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Missing man was a father, brother
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Chase
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Benedict Chase's sister talks about his life, disappearance
BY BILL FREEHLING
Date published: 3/10/2007
BY BILL FREEHLING
Benedict "Benny" Chase moved to Spotsylvania County about 2001, three years before he disappeared and six years before skeletal remains believed to be his were found.
He came to be with a woman he'd dated growing up in St. Mary's County, Md. He disappeared mysteriously in March 2004.
This week, Spotsylvania sheriff's detectives found remains they think are his near the Spotsylvania Quarry.
All that was left was clothes and bones--a skull without a lower jaw, both arms and a pelvis.
But one of Chase's eight siblings, Linda L. Chase of Waldorf, Md., is sure it's her brother.
Linda Chase has followed the investigation closely the past three years. She's talked to detectives and the woman her brother was living with to piece it together. And she wants people to know who Benny Chase was.
Chase was the seventh of nine children. His sister says Chase was somewhat of a problem child. He had three children out of wedlock--one is a teenager and two are in their early 20s--and spent time in jail for not paying child support.
But Linda Chase said her brother "had a heart of gold." She said he had been in the Army Reserve and always kept in contact with his large family, which remains in Maryland.
In Spotsylvania, Benny Chase lived with his girlfriend in the Stoneybrook subdivision.
For a time he worked in construction. About a week before he disappeared on March 8, 2004, he took a job as a server at a McDonald's in the Four-Mile Fork area.
Benny Chase walked out of the McDonald's that day wearing his uniform, his sister said. He and co-workers had a minor spat. He called his girlfriend from a pay phone about 9:30 p.m. in the Lee's Hill area. He was drunk and asked her to pick him up. She declined.
Linda Chase said her brother used to walk home through the woods where the remains were found. It's unclear what happened, but it was a cold night--about 29 degrees at 7 the next morning, according to the National Weather Service.
The bones have been sent to the Virginia medical examiner's office in Richmond. DNA tests will conclusively identify them, and forensic scientists will look for evidence of foul play. For now, authorities say there's no evidence of that.
Linda Chase said the tests will give her family closure, but she said they've already concluded that the bones belong to Benny Chase.
She said the leather jacket found in the woods was her brother's. The skull had a chipped tooth--Chase did also. The pants had a waist size of 32-34--so did Chase. It was a black man's skull, the state lab has determined, and Chase was black. The tie and hat had the McDonald's logos on them.
Linda Chase is angry that her brother wasn't found before this week. She thinks the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office should have done more. She said her "heart hurts" knowing her brother lay there for three years.
Spotsylvania sheriff's Maj. Michael Timm said his office took proper investigative steps after Chase was reported missing. He said they searched the area where Chase was last seen, did follow-up interviews and contacted other police departments when unidentified bodies were found. It remained an open case.
Timm said they hadn't previously searched the woods off Smith Station Road where the bones were found, but "there's nothing more significant about that patch of woods than any other," he said.
"Everything that could have been done was done," Timm said.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5424
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
Read more stories about Spotsylvania
Date published: 3/10/2007
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Everyone got something to say. why can yopu see the mc'ds [*#@!] on the clothes!Why can you find certain bones? Why didnt you seee things before 3-years today on top of dirt!!THINK about alot of stuff before you speak! I'm white and his brothers girlfriend and im not races so get it toghther!!!! So where is his rest of his bones get it toghter, dont speak if you dont know!!! OK!!!!
I,m White and bennys brother girlfriend and you are right, and thats the problem today about people today its about race and other subjects that dont concern them!! They want to get involed with stuff that dont have nothing to do with them!! Well think and learn what is said and stop thinking races and get a life.
Thank you for stating the issues that are at hand here. My brothers girl friend that he lived with in Spotsylvania was WHITE, and I do not judge people by their race or their social status. My daughter in law is white and love her with all my heart and soul. Katie's comment was mean and uncalled for. She does not know us nor does she have any idea as to what we have gone through over the last 3 years. Katie you are sad to me.
Do you!! Im his brothers girlfriend and I didnt know him like that but I know his family and what they say!!And If you dont know him or the situation stay out of it!! Ive heard his child talk nice about him, so stay out of that!!And everything else
My family appreciates your kind words. We did really try hard for three years to find our brother. I worked with the Spotsylvania County Sheriffs office thru out. We all have a time to go, but it appears to me, our brother went out the worst way anyone could go. The pain and hurt that we feel right now cannot be put in words. We are questioning ourselves, as if we did not do enoough.
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why again
(posted by
chase
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
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