BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

UPDATED 7 p.m. 12/30/2024

WARFIELD — Authorities are searching the Tug River in the Warfield and Route 292 area for a missing Johnson County man, officials said Monday morning.

David Blevins Jr. of Staffordsville, described as 5-foot-11, 155 pounds and in his late 40s, was reported missing Dec. 19 by family members, according to Chief Deputy Chris Kidd of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

“Through various tips and cooperation with law enforcement in the area, we have reason to believe that Mr. Blevins could in fact be located in this area, possibly around the river,” Kidd said. “Mr. Blevins had a previous encounter with law enforcement over here that kind of led us to this area to search for Mr. Blevins.”

Sheriff John Kirk reported that authorities believe Blevins fled from police Dec. 13 when the sheriff attempted a traffic stop.

“He fled from me, then abandoned the vehicle and went toward the river,” Kirk explained. “At the time, we didn’t know who he was.”

The sheriff’s department brought in a drone to search for the man but saw no sign of him.

Kirk noted that initially, there was no indication the individual who fled had entered the river that night. The vehicle, he said, was registered to a female in another county. However, after Blevins’ family reported him missing, police were able to link him to the abandoned vehicle through video survelliance from a local convenience store.

Kirk added that Blevins’ family later called informing him that others had told them Blevins had jumped into the river during the chase.

The search effort Monday, which Kidd described as “very preliminary,” has so far yielded no evidence.

“We’re just getting started,” he said.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the search with support from Martin County Emergency Management, the Martin County 911 Mobile Command Center and Kermit Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team.

“We really want to thank Kermit,” Kidd said. “They’ve brought their Swift Water Rescue Team and they’re getting ready to deploy that SWRT now.”

Authorities are concentrating on the river from Warfield downstream to the Low Water Bridge. “On the West Virginia side, that’s going to be around the Crum area,” Kidd said of the location of the Low Water Bridge.

Kidd acknowledged the challenges posed by current river conditions.

“The river is up right now and visibility is low,” he said. “The current is pretty strong right now, so there are dangers involved with this rescue.”

Kidd emphasized the sheriff’s office’s commitment to the search: “We will try to continue this rescue as long as possible. We’ll try to exhaust all avenues and options on finding Mr. Blevins.”

While the sheriff’s office did not initially request additional assistance Monday, officials had contacted other swift water rescue teams in case the need for more help arose. Late Monday evening the Ceredo Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team deployed a unit at the Virginia Point Boat Ramp in Catlettsburg to begin a search from that location to Warfield.

The sheriff’s office planned to deploy cadaver dogs on Tuesday.

Deputy Kidd noted the search could span several days.

“We’ll exhaust all options and search for as long as we can,” he said.

Authorities urge anyone with information regarding Blevins’ whereabouts to contact the sheriff’s office at 606-298-2828.

This is a developing story.