The Largo Police Department turned to Twitter Feb. 7 to appeal for help on a 1994 cold case with an island twist.
James Woodard was 43 in 1994 when he went missing.
Largo police began their investigation into his whereabouts in the fall of 1994, after Woodard’s family became worried, saying they had no contact with him for months.
Investigators then followed a trail of clues that led from his last date at work in Pinellas County — April 29, 1994, to Woodard’s last known whereabouts — the Tropic Isle Motel, now the Anna Maria Island Inn, 2200 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach.
Woodard checked out of the motel May 13, 1994, according to information in LPD’s “Cold Case Spotlight.”
He was driving a 1993 Mazda in the spring of 1994 and records indicate he purchased a .380 caliber handgun shortly before he went missing.
Investigators with the LPD in Pinellas County said there has been no further known activity involving Woodard since the day he left the motel.
People with information are asked to call Largo Police’s Investigative Services Division at 727-586-7480.
— Robert Anderson