timpson is about 40 minutes/35 miles away from Chireno, TX (where Cole lived). 8:30 am - The friend (no name or gender reported) says they went to Whataburger and that while the friend was in the restaurant, Cole drove off, apparently without warning or any explanation. 9:00 am - Cole is seen leaving a gas station. There are sources that list an address, but I think the address is just misinformation as there is no gas station at that address and hasn’t been since November of 2007, but the Whataburger is half of a restaurant/gas station combo called Timpson Quick Stop and I believe that is the gas station being referenced Jackson drives his truck through a private landowner’s back fence and into his garden. This incident is widely reported to be somewhere near FM 1645 & CR 4230 SE of Timpson but I think that is an error — I think it was at CR 4240. I couldn’t find a CR 4230 near 1645 and there is a church right at the intersection of 1645 and 4240 which is mentioned in one article as a landmark. Assuming the road is 4240, this is approximately 7 miles from the Whataburger, which shouldn’t have taken 30 minutes, but times could be slightly off, and there’s no way of knowing whether he drove straight there or not. A New Prospect man sees Jackson when Jackson drives his truck through the man's fence and into his garden. He said Jackson apologized and offered him $120 to repair the fence, but added that "there are some bad people after me.” This old man stated that Jackson looked very scared. Jackson reportedly near this time made a phone call to a friend to try to get a ride, but Jackson was not at the rendezvous point, and no one has seen or heard from him since. I wonder if this the same friend who was at Whataburger? The friend is never identified unfortunately, and I don’t know if the family even knew who it was Jackson’s cell phone has no activity after 9:30 am. July 15, 2006 Jackson's truck was reported abandoned off all terrain vehicle trails, stuck in a ditch or ravine or creek bed depending on the source. The truck was recovered with no signs of foul play, and is found with the driver’s side door open, the keys in the ignition, and the truck’s 4WD still engaged. Both of his inhalers were inside the vehicle, which concerned family because he has severe asthma. August 11, 2006 Cole is reported missing by family members. I think the delay in reporting him missing may be because of his past drug use but not sure; there aren’t many details on that, or whether he had gone missing previously August 12, 2006 Search and rescue units from Shelby County and Shreveport, LA execute a search on foot and with dogs and nothing is found. September 22, 2006 Texas EquuSearch units search the area where Jackson’s truck was found, led by Cindy Wisdom. The search area is partially based on the last suspected conversation Jackson had on his cell phone - where Jackson asked someone to pick him up. But the location of that phone call depended on Jackson being able to correctly identify his location, and he had apparently been driving his truck off road and wandering around the area for quite some time. They do as thorough a search of the area as possible based on the belief he could be anywhere in the area. "The path of least resistance may not hold true in this case," [Wisdom] said. "He would have been running scared and wouldn't have been worried about getting cut by thorns - we've got to check everywhere." Searchers found Jackson's shoes with his wedding ring placed inside it. "A lot of people have been searching that same area for six weeks, but something just told the searcher to look up instead of down, and there they were.” Nothing else was found.

Case Last Updated:

Apr 24, 2026