Merry Williams-Diers with WNY Missing & Unidentified Persons is pictured in January 2022 holding a poster of Kevin Hornburg. The city man was last seen around 4 p.m. on Nov. 21, 2021. P-J file photo
Volunteers are being sought for an organized community search in the disappearance of Jamestown resident Kevin Hornburg. The search is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, in a collaboration between the Jamestown Police Department and the Jamestown-based WNY Missing & Unidentified Persons.
A rain date of Sunday, Oct. 1, has been scheduled as well.
Specific locations that will be targeted in the city will be announced just prior to Sept. 30.
Hornburg has not been seen since he left his 629 Prendergast Ave. residence around 4 p.m. on Nov. 21, 2021. A handful of local searches were organized after Hornburg’s disappearance — later described by the Jamestown Police Department as a “suspicious missing person case.”
Merry Williams-Diers with WNY Missing & Unidentified Persons said the goal of the upcoming community effort is multi-fold.
“To find items belonging to Kevin Hornburg, Kevin himself, or any evidence that may indicate where Kevin ended up after his disappearance,” she said.
Hornburg’s status as a missing person was largely spearheaded by Williams-Diers, who routinely shares information on unsolved crimes and missing person cases across Western New York through her Facebook page.
“I made contact with Kevin’s family on Dec. 1 of 2021, about a week after he disappeared and I promised them I would be here until Kevin was found, and beyond,” she told The Post-Journal. “I intend to keep that promise.”
Williams-Diers is hoping the weekend date will draw volunteers for the search effort. She’d like to see between 50 and 100 community members take part.
“The public is welcome to join us for this effort,” she said. “Many times, people have something negative to say regarding how and when searches are conducted. If they’d like to contribute or offer us their input-we’d be happy to see them there. Sometimes, we as a community, can get complacent or confuse cases. … Kevin is very much still missing, and this is our opportunity to lend his family our heartfelt support.”
Those planning on taking part are asked to dress for the weather in brightly-colored clothing. Boots also are encouraged.
Some of Hornburg’s relatives and friends were present for a candlelight vigil outside his Prendergast Avenue home last November.
“I have a lot of good memories of Kevin,” his sister, Susan Baldwin, said. “He was always good to everyone. … If you invited him to come, he’d make his way over to a Thanksgiving dinner 20 miles away without a ride. We miss him for Thanksgiving.”
At the vigil, a statement from the Jamestown Police Department was read:
“One year after the disappearance of Kevin Hornburg, we continue to follow tips and calls from the public. We have followed dozens of leads and have conducted multiple interviews. We are confident moving forward that someone will come forward to help us bring Kevin home to his family. At this point, we believe Kevin was the victim of a crime and didn’t just move away from the area. We are still asking anyone who may have information to contact us or me directly at the Jamestown Police Department.”
Hornburg is described as being 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds. He has a tattoo of a cross on his forearm and another tattoo between his pointer finger and thumb.
Crime Stoppers of Western New York — Crimestopperswny.org — previously offered a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest or indictment of those responsible “for the disappearance and/or homicide of Kevin Hornburg,” the organization said.
Anyone with information on Hornburg is asked to contact the Jamestown Police Department at 716-483-7537. Anonymous tips also can be left at 716 483-Tips (8477).