KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It's been almost 900 days since a missing 72-year-old man from Knox County was last seen by a neighbor. Daniel Dewey went missing in 2022, with the mystery surrounding him still haunting his loved ones in 2024.
"What we know then, then when we know now, is not a whole lot," said Ray Lew, nephew of Dewey.
The case of Dewey remains unsolved with little to no leads on what happened to him.
"It's always in your mind, it never goes away. You're always thinking 'What could we do different? What could I do different?'" said Lew. "We're basically on the same spot as the day he disappeared, unfortunately."
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System shows Dewey was last seen by a neighbor on March 23, 2022. The next day, around 2 a.m. in the morning, Dewey was caught on camera circling around a nearby church.
Deweys shoes were later found by the same church.
A Silver Alert was then issued on March 26.
"It's very interesting that he was seen on camera and nothing was seen, no clothing, no evidence," said Stephanie Gamble, who leads Search 22.
A local volunteer search team has conducted 27 searches and logged more than 2,000 man-hours on the ground searching for answers in Dewey's disappearance.
Despite the lack of evidence about Dewey, his case remains active by the Knox County Sheriff's Office.
"In the state of Tennessee, somebody is not declared dead until seven years. So Dan is still alive," said Gamble.
For his family — Daniel is more than just a number on a list of missing people but a brother and an uncle. There is a $50,000 reward for tips on Dewey's whereabouts.
In a statement, Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler told 10News:
"Mr. Dewey’s case remains open. So many people within the Knox County Sheriff’s Office came together to search for Mr. Dewey: Patrol, Detectives, The Tracking Team, many in our K-9 Unit, and our Aviation division. Everyone here remains committed to locating Mr. Dewey. I would also like to say how much we appreciate the Halls community coming together to assist in the search."