‘Somebody please give us some hope’: Still no answers in search for missing Elmore County man

ELMORE COUNTY, Ala. (WAKA) – It has now been little over a month since an Elmore County man was last seen.

Christina Thornton, the mother of William Austin Matthews, gave an update to Action 8, saying there is still no sign of her son.

Investigators have been out searching for Austin Matthews in a three mile area from where he was last seen. They’ve also been searching from where his cell phone was last used before its battery died.

“I don’t think my son would’ve just left without letting someone know,” says Thornton. “Leaving his wallet, leaving his keys, with nothing to be able to sustain himself? So, I’m hoping that someone’s conscience will get to them. If you were involved in an accident or you were with someone that did something, you have a heart to know you wouldn’t want your mother out here looking with no answers for months on end.”

Austin’s coworkers say he would walk this route near his home after he got off work to wind down. Austin was last seen in surveillance video walking away from his home, near Ellis Road on August 29th.

“It’s been over a month now and we’ve had no pings on a phone, no texts, he hasn’t checked any of his social media,” says Thornton. “We have nothing and that’s the biggest thing. Somebody please give us some hope, give us an opportunity to find him in whatever condition he happens to be in.”

A $5,000 dollar reward is being offered for Austin’s whereabouts.

If you have any information that could help investigators, call Crimestoppers at 334-215-STOP.