10News COLD CASE: Knoxville hairstylist still missing after almost three years

Cold cases can be hard to solve when you have all the pieces. Now imagine trying to get to the bottom of the crime when perhaps the biggest piece of the puzzle is missing: the body.For investigators looking into the disappearance of a Knoxville hairstylist, that's exactly what they are up against."There's a lot of places between here and Knoxville to hide a body," Lt. Detective Wayne Bird of the Williamsburg Police Department said. The search for well known and well loved Knoxville hairstylist Byron Barker goes on as the years pass by."Byron was an energetic guy. He definitely had a zest for the latest and greatest," Salon Visage owner Frank Gambuzza says. "When he did something he did it all out."Barker was featured on WBIR's Style show two years before he suddenly disappeared.May 3, 2005 was a long time ago."We still don't know at this point where the homicide was committed--in Tennessee or Kentucky--or where the body is even at," Lt. Detective Bird said.Workers found Barker's car at a Williamsburg Super Eight motel, yet there was no record of him ever staying there.Police say blood was found inside the trunk."What a better way to throw a kink in a homicide then to spread it across states, because you have multiple jurisdictions," Lt. Detective Bird said. "It's definitely thrown a kink in it."Crews searched the area on at least three different occasions looking for Barker or some kind of hint as to what happened to him.Nothing has turned up.According to police, Barker's roommate at the Country Oaks Apartments gave them some misleading information during the investigation.At one point, he told them Barker was in rehab in Kentucky around the time of his disappearance. That roommate was never charged with Barker's murder, but he was sentenced for stealing Barker's belongings."Most of our investigations are like working a puzzle. In a cold case, it's like waiting on a piece of that puzzle to come by mail," Knoxville Police Deputy Chief Don Green said.Almost four years later, investigators are constantly reviewing statements and surfing the Internet.They know Barker spent a lot of time in chat rooms. "It's left a void in a lot of people's lives. I know Mr. Barker had a lot of contact with people. He had a lot of friends in the community," Deputy Chief Green said. "It's difficult on everyone not knowing what happened."With no body, there's no closure."He was a phenomenal hairdresser, as talented as they get," Gambuzza said.Barker was an artist, a loved one, and a murder victim.Investigators aren't giving up until his killer is caught, maybe not today but someday.If you have any information on this case you are asked to call the Knoxville Police Department.You can also e-mail us at coldcase@wbir.com, if you have a story you'd like us to profile.