Amanda Hollister, a resident of Emerson Valley, reported that her husband, William Hollister, has gone missing. She filed a missing persons report with the Sheriff’s Office this morning, telling the authorities that he had failed to return home from work last night. He is currently employed as a security guard at the First Emerson Valley Bank.

Mr. Hollister usually works Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. His shift ends at 5 PM, after which he liked to take a stroll through Blackwood Forest. He typically arrives home by 6:30 PM for dinner. Last night, he failed to come home, and Mrs. Hollister couldn’t reach him on his cell phone.

When Mr. Hollister still hadn’t come back by midnight, his wife knew something was wrong. According to her, he was not the kind of person to simply stay out all night without contacting her. She also called friends and neighbors, asking if they’d seen him, but no one knew where he could be.

Sheriff Oliver Price is currently organizing a search party to look for Mr. Hollister, and they are treating him as missing. They will focus their efforts on Blackwood Forest. Mr. Hollister’s supervisor told the sheriff that he seemed fine yesterday, and departed the bank around 5:15 PM like normal. Mr. Hollister’s vehicle was located at a small parking lot near the south entrance to the forest, so Sheriff Price’s belief is that Mr. Hollister drove there and entered the woods, but never came back out.

“In all likelihood, William Hollister went into Blackwood Forest at some point during yesterday evening, and possibly became injured or otherwise immobilized. People hike the trails there all the time, but the woods are still a very dangerous place. This is why we always encourage people to stick to the marked trails. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find William before the end of the day.”

If you would like to assist in the search for William Hollister, please contact the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Price has expressed that they are eager for any assistance from Emerson Valley’s citizens that they can get. Mr. Hollister is 53 years old, 6’2″, 187 lbs., and has short brown hair and a brown mustache. He was last seen wearing his favorite red plaid shirt and a pair of Levi’s jeans.

-Sarah Donovan, Editor & Local News, Emerson Valley Gazette

UPDATE (11/22/2019): The search for William Hollister has failed to locate him. Sheriff Price has said that they’ve searched nearly the entirety of the forest and have not been able to find any clues as to his whereabouts. However, they will continue to look for him over the coming weeks, although the search party has been disbanded.

UPDATE (11/26/2019): Sheriff Price expressed to the Gazette that without any signs of William Hollister’s whereabouts, it does not seem likely that he is still alive. However, if anyone has any information about Mr. Hollister, please contact the Sheriff’s Office as soon as possible.