SAMPSON COUNTY — Perhaps proof that modern North Carolina isn’t as innocent as in the days of Andy Griffith, a little boy went for a walk with his dogs and never returned.
Tristen Alan “Buddy” Myers, 4, has been missing since Oct. 5, 2000. Reminiscent of Opie Taylor, Tristen left his home on Microwave Tower Road near Roseboro for a walk with his dogs, a tan chihuahua, and a black doberman puppy. The dogs eventually returned home; Tristen has never been seen alive again.
While much can be made out of such a young boy leaving home alone, nothing excuses the abhorrent behavior that may have befallen him. His great aunt, who was watching Tristen, fell asleep.
When he disappeared, Tristen was wearing a black tee-shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. He has a scar on the left side of his neck. The scar denotes a lifetime, however short, of misery. Tristen was born in Mississippi to an exotic dancer and an unknown father. His grandparents took him, but had to give Tristen up after his drunken grandfather ran him over, injuring his leg and burning his neck.
Tristen’s great aunt was watching him the day he disappeared. She fell asleep and he left with his dogs. Authorities believe Tristen either fell into a pond and drown or was abducted by a stranger.
When studying the case, an online tarot card reader dealt the Seven of Wands, which was interpreted as Tristen “fighting people off” the day he vanished.
The case made national headlines in 2003 when a boy matching Tristen’s description was abandoned at a Chicago hospital. DNA tests showed the boy wasn’t Tristen.
Tragedy wasn’t through with the Myers’ family. In 2004, Tristen’s stripper mom Raven Myers died in Fayetteville after jumping from a fast moving pickup.
Anyone with information about Tristen’s fate is asked to call the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-592-4141 or the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation at 800-334-3000.