Year later, search for man goes on

Theodore Watson Jr.

Rumors about his whereabouts have been rampant.

Charleston County Sheriff's detectives have searched from Edisto Island to Walterboro and beyond, but the man who disappeared last year under murky circumstances remains missing.

Investigators still have no solid clues about where Theodore Watson Jr. might be. They've had colleagues in Florida check into reports that he was living there. Tipsters have said he met a sinister end somewhere in southern Charleston County, though police have found no evidence of that, either.

"There's always a lot of rumors, but we're trying to stay away from that," Detective Eugene Magwood said this week. "We can't say (what happened) because we really don't know. So we're following up on every little lead that we get."

A Charleston County sheriff's deputy saw Watson driving over the McKinley Washington Bridge shortly after midnight on Aug. 30 of last year. Less than 15 minutes later, another deputy found Watson's Honda Prelude abandoned along the right shoulder of S.C. Highway 174 near the Russell Creek bridge, according to an incident report.

Some of the car's lights were on, the trunk was open and the key was in the ignition.

A small amount of blood, small enough that it could have come from a minor cut or a bloody nose, stained the driver's seat. Magwood said he was waiting for test results to find out whether the blood belonged to Watson.

When the Sheriff's Office checked with Watson's girlfriend, she said she hadn't seen him since 5 a.m. the day before. Divers searched Russell Creek and the surrounding marsh without finding any clues.

Watson's 47th birthday passed in February. A former construction worker, he had been on disability since undergoing heart surgery a few years ago. He often deejayed for private gatherings.

He is about 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighs 225 pounds. Many know him as "Bubbi Shine," a childhood nickname.

Like deputies, Watson's family won't speculate on his fate. His eldest sister, Bertha Lee, has been asking people on Edisto Island and surrounding areas about him.

Initially concerned about the lack of progress in the probe, Lee said her communication with deputies has improved and that she has been relaying any new information to them.

"We're getting a lot of leads that we're following, but nothing concrete as of yet," said sheriff's Detective Charles Lawrence, who has been working with Magwood. "If somebody calls, we just follow it up."

Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or nhaglund@postandcourier.com.