NORTH WEBSTER — Instead of celebrating Joseph Chaffins’ 29th birthday on Friday, family and friends gathered Saturday for a vigil in hopes that information about his disappearance nearly three years ago would be brought to their attention.

Chaffins was last seen walking along Backwater Road in North Webster, and about two dozen people met Saturday afternoon at the Backwater Webster boat launch to call attention to his disappearance.

White balloons inscribed with the phrase “You are loved, you are missed, you are remembered” and accompanied by a card with information about Joseph, were released during a somber event late Saturday afternoon.

Among those attending were Chaffin's mother, Shelby, and his two siblings, Talena and Brad.

Family members say he disappeared essentially without a trace and left behind a vehicle he owned.

Police have looked into several leads, but those have led to nothing of significance.

A prayer was read aloud at the Backwater Webster boat launch down the road from where Joseph was last seen: 

“You are the Alpha and the Omega. You know everything that is done in darkness. We ask that you shed light on this. We ask that you help the family with their pain, their sorrow, and we ask that you bring comfort.”

Joseph's mother asked for the public's help.

“If anybody has any news or anything, something you have remembered … just please let us know so we can bring him home,” Shelby Chaffins said. “We miss him. We love him and he matters. We’ll never stop.”

Kosciusko County made another public plea earlier this year seeking any information about Chaffin's disappearance.

A Facebook page titled Find Joseph Chaffins has also been created.

[caption id="attachment_115943" align="aligncenter" width="782"] Saturday's event included a balloon release. The balloons included information about Joseph Chaffins, who was last seen nearly three years ago. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

The post Vigil calls attention to disappearance of North Webster man nearly three years ago appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

NORTH WEBSTER — A Middlebury motorcyclist died in a traffic accident south of North  Webster shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday.

The crash happened on SR 13 shortly after 3 p.m. at the intersection of Backwater Road and involved a motorcycle that slammed into a pickup that was waiting to turn left, according to a news release issued by the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.

The motorcyclist, 66-year-old Carlos Lundy, died at the scene.

The driver of the Chevy pick-up, 19-year-old Dylan Cassidy, of North Webster, was not injured in the crash.

The accident remains under investigation

The post Motorcyclist killed in collision south of North Webster appeared first on News Now Warsaw.