Family, friends still searching months after Tennessee pastor goes missing without a trace

The family of DeRossett Church of Christ Pastor Roy Whited, who went missing without a trace on May 3, have hired a private investigator to help them find answers as authorities have been unable to locate his whereabouts in the last four months.

Lynn Whited, the missing pastor's brother, announced earlier this month in a GoFundMe Campaign dedicated to raising funds to help them find answers that he was able to retain a private investigator with some of the money raised so far from members of the public.

"We have collected a little more than $7800.00. We have paid the private investigator $5000.00 as a retainer," he told donors of the campaign to raise $15,000 for the search effort.

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As of Thursday, the effort has raised over $8,900.

According to WZTV Nashville, Roy Whited was last seen walking down his Lovejoy Road in White County wearing cowboy boots at 4:30 p.m. on May 3. He was also seen earlier that day via a Ring doorbell recording pulling into the driveway of his home.

Since then, no one has seen the pastor, who worked as a realtor and auctioneer and served as a state champion basketball coach at White County High School in the late 1990s.

The pastor's neighbor Doug Watts said he called police about two days after Whited didn't show up for Sunday service. Watts said he checked inside the pastor's home, and his phone was still charging undisturbed.

"I called 911 and explained it to them. They were here pretty fast. I mean, they had a real good turnout, all kinds of dogs and helicopters and the sheriff's department and highway patrol made a thorough search and flew all around," Watts said.

The pastor's best friend and former student pastor, Brad Walker, describes him as a second father.

"He would go into a room and just command the room. He was funny and gregarious. He'd tell stories. He would pat everyone on the back. He would know everyone's name. And he would just literally command the room," Walker told Fox Nashville.

He's worried about what may have happened to the pastor.

"You feel like you're just all alone, and there's nobody listening," Walker said. "He's an amazing individual. It impacts countless lives and it's the thought of him just vanishing one day and us never understanding the truth that never knowing if something nefarious happened. There's no justice brought about. It's just a horrifying thought."

Calls by The Christian Post Thursday to the pastor's number on DeRossett Church of Christ's website went straight to his voicemail. The recording explains that the pastor is either busy on the other line or with his real estate clients before telling callers to leave a message.

Lynn Whited said he had been stressed and grieved by his brother's disappearance. 

"I can't sleep, I can eat because of anxiety. But it's just so stressful," he told WZTV Nashville. "You not knowing just that every waking minute you're just thinking, where could he be?"