Gene Weems: Missing & Declared Dead

 

On Thursday, June 5, 1997, Robert Eugene Weems walked away from his home on Julian Street in Petersville around 9:00 p.m. and has never officially been seen again. Gene lived with his family who told Lauderdale County investigators that the missing man had left behind identification, money, and medicine. While it wasn't unusual for the bi-polar 30 year-old to leave his home when stressed, it was out of character for him to remain away for a lengthy period of time.

On Sunday, June 8th, there was a credible sighting of Gene walking along Cox Creek Parkway between North Wood Avenue and Jackson Road. Since the young man had been known to walk in that area before, the Weems family felt this was a good place to begin a ground search.

At that time, Lauderdale County had a "Crisis Action Team," and six members volunteered to search the wooded areas around that section of the parkway on Monday, June 23rd. The timing meant that early Summer vegetation was at its peak, and members were hampered by impassable areas. At the end of the day, no sign of Gene Weems had been found. Searchers continued with a water search of Cypress Creek the next day, but again turned up nothing.

During this time frame, authorities were made aware of two possible out-of-state sightings - one in Mississippi and one in Savannah, Tennessee; however, detectives were never able to associate the transients with Gene. While local authorities continued to keep the case open, new information was not forthcoming.

In September 2006, Willard Eugene (Bill) Weems had his son declared dead. Bill died four years later without any news of his son who would now be 56. Gene Weems' name still has a place on the State of Alabama missing persons list - No. Laud00952, which identifies him as endangered and is one of its oldest cases.

Was Robert Eugene Weems the victim of an actual crime? That's something we may never know.

Murder on the Joe Wheeler Plantation

 

Murder at Pond Spring tells the story of the May 3, 1871, murder of Dandridge Thompson Galey (Gailey) by the brother-in-law of Gen. Joe Wheeler. The account is written by Mike Walker, a descendant of the victim.

The book is a private printing with only a few copies remaining. For purchasing information, you may contact the author via his Facebook page:

Mike Walker

Three Years to Identify Her Body

 

Courtney Vivian Staggs, mother of five, was living on Piedmont Street in Florence when she went missing in 2020. Also known as Courtney Barrett, the 35 year-old sometimes called herself "Hot Alabama Girl" online. 

From the Florence Police Department on August 18, 2020: Courtney Staggs was last seen Monday (8/10/2020) in the Florence, AL area. Courtney is 5'05" with green eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a black shirt and black pants with sandals. 

The Florence woman's last sighting was near the 600 block of East Irvine Avenue where she had been visiting a client who stated she appeared normal when she left. Due to certain aspects of her last known hours, she was listed as endangered.

There was no further news of Courtney until October when her EBT card was found in Lil Caesar's Pizza in Florence Plaza. Despite the find, no CCTV cameras picked up either Courtney or anyone who could possibly have been using the card.

Then, in November, hunters found the remains of a female body in a wooded area off Jarmon Lane. After viewing items found with the body, family members believed the deceased was Courtney, but needed to wait for DNA confirmation. A daughter provided her DNA for testing, and the wait began.

The body was initially sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences which failed to make a positive identification. From there, the body traveled to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.

On May 20, 2024, the Colbert County Sheriff's Office received word that the remains definitely belonged to Courtney, and a death certificate was issued on May 22nd. Her family held a memorial service on May 31st, but for Colbert Sheriff Eric Balentine, the work was just beginning.

Balentine has indicated that he expects the case to go swiftly at this point. He has persons of interest, as well as statements linking them to Staggs' last hours. While Courtney's family awaits an arrest, one relative expressed thanks for a major hurdle in the case: Courtney Vivian Staggs is now buried beside her mother.

"Frankie Shot Me"

When Reynolds Alloys shuttered a large part of its Colbert County operations, the aluminum foil giant gave employees a chance to work at one of its many other facilities. One employee who took the company up on its relocation offer was Ewell Wells Bridges. Unfortunately, Bridges' wife Frankie wasn't as enamored of Hot Springs, Arkansas, as her husband. Frankie Stovall Bridges initially thought her husband's transfer would be short-lived, but by 1986, Ewell was in his seventh year at the Arkansas plant. 

Thus began the commuter era of the Bridges' marriage; for years Ewell lived in a small lake house in Hot Springs, traveling each weekend home to Frankie in Tuscumbia. Such arrangements often take a toll on even the strongest unions, and, according to Garland County homicide detectives, the Bridges' marriage was no exception.

On May 24, 1986, Ewell Bridges' next door neighbor in Arkansas heard shots and the sound of breaking glass. Thinking that teenagers were shooting at bottles, Charles Chippola left his trailer and began looking for the hooligans. Instead of rowdy teens, Chippola discovered broken glass in front of Bridges' cottage. Inside he found the then 49 year-old Ewell lying on the floor, shot twice and bleeding profusely from his neck and torso.

After calling police, Chippola knelt by Bridges, asking who was responsible. According to Charles, Bridges, who was actively dying, used his last breath to say "Frankie shot me."

Chippola then reported seeing a large African-American woman he believed to be Frankie Bridges exit the small cottage. Buela Chippola, Charles' wife, testified that she had been outside the cottage and saw a woman run from Bridges' home and leave in a small Mercury or Maverick.

Frankie Bridges, a Coffee High School science teacher at the time of the shooting, had retained Florence attorney Don Holt as her primary advocate in the Arkansas trial. When Holt questioned Charles Chippola, the neighbor admitted that he had changed some basic details of his testimony since the night of the shooting. Holt contended that Frankie Bridges was visiting a cousin in Muscle Shoals the night of Ewell's death and could not possibly have shot her husband. The defense offered up the theory of a robbery gone wrong, while some speculated that the woman seen leaving the cottage was Ewell Bridges' spurned lover.

Holt then called Frankie Bridges to the stand. Frankie, who by the 1987 trial was no longer employed by the Florence City School System, testified that she was grading papers at the Muscle Shoals home of her cousin the night of her husband's murder. She further stated she had never owned a Mercury or Maverick and had no reason to want her husband dead. 

Did the jury believe Frankie's version of her relationship with her husband at the time of his murder, or did they believe Ewell's alleged dying declaration? It seems the 12 jurors were at a loss as to who was telling the truth and announced that they could not settle on a verdict. The Garland County district attorney later announced he would not try the case a second time.

Today, the 83 year-old Frankie Stovall Bridges lives in Chandler, Arizona. And Charles Chippola? Did he really hear Ewell Bridges incriminate Frankie? We'll consign that question to one of life's mysteries.