Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies are continuing a search for a 25-year-old Jackson County man who disappeared from a Columbus neighborhood into nearby woods with a friend’s 12-gauge shotgun.
Joseph Ross, 25, who was at a friend’s home in the Amberley addition in Columbus, entered the woods next to the neighborhood which borders County Road 250E on the east and Clifty Creek on the west, said Detective Terry Holderness. Ross took off at about 8 p.m. Sunday and a search ensued, but friends and family were unable to find him.
Ross’ father, Brian, reported the Jennings County native missing to police Monday morning.
Joseph Ross is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 135 to 145 pounds. He has blond hair, hazel eyes and was wearing blue jeans and a green O’Reilly’s Auto Parts T-shirt when he disappeared. He was not carrying a cellphone, the detective said.
Detectives believe the young adult could be a danger to himself, but Joseph Ross is not believed to be a danger to anyone else, Holderness said.
The man’s disappearance came after police were called to a domestic dispute he was having with his fiance in Brownstown, and he was picked up by the friend and brought to Columbus before he disappeared, Brian Ross said.
“He didn’t want to go to jail. No one has seen him since,” his father said.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department has joined deputies from Jackson and Jennings counties and the Indiana State Police to search for Joseph Ross, including using tracking dogs, Holderness said. The young man is listed in the national database of missing persons.
Sheriff’s deputies ask anyone with information about Ross to call 812-379-1689.
Family members are also continuing to search, including looking through the wooded area and contacting Joseph Ross’ known friends who might come into contact with him and not know he has been reported missing, his father said.
Disappearing without any contact with family is not the way Joseph Ross commonly acts, his father said.
“We’re just all at a loss about this,” he said.
