06/24/09: Zachary Pittman, 26, Pearl River, LA

Zachary Pittman with daughter, Kaili

Shortly after 11 p.m. on June 24, Zachary Pittman, 26, called his mother to say that he had gotten into a verbal argument with his sister over who would be living at the home. She called the police. When the police arrived, Pittman was gone. He had left the home with the clothes he was wearing and a backpack containing his wallet with little to no money inside and one change of clothes. Pittman, who had a three year old daughter, lived in a sparsely populated part of Pearl River, La., and did not own a car or cell phone. His mother, Christy Ragas, said her son would've had nowhere to go.

Ragas told the St. Tammany Sidell Sentry that her son had fallen on hard times. He was desperate and out of work and he had gotten mixed up in drugs. She said he was no angel, but “he was a human being and he was a good dad.” She added that they were very close and he called her often.

“Zach would never leave me no matter what,” she said.

Pittman's remains were found May 31, 2011 in a heavily wooded area of the Mossy Oak Hunting Club north of Louisiana 36, in St. Tammany and did not appear to have been buried. The remains were identified through dental records. The Coroner's Office has not yet determined the cause or manner of Pittman's death, Croft said. Because of the state of the remains, the office plans to bring in a forensic anthropologist from Louisiana State University to aid in the investigation, she said.

According to a post by Simon Barrett of Blogger News Network, "Pearl River is a small community, the population is approximately 2,000 people. It is a community where everyone knows everyone. Yet no one is talking about Zachary Pittman. It stretches my fertile imagination that a man accustomed to the area would wander off into one of the local swamps and die."

If you have any information about Zachary Pittman, please call the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Department at 985-726-7836.


Case Details

Name/age: Zachary Pittman, 26
Residence: 35333 Mockingbird Loop, Pearl River, Louisiana
Last Seen: June 2009
Physical Description: 5'10," thin to medium build, close cut hair, goatee, three tattoos on right shoulder and forearm
Recovered: May 31, 2011, wooded area of the Mossy Oak Hunting Club north of Louisiana 36, in St. Tammany
Investigating Agency: St. Tammany Sheriff’s Department at 985-726-7836


Sources

Barrett, Simon. (2010, June 28.) Zachary Pittman--the plot thickens. Blogger News Network. Retrieved July 27, 2012 from http://www.bloggernews.net/124807.

Staff article. (2012, November. 19.) Mom not giving up in search for missing son. St. Tammany Sidell Sentry. Retrieved July 27, 2012 from http://www.helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?p=788997