JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Twenty years after two Jacksonville middle school students disappeared, new age progression photos of the men were released Monday by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Mark Degner, 12, and Bryan Hayes, 13, vanished after they walked out of Paxon Middle School on Feb. 10, 2005.
The images show what they might look like now at ages 32 and 33. News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney spent more than 30 years with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. At the time of the boys' disappearance, Hackney was a lieutenant in the homicide division, which handled missing persons cases. He investigated this case starting day one.
“The good thing about these progression photos is it gives everybody a chance to look and see, this is what they could look like,” Hackney said. “It’s heartbreaking from a guy who was involved in the investigation from the very first day, to know that there hasn’t been any movement, there hasn’t been any answers.”
There have been a few reported sightings of the boys throughout the years, but their cases remain unsolved. For those with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the hope is to create an accurate image and keep the cases of missing children in the public eye. Colin McNally is the supervising forensic artist for NCMEC and said age-progressed images have shown to be relatively accurate. He hopes these new images will reach the right person with the right information.
“If we can create a striking age progression that’s based off of a good quality image of the child, in this case, Brian and Mark,” McNally said. “And combine that with family member images and then combine that with a really great media push, I think the right person could see it.”
The boys' families are still holding out hope that the two will be found. In a statement shared by NCMEC, Mark’s grandmother, Darlene Briggs, said:
“Our family is truly thankful for the needed support and encouragement from the community, our public officials, the many efforts of law enforcement in their continued search, and the media as they keep community awareness that our missing loved ones are not forgotten. Our hearts are filled with hope as we pray for God’s protection, provision and safe return of all of our missing loved ones.”
Briggs said not a day has gone by that she hasn’t held hope for their return.
“I have a flyer on the back of my car, so everywhere I go, I can come out of the store from shopping, and people say, Oh, I remember boys. Oh, I’m praying for the boys every day,” Briggs said.
Hackney wants to make it clear there is no penalty to anyone who comes forward sharing accurate information. People can remain anonymous. He also had a message to the boys themselves, if they’re still out there.
“Law enforcement doesn’t want to arrest you or to charge you or to blame you about what’s happened,” Hackney said. “Your family wants to know answers. Law enforcement wants to know answers. 20 years is enough, if you’re seeing this and you’re out there, let us know.”
The boys' families held a vigil in downtown Jacksonville marking 20 years since their disappearances.
“It doesn’t matter where you are or where you’ve been or what you’ve done, all we want you to do is to come home and be with us that miss you and love you and have prayed for you every day since you went missing,” Briggs said.
If you know the whereabouts of Mark or Bryan, call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (THE LOST).
