- Missing since May 18, 2018, William “Will” Cross’s partial remains were discovered in a Kentucky creek in 2023 and identified last month
- His cause of death has yet to be determined and an investigation is ongoing — and even though police aren’t posing any theories just yet, his family has their own suspicions
- “William just wouldn’t have walked down in there like that and just laid in a creek and died,” mom Robin Phillips tells PEOPLE
After searching for her missing brother for almost seven years, Ashley Cross, 38, has closure — but it came with the heavy realization that she’d never be able to see him alive again.
“It was a rollercoaster through the whole thing,” says the mother of three from Oneida, Tenn. “I didn’t realize how much hope that I had, and it’s gone now.”
Cross and her mother, Robin Phillips, from Huntsville, have actively searched for William “Will” Cross since May 18, 2018, the day their then-29-year-old family member disappeared.
A troubled man who occasionally worked construction jobs, Cross struggled with drug addiction, namely methamphetamine, and had been released from his most recent jail stay only three days before he went missing. But that was only part of his story.
“He was more than the addiction,” says his sister, adding she has been told he bought groceries for acquaintances, picked up toys for a friend’s son, gave rides and loaned money when people he knew were in need.
“He had a good heart,” adds Phillips, 58. “He exuded love.”
In October 2023, the family learned that human remains had been discovered near a stream in a wooded area of Revelo, Ky. — less than three miles from where he was last seen. But it wasn’t until late March of this year that a Kentucky State Police forensic report determined with nearly 100% certainty that the remains belonged to Cross, based on DNA, Phillips says.
Now the big question that remains is what exactly happened?
Setbacks in the Case
As for why it took so long to find Cross, his family believes jurisdiction confusion played a role.
Cross, who lived in Scott County, Tenn., was last seen alive on May 18, 2018, when he was dropped off on Williamsburg Street in Whitley City, Ky., which is located in McCreary County.
The family says a joint investigation between the departments never happened, which his sister claims “hindered his case drastically.”
An active investigation didn’t take place until Scott County hired Detective David Stephens in 2022, the detective himself tells PEOPLE. He says Sheriff Brian Keeton was elected in his county in 2022 and then hired him to help investigate cold cases and missing person cases. Right now, there are seven missing person cases in Scott County — other than Will Cross — and three of those went missing in Kentucky.
“I’m not sure why this one did not end up in Kentucky initially…when I began working here in 2022, it appears that we (Scott County) still had it (the case), even though he was last confirmed in Kentucky, and it pretty much just went cold,” Stephens says.
The seasoned detective went to great lengths to conduct boots on the ground searches, communicate with Cross’s family and conduct interviews, all with approval from his department as well as the McCreary County Sheriff.
“The way law enforcement works missing persons cases, the last place that the subject was seen is the jurisdiction that would cover the missing person case,” explains Stephens. “I feel like in missing person cases, there’s always room to improve with everything, and with this, I feel like definitely there needs to be some things that are done better.”
Now that Cross’s remains have been identified in Kentucky, the case is in the hands of McCreary County officials, according to local Sheriff David Sampson. Elected in 2022, he says his small team will begin investigating the case right away, even meeting with the Cross family in the coming week.
“(Scott County) did a really outstanding job investigating this,” says Sampson, adding that he just received the Cross case files from Scott County officials. “I think that we have more people that we can interview, according to the family.”
Possible Leads, but No Official Theories
Ashley and her mom say over the past six and a half years, they have been contacted with possible leads on numerous occasions.
“This isn’t people that (are) calling me anonymously,” says Ashley, who shares she’s been told her only sibling was shot, put into a wood chipper, and even tortured, thrown down a well and fed to pigs. “As awkward and unreal as it may seem, finding the remains where we found them was actually a relief compared to a wood chipper or that he was down a well and we would never bring him home.”
McCreary police say they are beginning an investigation and are not posing any theories yet. After two and a half years on the case, Scott County’s Stephens says he doesn’t have a theory on how Cross died either.
“I was hoping the remains would tell a story of what happened, and the initial remains (found in 2023) did not,” Stephens says. “But I’m hoping that these remains that were found recently…hopefully there will be something with those that will help us know a little bit more about what happened to him.”
Still, the Tennessee detective deeply invested in the case believes there are plenty of leads to follow up on. “I feel confident that there are probably several people that know exactly what happened,” he adds.
For their part, the family says they’re not giving up hope that anyone involved in his death will be brought to justice. “William just wouldn’t have walked down in there like that and just laid in a creek and died,” says Phillips. “That wouldn’t have happened.”
More Potential Forensic Evidence
Over the past two and a half years, Stephens exhaustively searched the area where Cross was last seen, covering approximately 1,721 acres himself, roughly twice the size of New York’s Central Park. When partial remains were discovered by a hiker on Oct. 14, 2023, Stephens and a Georgia search and rescue team happened to be down the road looking for Cross when the call came in.
And in late March, when Cross’s remains were identified, his sister, mother, and a team scoured the site for five days to find more remains. Will’s mother found the first bone; his sister found several more.
“I literally held my brother’s bones in my hands,” says Ashley. “It was hard and it got harder each day.”
Detective Stephens says the remains discovered in 2023 revealed around 20 bones, and during the recent search, 26 more pieces of bone were unearthed. Forensic investigators will examine the findings for signs of trauma, injury and a cause of death.
Now that some of Cross’s remains have been recovered, his family is planning a Celebration of Life event in coming weeks.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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