Jackson Free Press

Abraham Jonathan Ramirez went out with friends to El Jardin, a Jackson nightclub off Gallatin Street, a couple of years ago. He was 21 then, had a new pick-up truck and wore cowboy boots. He lived in Pearl and had lived there for at least a couple of years where he worked in construction for his girlfriend's brother. He hadn't been getting along too well with her that week, so he went out with his buddies. He was surprised to run into his girlfriend, Mayra Ibarra, at the club that night.

"Why are you here?" Ramirez asked her. "Where's our baby at?"

The couple argued during the early morning at the club. The last time anyone remembers seeing Ramirez was about 3:30 a.m., Sept. 5, 2009.

His black truck was found later, wrecked on the side of Interstate 20, only about a mile from the club near the State Street exit. Amy Ramirez, Abraham's stepmother, told the Jackson Free Press in August that police never searched his vehicle.

The missing man's family is worried that police have not given his case much attention because he is Hispanic. The stepmother of Abraham Jonathan Ramirez says when she tried to file a missing-person's report in 2009, Pearl police dismissed her concerns.

Lt. Butch Townsend, spokesman for the Pearl Police Department, said because Ramirez was last seen in Jackson, JPD needed to investigate his disappearance.

"This hints strongly at foul play," Townsend told the JFP. "And the foul play wasn't in Pearl."

Ramirez's stepmother and father live in St. Louis, Mo. Ibarra called about 10 a.m. Sept. 5, 2009, to tell them their son was missing. They came to Jackson to look for him, file missing-person reports and ask questions. They didn't get too many answers. They went back and forth between the Jackson and Pearl police departments, trying to get the process started but found stumbling blocks everywhere they turned.

"A police officer in Pearl told us: 'He's Hispanic. We have problems with Hispanics. He'll turn up.' It's like he said he didn't matter," Amy Ramirez said.

Townsend said he needed to hear the police officer's side, but that the sentiment was "definitely wrong." He also said Pearl police had an arrest warrant on file for an Abraham Ramirez dated June 2009. The warrant was for failure to appear in court regarding having an open container and an expired license.

The Jackson Police Department began paperwork for the Ramirez missing-person case in September 2009. JPD Det. Ella Small took over the case about one year ago. No new information has surfaced. Small said the only real lead is Mayra Ibarra, who moved to south Texas with the couple's baby soon after Ramirez disappeared. "I've been trying to find her," Small said. "If she's in Mexico, there's nothing we can do."

Small also said that the family should have filed the case in Pearl, where the missing man lived. Townsend says that is wrong.

Ramirez is from Mexico. He moved to the Jackson area around 2007. Small didn't know if he was a documented worker or the name of the construction company he was working for. Amy Ramirez said her stepson was a documented worker.

Amy Ramirez said she believes the case hasn't been handled properly since the beginning.

"He's a great kid—reserved, very polite and well-mannered," she said. "He came to have the American dream. He had a ton of friends."

Ramirez was wearing a black shirt with brown stripes and a cross on the back of the shirt, blue jeans and white cowboy boots the last time people remember seeing him. He's 5 foot 8, has black hair and brown eyes. He weighed about 180 pounds then. He'd be 23 now.  He didn't have any tattoos then, but he did have an earring in his left ear. He and Ibarra's young son was born May 28, 2009.

Authorities have entered the case in the National Crime Information Center database. Several missing person websites have posted the sketchy details of his disappearance. Mississippi Missing and Unidentified Persons is one organization that continues to reach out to the public, reminding people that this young father is missing with no explanations.

If you have any information, you can call Det. Small with the Jackson Police Department at 601-960-1318.