By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
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.
