BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — A 44-year-old father was found dead behind a Baltimore County Walmart 20 years ago, and police are still trying to piece together who did it, and why.
James Myers was discovered behind the Walmart on Carroll Island Road in July 2005; police say the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
A few months before, Jamie Atencio, Myers' daughter, graduated high school.
"He was a great dad. He was all about helping other people," Atencio told Maryland Cold Cases reporter Jack Watson.
"He was, I'd say, a family man, I'm one of 3 kids actually. He's always been around for all 3 of us as best as he could," Atencio said.
Atencio had just turned 18 that May. She remembers playing in the pool, going to Disney World, and her father talking about being a grandfather someday: a dream he would never get to realize.
"It upsets me that he's not here to walk me down the aisle, he didn't get to see our first house purchased. And I am the only one with kids, and he didn't get to become a grandfather, earth-side," Atencio said.
According to Baltimore County Police, Myers had fallen on tough times and was battling substance abuse issues. He was staying with a friend in the Essex area.
Myers was last seen on July 11, 2005 at a local Methodist church, police said. Three days after he was reported missing, his body was discovered by a Walmart employee behind the store on Carroll Island Road in eastern Baltimore County.
"[The worker] happened to peer over a concrete wall, and he found a body in sort of a drainage ditch culvert type area and that's when he called the police," said Cpl. Dona Carter with the Baltimore County Police Department.
The medical examiner determined Myers was murdered by blunt force trauma.
"Looking back, I was just numb. You live, but, I don't remember what I did for months after," Atencio said.
This July marked 20 years since Myers' murder.
"It was just numbness all over again," Atencio added. "What can you do? You can’t do anything. You hope the case can be closed, but with that, how it closes is going to be a whole other feel of emotions. But this is my life, you try to be happy and put a smile on your face."
Two decades later, police are still seeking information from the public that could help solve this cold case.
"We're just looking for anybody that may have seen him in that time frame, leading up to his body being discovered, most likely around July 11 is when he was last alive," Cpl. Carter said.
Anyone with information about James Myers' murder is asked to call Baltimore County Police at 410-887-3943.
