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When a real estate executive disappears, his family thinks he may have amnesia.
CASE DETAILS Twenty-six year old John Cheek seemed destined for success. Fresh out of business school, he had been hired as the Chief Financial Officer for one of Memphis, Tennessee’s largest real estate companies. By the age of 28, John had bought this house in East Memphis, and was hard at work putting together the deal of a lifetime. For months, John had helped lay the groundwork to take his company public. He was working 18 hour days and flying all over the world to meet with investors.  Car was abandoned near bridge Finally, by December of 1993, the deal was on the verge of closing. Millions of dollars were on the line. The company was about to be thrust into the national spotlight, literally overnight. Arrena Cheek is John’s mother:
On December 2, 1993, John didn’t show up for work and surprise quickly turned to concern at the company headquarters. Dee Reed was one of John’s co-workers:
 Trucker says he had breakfast with John Early the next morning, John’s car was found abandoned on Interstate 55 where the highway crosses over the Mississippi River. It was about 12 miles from John’s home. Memphis Police homicide Sergeant Jack Ruby:
Police theorized that John had committed suicide by jumping into the Mississippi River. However, searches of the river and its banks failed to locate his body. And, to those who knew him best, like his father Dr. Richard Cheek, suicide seemed to be out of the question:
 John’s shoes were positively identified Two months passed with no leads, no word from John, and no reason to believe that he was even alive. Then, on February 14, 1994, a trucker named Ron Jackson rolled into town. Over the years, Ron had seen hundreds of missing person flyers at truck stops all across the country. He was stunned when he saw the face of someone he actually recognized. Ron said it was the young man he had met just the day before:
Ron found the young drifter sleeping at a Virginia truck stop, 700 miles from John Cheek’s hometown:
 A trucker recognized John from a flyer He didn’t tell Ron his name, but the man did say he had spent some time in an Arkansas homeless shelter:
Ron and the drifter were headed in opposite directions, so outside the cafeteria they said goodbye. For the Cheek family, Ron’s sighting was welcome news. Dr. Richard Cheek:
For John’s parents, the most promising detail was Ron’s description of the young man’s shoes: slip on moccasins. John had a pair that was identical and his father believed he might be wearing them:
No one can be sure why John vanished. His father believes he might have suffered a sudden episode of stress-induced amnesia known as the “fugue state:”
Since Ron Jackson’s sighting, there has been no other sign of John Cheek. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season six with Robert Stack and in season five with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
Phikeia
John and I were fraternity brothers at SMU. We were also pledge brothers going through pledgeship together. It wasn’t just John who disappeared. Two others also disappeared within 30 days of John’s disappearance. All three people have never resurfaced and all three were involved in the financing of taking his company public. Many of his fraternity brothers believe he inadvertently got mixed up with organized crime during the process of taking his company public. He was a great person.
Kelly
My father is Ron Jackson, who had breakfast with him at the truck stop . He is 80 years old now. We were just talking about his encounter with John and wondering if he had ever been found. The family has never contacted him about the event, he has prayed for him and that his family would find him safe.
Terry
I live in Memphis and don’t believe that he was ever found. I do know that both his parents are deceased and never found out what happened to their son beyond this one encounter.
Luis Jordan
It is strange. As far as I know, John Cheek’s parents are still alive. Of course, they are already resigned to the fact that John passed away due to the passage of time and not having any solid clues as to his whereabouts or what happened to him.
Luis Jordan
Your father is a great man, regardless of whether or not he was John, for helping someone who was clearly in a time of need. Please pay my respects to him and may many of us follow his good example. Best regards from Mexico.
Dr Howard
Stress induced condition from those long hours with pressure to succeed. Potassium phosphate is involved in sound brain function; for example it can with emotional pressure over time becomes reduced and it can negatively impact the memory and personality. It is sold as Kali phos in different potencies. This is the only logical explanation in my view based on Cheeks behavior.
You can read online the symptoms of low levels of Kali phos.
Zach T.
Potassium phosphate supplements have proven no more efficacious for improving symptoms of mental fatigue than a standard placebo. It would be nice if a cheapo off the shelf homeopathic concoction could keep someone from having a mental breakdown, but time and time again basic medical science has shown there is no such thing as a free lunch.
CJ Williamson
Alot of people do not realize it, but there is some corporate Mafias in Memphis. They are very successful with cleaning dirty money. This town is like little Chicago. The Dixie Mafia for the most part runs the corporate Mafias in Memphis and the tri state area. My guess is Mr. John Cheek wasn’t as squeaky clean as people suspect in his business dealings. So probably left town and found a means to acquire a new identity elsewhere. If that man seen him over 700 miles away then he is probably well and alive. If Whitey Bulger could pull off something so similiar to that theory, then why couldn’t John?
Ronnie
A little bizarre that he should disappear right before this “big deal” happened. Sounds to me he did all the work and someone else wanted to collect the reward.
Why would he commit suicide after all the hard work was done & he was about to sign off on the deal?
Also, if he wanted to “disappear” it would have been easier for him to do so when he was on one of his business trips.
His disappearance sounds more of an inside job.
Brittney
My Grandmother, was Dee Reed. The VP of the Company he was the CFO for. I can assure you no foul play on he companies end. I remember him going missing very well, and my Grandmother was devastated and worried sick, as well as the President of the company etc. They helped in every way they were able to try to find him. My Grandmother prayed for and talked about this tragedy until she was taken over by Dementia in 2004. He really and truly vanished without a trace.
