Scotty Manuel
- The Find Me Project
- Sep 10
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 24
What This Case Needs
Funding & Support Status: 20%
At this stage, we feel strongly that Scotty’s case needs additional information.
We are relying on our Guardian Angels and the wider community to help gather open-source intelligence that could provide new leads.
Having a profile and pattern of life completed on Scotty will help us better understand what he may have been thinking and doing the day he disappeared.
We also believe that a live search party would be highly beneficial, enabling us to expand focus on enhanced search and recovery options across both land and water. This would allow us to:
Obtain LiDAR scans for the area.
Use drone and satellite technology.
Complete enhanced water based search efforts.
If you’re able to help support this effort, donations are greatly appreciated. Every contribution gets us one step closer to providing the resources and services we believe could make a difference in finding Scotty.
Case Information
Name: Scotty Manuel
Missing Since: June 23, 2022
Missing Age: 37
Missing From: Walnut Cove, North Carolina
Biological Sex: Male
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 145 lbs
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green
Distinctive Physical Features: Walks with a distinctive limp. Has a 5-10 inch scar on the right side of upper shoulder near the arm pit on the front side of his body. “Scotty" tattooed across his back between the shoulder blades.
Clothing & Accessories: Wearing a blue Wal-Mart T-Shirt with the sleeves cut off, blue jeans, and baseball cap.
Transportation: N/A
External Link: Click Here To Open
Circumstances of Disappearance
On June 23, 2022, a routine afternoon in rural Stokes County, North Carolina turned into a bewildering mystery. Thirty-seven-year-old Scotty Jameson Manuel set out from his parents’ home in Germanton, NC, presumably headed on one of his frequent fishing trips, and never returned. Scotty’s sudden vanishing from the quiet community near Walnut Cove sent shockwaves through his family and neighbors, sparking a search that continues to this day. How could a beloved son and avid fisherman disappear in broad daylight without a trace? The case of Scotty Manuel remains an agonizing puzzle for those who know and love him, as they cling to hope and tirelessly seek answers.
Scotty was known as a gentle soul with a passion for fishing and close-knit family ties. Born and raised around Germanton, North Carolina that's known for being a small community where everyone knows everyone. Scotty stood about 5′9″ tall and weighed around 140 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes, with several distinctive features. The name “Scotty” is tattooed across his back, a sizeable scar on his left arm, and a noticeable limp on his right side from an old leg injury. Those who knew Scotty say it wasn’t unusual for him to wander off to nearby ponds or creeks at a moment’s notice to fish, sometimes without telling anyone, but he always came back home by nightfall. That's what make his unexplained disappearance all the more alarming.
June 23, 2022 was a Thursday, and by all accounts it began ordinarily for the Manuel family. Scotty was staying with his parents in Germanton at the time and had been experiencing some health and behavioral challenges. According to his family, Scotty has a cognitive impairment that requires daily medication. In the days prior to June 23, Scotty had been severely sleep-deprived, which could have caused him to become disoriented. Despite this, Scotty decided that afternoon to do something he loved, go fishing. At approximately 4:00 p.m., he left his parents’ house (on NC Highway 65 West) on foot with his fishing gear. Scotty often fished at creeks and ponds around the area, and leaving on a short fishing outing was nothing out of the ordinary for him.
Witnesses would later report seeing Scotty about twenty minutes after he left home, around 4:20 p.m., walking near the intersection of Baux Mountain Road and Leake Memorial Church Road. This spot is not far from his grandparents’ residence, and it appears Scotty may have headed in that direction after leaving his parents’ house. Scotty was reportedly visiting his grandparents that day, and family members noted he seemed confused when he was last seen outside their home, before walking off toward a wooded area along the road.
Scotty did not take a cell phone with him, nor any food or water, suggesting he expected to return home before long. He carried only his tackle box, fishing rod, and a small handheld American flag that he liked to have with him. He was dressed for a casual summer day, wearing a blue Walmart t-shirt, a ball cap, blue jeans, and black sneakers. Nothing about his departure raised immediate red flags for his family. It was only later, when evening came and Scotty never returned home, that his loved ones knew something was very wrong.
When Scotty’s family realized he was missing, they alerted local authorities. The Stokes County Sheriff’s Office organized a search, and an alert went out describing Scotty and his last known whereabouts. First responders converged on the area around Baux Mountain Road and Leake Memorial Church Road, the vicinity of Scotty’s last sighting. Walnut Cove Fire & Rescue volunteers joined the effort, posting on social media to urge drivers to use caution on local roads while crews scoured the surroundings. The search soon ramped up with additional expertise. The Winston-Salem Fire Department’s search and rescue team was deployed to assist in combing the rural landscape for any sign of the missing 37-year-old.
