Family of missing Birmingham man still seeking answers 2 years later

BIRMINGHAM, Ala ( WIAT ) — It's been two years since the family of Lee Curtis Vanderbilt has seen or heard from him.

Vanderbilt's sister, Catrice Cooper, said he disappeared from his home on 31st St. Ensley under suspicious circumstances on July 20, 2022. Cooper said his girlfriend at the time was the last person to see him or hear from him.

"We want to know if he's still alive. If he's still alive, if he can be found?" said Cooper. "This is like a nightmare to us. I can't imagine in a million years it would have happened to us."

Vanderbilt's mother, Joe Ann Walton, said they are growing frustrated as they fear investigators and the community have forgotten about his case.

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Walton said they are doing what they can to keep his name and face out in the community.

"Something happened to him that he has not come back to our house, around us," said Walton.

Walton said two years of not seeing or hearing from her son is unusual behavior, which is why they are seeking answers.

"Somebody knows something about him or where he was with last beside the girlfriend, he was with these people at a house. We took the police to the house where he used to be at. Nobody was there, they had left, whoever stayed there that he knew. He knew those people so that's the last people he was with at that location on 31st Street I believe Ensley," said Walton.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald with the Birmingham Police Department said investigators did initially develop a person of interest in Vanderbilt's case.

"However, we need more concrete evidence to pinpoint what happened and why has it been so long since Lee has been discovered," said Fitzgerald.

By presenting this case back to the public two years later, both Fitzgerald and Vanderbilt's family are hoping for some kind of closure.

"It's pretty much safe to say that there were suspicious activities into why he went missing," said Fitzgerald.

If you know anything about Vanderbilt's disappearance you are encouraged to call crime stoppers 205-254 -7777, you can remain anonymous.