Michael Beach, 19, was last seen two weeks ago leaving his residence in Salado at 7 a.m. without his wallet, money or identification - or even extra clothes.
“He left with just what was on his back,” said James Beach, Michael’s father.
Bell County Sheriff’s Department is exploring leads in Temple and Killeen, but Beach believes the focus should be on scouring the wide-open pastures surrounding Salado.
“My son is a lot like me,” he said. “When you get upset, you walk through pastures and woods and think about stuff.”
His theory is his son went for a walk but became injured on his trek.
“It’s been two weeks,” he said. “If he would have been out hurt in a pasture, there’s a good chance he’s dead.”
“I know survival,” he added. “All the creeks are dry right now. There’s no water out there to be had.”
Beach is pushing to speed up the sheriff’s search efforts. He even said several soldiers in his unit as well as his cousin’s unit wanted to volunteer help. But Beach wants to coordinate with the sheriff’s department first.
“Something needs to be coordinated and something needs to be coordinated now,” he said.
The Beach family remains hopeful that their son will be found, but there is one factor that Beach hasn’t overlooked - a message on his son’s Myspace.com profile.
On his profile, he seems like any other young adult - plays guitar, loves music and enjoys movies, trucks and laughing.
He likes comedies and “all those happy ending movies,” Michael writes.
But his cryptic message, “Here for a while, but not to say … I’ll miss you all, ‘Good bye,’” has led Beach to think his son could have been suicidal.
“I’m totally going out of my mind,” Beach said. “I can’t concentrate at work, and that’s not me.”
“It’s the scariest thing I’ve had in my life,” he added.
Beach said he only gets a couple hours of sleep each night.
“Sometimes, (I) just walk around the property at night,” he said. “I never would’ve expected one of my kids would come up missing.”
Beach has seven children and Michael is the oldest.
When Beach was transferred to Texas from California, Beach said his son stayed behind with his girlfriend at the time.
In February or March, Beach got a phone call from his son saying the two broke up and he wanted to come live with his family again.
Even with a strong group of friends in California, Beach doesn’t believe his son tried to return to his hometown.
For one, Beach said no one in California has seen or talked to him since his disappearance, and also he had no way to get to California.
“He doesn’t have a car,” Beach said. “Yeah, he could hitchhike but I couldn’t see my son hitching across the U.S.”
No friends or family members in California or Salado have had contact with Michael, and Beach said his son and cousin would talk on the phone every other day.
“He’s a good kid,” Beach said. “He makes mistakes just like anybody else.”
“We just need him back.”
lfrase@temple-telegram.com
