by Wesley Harris
(This is the first in a series of cold cases in Ruston and Lincoln Parish)
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Case No. 1
Name: Harold “Harry” Knox
Type of Case: Missing Person – foul play suspected
Date: December 2023
Status: Under active investigation
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One evening in December 2023, 60-year-old Harold Knox left the home of an acquaintance on South Hazel Street near downtown Ruston. Police believe he was walking to his home on South Farmerville Street.
That was the last confirmed sighting of Harold “Harry” Knox.
A longtime Ruston resident, Knox grew up in the community. Well-known among his circle of acquaintances, he was well-liked, paid his bills on time, didn’t bother others.
Within a few days, friends and family noticed Harold was missing. His disappearance was reported to the Ruston Police Department on December 5. At the time, he was described as legally blind and had suffered a head injury several years earlier. He was last seen wearing a red and gray plaid shirt, blue jeans, and boots.
The Ruston Police Department investigated but the case went nowhere.
About two months ago, police announced investigators had developed new information on the case and were actively following those leads.
Laborde said she obtained a search warrant for a location in Lincoln Parish based on the information.
Despite the new lead, Laborde said any information from the public, big or small, could make a critical difference.
In examining an old case, Laborde said work as an investigator starts with talking to people who were around when the incident occurred.
“There’s another case that I’m working right now, an old homicide case, and just by talking to the mother of the victim, I was able to open up a lead that hadn’t been pursued. Actually, I’m working on that today. We just got a return back on a search warrant for that, and I must go through it and see what evidence I can find.”
“We re-interviewed people [on the Knox case], talked to others, reviewed reports, conducted a search of a identified location, posted notices on social media asking for help.” Laborde said. Other steps in the investigation are underway.
Laborde said cold cases move slowly because leads can’t be pursued until they are identified. When a crime occurs, many leads may exist early but as they are pursued and leads are exhausted, it’s hard to move forward without new information.
“I am running down more avenues in the Knox case,” Laborde said. She described an investigative plan that the Lincoln Parish Journal will not reveal here.
Laborde suspects foul play in Knox’s disappearance but she’s hopeful the truth will come out.
Speaking of her passion for old, unsolved cases, Laborde said she is determined.
“I’ll be optimistic until there’s no more leads I can run down,” said Laborde. “I’m giving it 100% like, for a lack of better words, a dog with a bone. They’re cold cases, not closed cases. I think there’s always something we can do.”
“We’re never going to stop. I look at all these older cases as if they were my family,” Laborde said. “If this was my family, I would want the detectives to give their best. And so that’s what I’m doing for these families.”
Laborde urges anyone who may have seen Knox in December 2023 or who has information that could help in the case to come forward. If you have any details that could assist in this investigation, contact Sgt. Hannah Laborde at 318-255-4141. Laborde said anyone uncomfortable with coming to the police station.