Patrick
Very bizarre. 16hr stress induced work days can’t be good on the brain and your emotional state. Sounds like his dad has a sound theory.
brian massey
I was watching this episode over time and since watching it I’ve been able to read the energy on John Cheek. John after he was seen last in the Memphis the energy disapates and does not show up meaning that he is passed on and has not left that area. I try my best to read into where he is located but I still have not received the answer to that energy bc it doesn’t come across meaning that he is probably still in the Memphis area or where he was last seen. Soo without seeing anymore energy on John he is probably dead since no energy comes across. I’m a clairvoyant and can only speak about things that are real and if the energy comes across. Unfortunately John is deceased and his body is probably around the Memphis area somewhere. I wouldn’t speak about this unless I could read this energy.
Luigiman JV
Hello, good evening. Is there a way to contact you to get more information about John? Thanks in advance. Best regards.
Jjjjj
What a bunch of hogwash
MICHAEL CIALONE
What a sad story! Any developments? I remember back in 1995 when .my car had a mechanical problem in Raphine Virginia. Truck stop could not assist me. I will never forget the kindness of Michael Faurber, a lo cal business man who allowed me to his phone at his house while my car was getting checked out.
KL
I saw the unsolved show on this. This happened in Memphis Tennessee!!! Memphis Tennessee is known for their crime!!! he was successful in every way!!! Jealousy is rampant everywhere. so you have your answers! it was either the co-workers or he was hijacked and his car was left in a bad part of town where the culprits went or where the coworkers left his car to make them think he jumped. it is too easy to think someone with the information out on him and by his age just had too much and jumped off a bridge.. maybe… but I don’t believe it.
Tom Rowland
God bless him wherever he is. I hope one day they find him self sufficiently living in yellow stone happy and at peace, explaining that he just wanted to be free of the capitalist rat race. Tom.
Muriel
Unsolved. There were no reported sightings of John after Ron Jackson’s sighting, and he was declared legally dead in 2000. John’s company did go national as planned in early 1994 as Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. The company trades on the NYSE, and, as of March 2017, has a market capitalization of over 11.5 billion USD.
Jeff L.
John was a friend of mine in college and when he went missing, we, his friends, contacted each other in the early days of email as an ABP for him. His success was no surprise to me – a very sharp and meticulous guy, his apparent suicide was. So sad for his family including his sister Lucy who was also a good friend. After 25 years I hope the good memories have surplanted the tragic loss.
Kathleen
I wouldn’t say apparent. Sounds pretty sus to me.
Bonnie McMurray
My prayers are for Johns family and loved ones.
Bill Blaski
Any update on john cheek?
thinkingoutloud
if the day john went missing was a HUGE day for him, i could see him having a back reaction from stress/pressure. someone i went to high school with was in law school and ended up throwing herself over the river due to the pressure and even parked her car alongside the bridge, so it’s not completely impossible john did the same thing.
and for all we know, the trucker could be lying about meeting john or he had him mistaken.
Kelly
Make no mistake my father would not lie about it. He still can tell you every detail of the encounter and he is 80 years old!!
Anonymous
Just caught unsolved,had to grab my phone and see if he was ever found!!! Crazy!!!
Anonymous
Poor guy, and his family ='( … however his parents can feel very proud to have raised a honest, hardworking and blameless citizen, example for this and future generations of professionals.
Beccaboo
Did John have any enemies at work? Maybe there was a person/s who was jealous of John’s success? I know the guy said he saw him at the truck stop but it was never actually 100% that was him right?
julia
This case is so sad I pray he is alive especially for his family and friends.x
Deirdre
Have there been any new updates on this case? No unidentified bodies that could possibly have been his have been found?
Mike chimpton
Clear case of suicide! Massive river! Easy to lose a body. That trucker was mistaken, how many false witnesses or crackpots have we seen! RIP
Kelly
No he was not mistaken. After all these years he still remembers the encounter in detail.
LUIS FREEH
SOMBODY SENT HIM A THREATENING LETTER TO HIS OFFICE SO HE LEGALY CHANGED HIS NAME AND HABBITS ( CAN BE A MISTAKE THAT GETS U KILLED BIGMAN) AND GOT THE HELL OTTA DODGE!
Luigiman JV
How do you know that? Is assertion or assumption?
John
I think hes on facebook….same name
Anonymous
Have their been any sightings of this man anywhere?
Anonymous
Just watched the programme I feel so sad john I agree he has had some sort of breakdown and lost his memory I want his family to keep praying and get an artist to do a picture of what he looks like today and have it aired on a similar programme if possible sue englandQQXtL3
Luigiman JV
Maybe we should do a prayer chain or something to help solve this case, whatever the result. Remember the case of Jean Hilliard (Ice Woman)
nt
That is so sad and it looks like he would have turned 50 last month but to be gone for nearly 22 yrs without a word to family or friends you would hope he is living somewhere happy but still you have to wonder if something terrible may have happened I wish the family the best.
mari
Can they do an age progression photo? Then air the program again with updated photo.
Luigiman JV
It’s a great idea!!!
Trevor
Has their been any update in this case?