Searchers faced challenging terrain in this part of Stokes County. The area around Leake Memorial Church Rd. is rural and partially wooded, with fields, dense thickets, and ponds or streams that a fisherman might be drawn to. Searchers looked for any trace of Scotty to include footprints, discarded items like his fishing tackle box or cap, or any disturbance in the brush that might indicate someone had passed through. But no definitive trace of Scotty was found in those initial sweeps. The search continued for days, extending into the July 4th holiday period, yet every lead seemed to hit a dead end. It was as if Scotty had vanished into the woods without leaving a trail.
Local media quickly picked up the story, amplifying the call for help. “Family of Stokes County missing man asks public for help,” read the headline on WXII 12 News, the local TV station. In interviews, Scotty’s father pleaded for the public’s assistance and understanding. He stressed that his son’s cognitive issues meant that Scotty might be confused or unaware of the danger he was in. “He’s not in trouble. He just needs help, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Donnie said, emphasizing that Scotty’s family only wants to get him home safely. Donnie also explained that Scotty’s medical needs were urgent. Without his medication, the risk of disorientation or harm increased with each passing day. Authorities officially classified Scotty as a missing endangered adult due to his medical condition, and a Silver Alert (typically used for missing persons with cognitive impairments) was issued in the region.
As the official search operations eventually scaled back, the Stokes County community and Scotty’s family were not about to give up. Friends, relatives, and even concerned strangers came together to continue looking for Scotty and to keep his story in the public eye. Informal search parties of volunteers walked the woods and fields on weekends, while others distributed missing person flyers at gas stations, grocery stores, and anywhere travelers might pass through. The CUE Center for Missing Persons, a national non-profit based in Wilmington, NC, took up Scotty’s case and created an online profile with his description and story. The CUE Center helped coordinate awareness efforts and even provided a 24-hour tip line for anyone to call with information (in addition to the sheriff’s office).
On social media, Scotty’s disappearance gained an outpouring of support. Family members posted regular updates, often marking the number of days since June 23, 2022, and urging everyone to “stay alert for possible sightings” of Scotty. Each milestone was met with heartbreak and hope in equal measure. By Day 35 of the search, loved ones on Twitter (using the hashtag #FindScotty) were still appealing for tips and reminding the public of Scotty’s description. Posts on community Facebook pages like the “Unofficial City of King” page (run by a relative) recounted what was known of Scotty’s last day: “Someone had to have seen something. Please, just give us a sign.” Neighbors organized a vigil and prayer circles, lighting candles for Scotty’s safe return. There were no reported sightings or credible leads, but the community’s unyielding support provided some solace to the Manuel family during long months of uncertainty.
Throughout 2023 and into 2024, Scotty Manuel’s case remained open but with few developments. The Stokes County Sheriff’s Office continued to periodically check for any new information, and every so often a hunter or hiker would report an unusual finding in the woods, but none turned out to be connected to Scotty. No evidence of foul play was ever discovered, and investigators have not publicly named any suspects or theories beyond the assumption that Scotty likely became lost or incapacitated on June 23, 2022. The absence of any physical evidence (such as clothing or gear) leaves many questions. Did Scotty wander farther than searchers expected, perhaps trying to follow the creek beds? Could he have hitchhiked or gotten a ride from someone along Highway 65, leaving Stokes County without anyone realizing? Or did he suffer some accident or medical emergency in a spot that search teams somehow overlooked? These unknowns have weighed heavily on everyone involved.
In late June 2025, the third anniversary of Scotty’s disappearance, his family and supporters once again raised public awareness. Scotty would be 40 years old now, and his loved ones marked over 1,100 days without answers. The CUE Center and The AWARE Foundation shared his missing person poster anew, reminding North Carolinians that Scotty is still out there somewhere and that no tip is too small to report. “We just want closure, or a miracle,” one family member wrote on Facebook, “At this point, not knowing is the hardest part.” Despite the passage of time, Scotty’s parents and extended family continue to hold onto hope that he might be found safe or that at least they will learn what happened on that fateful summer day.
Intelligence Overview
Pending Completion
Findings
Pending Completion
Case Contact Information
Case Contact Entity: Stokes County Sheriff's Office
Case Contact Name: Dennis Brown, Detective
Case Contact Info: (336) 593-2473
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