A mystery has been solved, and a family has closure almost a year after a Zachary man went missing.
Welton "Wick" Pierce went missing in October 2019. This weekend, members of the Louisiana Search and Rescue K9 Team located human skeletal remains that officials believe are his.
Yesterday, Zachary Police reported that Pierce's truck, a 2002 GMC Sierra, was found in Adams County, Mississippi. A search was conducted by the Zachary Police Department, along with LASAR, West Feliciana Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana State Police, East Feliciana Sheriff’s Office, and numerous volunteers from Zachary, including family and friends of Pierce.
Just a few hours later, ZPD reported that Snow, Niko, and Messi of LASAR had located skeletal remains in the area. Although the Adams County Medical Examiner will do the work to confirm identity, at this time investigators believe they are Pierce's remains.
Pierce's family posted a thank you to those who helped find him.
"We want to Thank EVERYONE that has helped search for our Daddy, Welton "Wick" Pierce!! From the many Police Departments to the people that kept their eyes peeled, and also those that brought food during this long search! Also to the MANY PRAYER WARRIORS!!! It has been a very long 11 months!!! But THANK GOD we can now have closure by laying our Daddy to rest beside our Moma!! Thank you does not seam like it's enough, but from the bottom of our hearts WE THANK YOU!! In the next week or so we will be taking this page down to signify that he has been found! Thank you again from the Pierce Family," the post states.
"Our thoughts are with the Pierce family today as they process this long awaited closure, one week before what would have been Mr. Wick’s 82nd birthday," a Facebook post by ZPD states. "Chief David McDavid would like to thank the family and friends of the Pierce family and citizens nationwide who remained watchful for Mr. Wick in the months following his disappearance. We would also like to thank Louisiana Search and Rescue Dog Team, K9s Snow, Niko, and Messi, Louisiana State Police, East Feliciana Sheriff’s Office, West Feliciana Sheriff’s Office, and Adams County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance."
The ZPD also posted about LASAR. LaSAR is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization which deploys expert handlers and K9s like Snow, NiKo, and Messi at the request of law enforcement at no cost to the law enforcement agency or family. This means that grieving families never receive a bill for this service. These handler-K9 teams are trained and certified in multiple disciplines including location of human remains, missing persons, and evidence collection, the post states.
"The closure LaSAR is able to bring to communities is priceless. We each have the opportunity to help this organization continue its noble mission by making financial contributions to LaSAR," the post states.
Here's the post from the ZPD:
