Palestine couple seeking answers in son's disappearance
Aug. 18—A Palestine couple is turning to the community for help in finding their son, David Oliver.
According to Harry and Kristi Oliver, his adoptive parents, David, 19, a resident of Palestine and a student at the University of Texas at Tyler has been missing since July 5.
"We just want to know if he's OK," Harry said. "If he doesn't want to talk to us, we hope he'll just tell the police that he's OK, so we know he's alright."
Harry and Kristi said David came to see them July 5 and left to go back to his campus apartment because he had work the next day.
The Olivers said David worked as a lifeguard at Holiday Inn Villages Resort in Flint and that he called and visited regularly, not going more than a couple of days without getting in touch with them.
The couple said they had set up conditions with David that he must stay in contact with them or he would lose his privileges of driving a car they owned.
After going several weeks without hearing from him, they texted to warn him of communicating, or they would be forced to take action to get the car back, they received a text July 17 telling them the car would be back the next day.
The next day, Kristi and David found the car parked in the street. Kristi said the seat position was in the wrong position for David to have driven it and there were children's toys left in the car. They are not certain that the last message about the car came from their son or feel like someone else was driving the car when it was dropped off.
The couple reported their son missing to the UT Tyler Police Department in July and tried to file a report with the Tyler Police Department.
After failing to pay his rent, David lost his apartment and his belongings were recently removed and placed outside, including many items of value like video games and the consoles to play them, instruments and furniture.
"These were all things he had worked very hard for," Kristi said. "I can't see him just leaving them behind."
The couple said they were told by UT Tyler that it looked like no one had lived in the apartment in a while and it had been trashed.
No one in the Oliver's family has heard from David.
The couple said they filed a missing person's report with the Palestine Police Department.
If you have any information about David Oliver's whereabouts or that could help find him, you are asked to call 903-729-2254.
