Reward offered in death of Walker County woman

WALKER COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) – A reward is being offered in the death of a Walker County woman.

Sheriff Nick Smith is offering a $25,000 reward concerning the case of Summer Buzbee. The Sheriff’s Office, working with the Buzbee family, made the announcement Thursday morning.

Sheriff Smith said Thursday, “We have identified persons of interest concerning the death of Summer Buzbee, which law-enforcement believes is suspicious. We are offering this reward to help expedite this investigation, because we believe that someone has direct knowledge of the facts in this case. We ultimately want to bring closure to Summer’s family, and bring to justice those responsible.

We have worked extremely hard on this case, and we know that we only have one shot in the courtroom. Obviously, we want this to be as quickly as possible, but the reality is that every case presents a unique set of challenges. We feel that we know what happened, but proving it at this point is a different story. The Buzbee family has been outstanding throughout this, and understanding that this takes time.”

Summer was last seen on December 17, 2020 in the Jasper area. She was eventually reported missing on December 21 by her roommate.

Summer was employed by Mar-Jac, a poultry processing plant in Jasper. At the time of her disappearance, she was living with roommates in the Saragossa area, a few miles North of Jasper.

After a report was filed, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office immediately began to investigate her whereabouts as a missing person.

The Walker County Sheriff’s Office, along with family, several other organizations, and volunteers, coordinated several searches from the time of her disappearance until her remains were located on February 4th.

The Buzbee family also made the following statement Friday morning:

“We appreciate the Walker County Sheriff’s Office for their hard work this far. On behalf of our family, if you have ANY information, please come forward! Whether you think it’s small or anything at all, all information is important.”

Anyone who has any information, please call the Walker County Sheriff’s Office at (205) 302-6464 or you can make an anonymous tip through our Walker County Sheriff’s Office smartphone application.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of these victims, and our ultimate goal is to find out what happened to their loved ones, so we can bring them a measure of peace”, said Cold Case Investigator Mike Cole

Source