http://www.theeagle.com/stories/021107/am_20070211003.php
quote:
Parents ask for help finding son
Texas A&M University senior Mark Randall Davis seemed to be in a good mood on the night of Jan. 14. He went to the Olive Garden restaurant in Tyler with his family, bought a jacket in preparation for a pending ice storm and talked about his plans to return to College Station the next day to resume classes after the holiday break.
But that was the last time his parents heard from him.
He left with little more than a mountain bike, and if anyone knows where he is, they haven't come forward.
Davis, 20, left a note that indicated his parents, Randy and Karen Davis, wouldn't hear from their only son again. Randy Davis said he believes his son could still be alive and might have fled to a Latin American country to escape school-related pressures he'd been facing.
Mark Davis has no documented problems with drug use or mental health issues, his father said. He had a 3.7 grade point average, and had studied chemical engineering and economics at Texas A&M before deciding recently to change his major to Spanish.
Although he'd attended A&M for only a couple of years after transferring from Tyler Junior College, he had enough hours to qualify as a senior, Randy Davis said.
"He was trying to figure himself out," Randy Davis said. "He wasn't sure what kind of work he wanted to do. He was depressed. He wasn't excited about anything. It was hard to motivate him."
Seeing their son in a despondent state was difficult for family members, who have many memories of better times, Randy Davis said. Mark was a high school tennis star who loved to go wakeboarding and waterskiing with his family, but he had been withdrawn since he came home for the holidays Dec. 13.
Randy and Karen Davis invited their son to go snow skiing over his holiday break, but he said he didn't want to go.
Instead, they took him to see a therapist in Tyler.
"The specialist said he'd probably bounce back from it," Randy Davis said. "We didn't think there was anything serious going on."
Without a trace
On the night of Jan. 14, after Mark Davis ate dinner with his parents, his 24-year-old sister and his brother-in-law, he went to Wal-Mart with his parents and bought a jacket to wear on campus when he went back to school.
"We went home [after the trip to Wal-Mart] and went to bed," Randy Davis said of the last time he saw his son.
The next morning, his parents went to wake him up to urge him to get on the road before the ice storm hit.
He was already gone.
They found that Mark Davis had typed a goodbye note on the computer in his bedroom but then copied the message on a piece of paper and signed it, presumably because he didn't have a printer in his room. The note was addressed to his family.
"It said goodbye, and it left us feeling we would never see him again," Randy Davis said. "It left us uncertain of what his true intentions were. From his note, he's not sympathetic to how we feel. He's just gone. He was very cordial to his mom and me and his family. He just said it's out of your control and you won't find me."
Mark Davis left his wallet, cell phone and passport behind. His parents believe he was riding a metallic silver and green mountain bike when he left early Jan. 15. The family is offering rewards of up to $10,000 for information about the bicycle or proof that Mark is alive. Photos of Mark and his bicycle are featured on a Web site the family has set up at www.findmarkdavis.com.
Officer Don Martin, a spokesman for the Tyler Police Department, said detectives don't know if Mark Davis is "deceased or doesn't want to be found."
"We've pleaded with anyone who knows anything to come forward," Martin said, adding that police have received few useful tips. "We've run down all the leads we have."
After sending helicopters to fly around the city and search parties to comb a wooded area near the Davises' home on Luann Lane, Tyler police called off the search, Martin said.
"We did everything we could here," he said.
His parents, however, think there may be some leads to chase in College Station. Randy Davis plans to visit the A&M campus Monday to see whether Mark might have made plans to disappear.
"As a Spanish major in international studies, he was planning to study abroad for a semester," Randy Davis said. "He'd researched the Latin American countries. His favorite class was a Latin American geography course. If he got in touch with an international student, maybe somebody picked him up here in Tyler."
Randy Davis grew up in McAllen, on the Mexican border, and says his son has been to Mexico several times.
"He's been there with the family. He's been there on missionary trips," Randy Davis said. "He knows how to get across the border, and he's fluent in Spanish."
But his passport is expired, and he hasn't renewed it. His driver's license remains in the wallet he left in Tyler, but Randy Davis said his son may have a Texas A&M identification card with him. A check with the Texas Department of Public Safety shows Mark Randall Davis hasn't attempted to renew his driver's license or change his address.
Mark Davis is about 5 feet 8 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing jeans, tennis shoes and a black or maroon jacket.
