James Lubin Valdez

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Booneville Police Department (AR)

Missing From:

Booneville, AR

Reward:

up to $6,000

via Family

Not from STC, Conditions and restrictions apply

Summary:

James Lubin Valdez left home on June 9, 2021 after getting in an argument with his newly married wife when she picked up an extra shift at work. He left in the families 2010 blue Chevrolet Equinox, was seen eating dinner with friends on June 12, 2021 and he has never been seen since. His vehicle was recovered on June 19, 2021 abandoned.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Jamie was in an argument with his wife Anna over her being called into work after they had planned to spend the day together. They were married a little over a month. Jamie became angry and threw some clothes in his car and said he was going to Ozark, AR (where his daughter lives). Anna went into work and Jamie went there and asked if he could go home. She told him to do whatever he wanted. Jamie and his wife had moved in with her mother after she'd fallen and broken her back. The wife's brother who has a criminal history past also lived at the residence. Jamie went back to the house and packed more clothes and $600 from Anna's mother and left. 10 days later, on June 19, 2021, his vehicle, a 2010 Gray Chevy Equinox was found abandoned in a secluded area which was a local swimming hole in Sugar Grove called Bluff Hole. Anna's bosses husband was a friend of Jamie's and he is the one who located the vehicle. When Anna first went to the vehicle, she took a couple photos and sent them to me (Jamie's oldest sister) and asked if she should contact the authorities. I told her yes. The car doors were locked. The front seat was pulled all the way forward and ripped at the seam. The back seat was laid down. Cadaver dogs and search teams searched for Jamie for a couple of days. About 100 feet from where the car was parked, they located Jamie's health insurance card as well as some receipts out of his wallet. They noted that parts of the engine had been dismantled. A missing person's report was filed 6/22/23.

Additional Details:

Several searches have been done over the course of the first year. A podcaster and a family advocate were able to do an interview with Anna and she had his old iphone that was still connected to the cloud. They were able to do last phone location for his new iphone 11. They gave the information the law enforcement and a search was done that day, but nothing was located. John Farley told neighbors that he saw Jamie walking with Tom Reed carrying a armful of clothing. Tom Reed denied knowing Jamie. John Farley later said it wasn't Jamie he saw with Tom after all when he was shown a photo by the chief of police. A person who had been in jail told the chief that another person in jail had said he'd taken Jamie out in the woods left him there. The same person told people in the community that the one he said left him there also said he tied him up in a tree. There was writing on the back of the car that said "Help Me He is Near". This turned out to be a group of youngsters pulling a prank. Missing from the car and not recovered is Jame's car keys, cellular phone and a. .40 caliber Glock handgun. James suffers from diabetes but is not insulin dependent. James is also a recovering addict, had gone through rehab, and had been sober for 13 months prior to his disappearance.

Case Last Updated:

May 16, 2026