Friday, Aug. 4, 2000, is a day Tom Putman of Granby remembers well.
That’s the day his 78-year-old father, Robert, wandered away from his Granby farm and was never seen again.
“I was working and got a call that they couldn’t find Dad, he’d gone out for a walk, and they couldn’t find him,” Putman recalled. “I didn’t think too much about it at the time, as Dad was used to going out and taking a walk. I thought they would find him in a few minutes.”
Tom Putman checked on his parents twice a day, in the afternoon and again at night, to make sure they were taking their medication and to see if they needed anything. Putman said his father was in the habit of walking the roads and fields near his home on Tower Road, going about a quarter to a half mile either west or east of the farm.
But that day was different. Early that morning, Robert Putman was spotted walking less than a half-mile east of the family farm.PUTMAN
FROM PAGE 1
He was never seen again and his remains were never found, despite an intense multi-day manhunt involving more than 300 people, more than 30 dogs and their handlers, walkers, and people in cars, on all-terrain vehicles, mountain bicycles and on horseback.
“That Sunday, all of the churches announced it during their services, and a lot of them dismissed the evening service so people could go out to look,” Putman said.
According to the Monday, Aug. 7, 2000, edition of the Neosho Daily News, then-Newton County Sheriff Ron Doerge said he sent deputies to church services throughout the Granby area asking for volunteers to assist in the search. More than 270 people showed up to help, including members of First Baptist Church in Granby, Granby Christian Church, Silver Moon Full Gospel Church, Shoal Creek Revival and churches in nearby Newtonia and Sweetwater.
Searchers also included area fire departments, including Neosho, Granby, Diamond, Redings Mill, Seneca, Goodman and Carl Junction, as well search dogs from the Missouri Department of Corrections at Moberly, Tahlequah, Okla., Joplin, Wichita, Kan., Vernon County, Mo., Barry County, Mo., and Nevada, Mo., were at the scene. Members of an area saddle club turned out to help, as did the Newton County Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Neosho Area United Community Fund. Many other individuals, churches and businesses donated food, water, sports drinks, ice, chilled watermelon and tick and mosquito repellent to aid searchers.
Eventually, though, the manhunt had to be called off, with the general consensus being Robert Putman’s remains would be found by hunters that fall.
“Oh sure, we had hopes he would be found alive, but it wasn’t a real high hope after a couple of years because of Dad’s health condition, anyhow,” Putman said. “Of course, anytime there was a report of human remains found, we were always anxious to hear who it was. That continues until today.”
Robert Putman suffered from dementia as well as a heart condition that reduced his heart’s function to just 40 percent.
Nine years later, the family is seeking closure by holding a memorial service for the long-time farmer, Kraft Foods retiree and U.S. Army Air Corps veteran. The service is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church in Granby, located a block south of U.S. 60 on Main Street.
Tom Putman said the family decided to do this after his mother, Edra Putman had to be placed in a nursing home.
“She’s got the same problem with dementia that Dad had,” Putman said. “I can’t say that dementia is good, but she doesn’t remember a lot of what was going on.”
After her husband’s disappearance, Edra Putman went to live with her daughter, Janice Jerome, who had moved back to the Granby area. She lived there until the Jerome home was destroyed in the May 10, 2008, tornado.
“She was there at the time,” Putman said. “She wasn’t hurt, but it really threw her for a loop, as everything changed drastically. At that time, we had to put Mom in a nursing home. It [her husband’s disappearance] has been tough on her, along with the tornado.
“I think she had a lot more dementia problems than we realized. She was taking care of Dad, and we didn’t notice anything until shortly after he was gone. Then, we noticed it quite a bit.”
Tom Putman described Saturday’s memorial service as being part funeral service, part celebration of life. A message will be delivered by Rick Patterson, retired pastor of First Baptist Church. Several of Robert Putman’s grandchildren got together and wrote a special song in memory of their grandfather, which will also be performed at Saturday’s service. The song, titled “It’s Not What He Said, It’s How He Lived,” talks about their childhood memories, of walking with their grandfather to the mailbox and of features about the family farm.
“There will be a lot of singing,” Putman said. “Our family, through the years, has been a singing family. Dad loved to sing gospel songs, so we will sing a lot of the ones he liked best.”
Tom Putman said his father’s favorites included many familiar hymns, including “The Old Rugged Cross,” “In The Garden,” “At the Cross,” “When We All Get to Heaven,” “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder,” and “Victory in Jesus.” Tom Putman recalled his father’s steadfast faith.
“I remember as a small child him leading the singing at Clear Creek Baptist Church,” Putman said. “He made it clear to his children and grandchildren that when his life ended on earth, it was just starting in eternity.”
