A man from Texas has mysteriously disappeared for nearly a week, and his family is desperately searching for him.
The family’s father and husband Kenneth Draper was last seen at his Corinth home on Aug. 10. His wife, Leslie said she saw him go into the bathroom at 11:30 pm. She was wearing headphones and listening to an audio book at the time. She drifted off to sleep and woke at 6:30 a.m.—her husband was nowhere to be found.
Gail Percle, Kenneth Draper’s sister-in-law told Dateline NBC that his behavior was very out of the ordinary.
“It’s just so unlike him, we’re all shocked,” said Percle. “Everyone who knows him is like, ‘Is this a joke? This isn’t funny.’ No one can believe he’s just gone.”
Draper, 53, who everyone calls Ken was not usually up by 6:30 a.m., but if he was it was to walk the couple’s dog. But his wife said the dog was still inside and his car was also still parked at their home.
“She was alarmed and called one of her friends, but tried to not panic right then. But when she got home at 12:30 or so later that afternoon, he still wasn’t home. That’s when she called police,” Percle told Dateline.
The couple has been married for 20 years. It’s Draper’s second marriage and he is on good terms with his first wife—they have two sons. He is known to have a wide network of friends in the community and lots of relatives close by, people describe how he often attends family events.
Draper was reportedly talking about a trip he and his wife had planned. They were going to head to North Carolina this Friday on Aug. 18 to watch the solar eclipse, making his disappearance even more unusual.
“They had a house rented and friends coming,” Percle told Dateline. “He loves that sort of stuff. He’s a bit nerdy, loves science and stuff. It sounded like he was really looking forward to seeing it.”
According to Draper’s family members, they said he was stressed about work in recent times but apart from that, they could not think of anything else that was troubling the husband, NBC reported.
An investigation is underway by the Corinth Police Department, but officials do not suspect that foul play was involved at this point in time. They believe Draper left of his own personal choice. However, Assistant Chief Greg Wilkerson told Dateline they are still concerned for his safety.
“We’ve tracked down every possible lead, but there has been nothing,” Wilkerson said. “We’re hoping someone sees his picture and recognizes him, and calls us. And we can intervene or offer help to him if he needs it.”
A few searches have already been conducted on the forest areas around the family’s home, but not much evidence has been found.
“It’s just crazy. You think, ‘Did something happen?’” Percle told Dateline. “We just want him to know we love him and we want him to come home. And to anyone who knows anything, he has a family and is very loved.”
Ken Draper is described as 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 165 pounds with brown hair, blue eyes, a goatee and tattoos on his shoulders (cloud with lightning bolt & dragon). Anyone with information on his location is urged to call the Corinth Police Department at (940) 349-1600 or dial 911.
