Search for missing Wayne Co. man nears 1 year mark

WAYNE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - It’s been almost a year since a southern Kentucky man was seen by his family.

The Wayne County sheriff says foul play could be a factor in the disappearance of Ricky Griffis. His family has sought out help from an out-of-state K-9 search team.

Griffis was last seen here in the Burnside area sometime around July 4 of last year. What followed were some strange text messages, then his car, phone and wallet were found. Since then, nothing but questions about what happened to him.

His mother, Alice Mabe, says that she can place where Ricky was on July 4. She believes something happened to him either that day or on the fifth.

His car was found on July 6, but it’s now been 11 months, and there’s been no sign of her son.

She says he was not a perfect man, but she said that he was clean from drugs for almost two years.

She believes that he will not be found alive.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is investigating. However, his mother says an out-of-state search crew has agreed to look for him and other missing Kentuckians. She says that is outstanding welcome news that she feels very good about.

“They read her post and our post. It touched their heart. They wanted to gather their stuff and come look for Ricky,” said Mabe.

The Wayne County Sheriff says they are also planning their search and rescue crew to look at the area again where Griffis’ car was found. He also says they have conducted 4 polygraph tests, but nothing has turned up any more clues.

The Cajun Coast Search & Rescue Team that may help look for Griffis was also used in the search for Savannah Spurlock in 2019. they are planning to be in Kentucky early next week.

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