Chambers County Sheriff\'s Office John Stewart Beasley
John Stewart Beasley, a Baytown police officer, has been missing since August 2. He’s an active-duty police officer in the city of Baytown and wasn’t seen since he left his home. Sadly, on August 7 officials announced that he was found deceased near his home, ABC 13 reported. Here is what we know so far.
1. John Stewart Beasley Walked Away from His Home on August 2, Authorities Said, & He Was Found Dead Near His Home on August 7
PLEASE SHARE: John Stewart Beasley, 46, an active-duty Baytown police officer, has been missing since Thursday in the Plantation Subdivision in the Cove, Texas area. t.co/ozMqO03OLg #KHOU
In a heartbreaking update, officials announced on August 7 that John Stewart Beasley, 46, was found dead near his home, ABC 13 reported.
In a statement, the Baytown Police Department said: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and the hundreds of people that knew and loved Officer Beasley.”
A Baytown police spokesperson, Lt. Steve Dorris, told ABC 13: “It’s the unfortunate drip, drip, drip of stress and trauma and chaos that we, as law enforcement officers, deal with on a daily basis that sometimes takes its toll.”
Beasley was not involved in any major case investigations at the time of his death.
“This is all too common in our business,” Dorris told ABC 13. “The truth is, we may never know what led this to occur, but what we do know is, it’s a tragedy. We lost a brother. We lost somebody we love. A big portion of his career was working the streets of Baytown.”
Authorities said that John Stewart Beasley, 46, walked away from his home in Cove around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, the Houston Chronicle reported. However, it’s not clear if anyone actually saw him walking away at that time or how the 3:30 p.m. timeline was established.
When Beasley’s son came home around 4:15 p.m., he couldn’t find his dad. He tried to call his father, but his phone didn’t appear to have a signal, ABC 13 reported. So he called his dad’s police friends to try and find his father, CW39 reported. His friends came and couldn’t find him.
Chambers County sheriff’s deputies, Baytown police officers, and two canine teams were looking for Beasley. The two dog teams began searching for Beasley on August 2 around 8:47 p.m., after Beasley’s wife called the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office.
Cove is just east of Baytown. Beasley lives in the 1800 block of Parker Place Drive in the Plantation subdivision, CW39 reported. Baytown is in Harris County and also partially within Chambers County, located in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metroplex.
2. Surveillance Video Showed Beasley Arriving Home Around Noon on Thursday, August 2
Officials said they recovered surveillance video that showed Beasley arriving at his house around 12 p.m. on Thursday, CW39 reported. Police haven’t said, however, how they narrowed the timeline down to 3:30 p.m. for his leaving the house. He arrived around 12 p.m. and his son came home and couldn’t find him at 4:15 p.m.
3. Beasley’s Phone Was Found on the Ground, in a Wooded Area Behind His Home, with the Battery Removed
Police believe that Beasley walked out of his back door and into the wood area behind his home. Canine officers located his cell phone on the ground in that wooded area, CW39 reported. The battery was removed.
4. Beasley Is a 23-Year Veteran Police Officer, & the Sheriff Said He Believes Beasley Is Still Alive
Beasley had a long history on the force. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said his actions were very uncharacteristic of him and “he is a good professional police officer,” CW39 reported. Hawthorne said at the time that he believed Beasley was still alive. Sadly, this was not the case.
The Chambers County Sheriff’s Department also said there was no indication of foul play, the Houston Chronicle reported, but they were investigating all leads.
5. Beasley Was 5’9″, 220 Pounds, with a Muscular Build and Buzz-Cut Blonde Hair
Beasley was 5’9″, about 220 pounds with a muscular build, and has green eyes and blonde buzz-cut hair, the Houston Chronicle reported. He has a teal blue tribal tattoo on his upper right shoulder. He was wearing a gray pullover T-shirt, black hiking boots, and khaki cargo pants when he was last seen.
If you have any information on Beasley, call the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office at 409-267-2500 or Chambers County Crimestoppers at 844-860-8477.