TUNICA, MS - There's a new development in the search for the Arlington man who's been missing since June 29, 2011. An unidentified man came forward claiming he spoke with 82-year-old George Nicholson in Tunica at the end of June, right around the time he disappeared.
Nicholson's truck was found abandoned in woods near the Tunica Cut-off on July 20th, near where the man says he saw Nicholson three weeks ago.
"The man said he brought George out and headed him straight a way so he could head back home. Said he was lost," says Paul Anthony one of Nicholson's oldest friends.
Anthony's also the one who first talked to the unidentified witness. Police are checking into his story.
For family and friends, it helps clear up some of the confusion of how Nicholson's truck ended up in the woods almost a dozen miles from the Horseshoe Casino where he was heading.
"Now we know he was probably here even on the 29th and the 30th. He's been here all that time," says Gary Bryan his nephew. "We think he took another turn and went right back out to where his truck was at."
It's another piece of the puzzle. But investigators still have questions and very few answers since Nicholson is still missing.
"We have nothing at this point and we will continue tomorrow," says Louise Linzy with the Tunica Sheriff's Office.
The dangerous heat is hampering their search. Crews are looking, but had to stop after only six hours Friday. The same thing happened Thursday.
"We don't want to, but for safety reasons at this point, we're going to call it off," Linzy says.
Not the words George Nicholson's family and friends want to hear. But it is the reality they're facing.
"It's just getting too hot now," says his son Nick Nicholson. "The dogs are getting too tired."
Nicholson's two sons and several of his friends were in the woods looking right along with authorities.
"Just about all my cousins are here," says Nick Nicholson. "I know ten to twelve came with us."
Crews are taking four wheelers and searching on foot for any sign of his dad, but it's slow going.
"There's a lot of area to go over, and you can't miss anything," he says.
The waiting is the hardest part for son Nick Nicholson, who'd like to keep at it until his father's found.
"They're going to come back at 5, 5:30 in the morning when the dew is out and the dogs can smell better," says Gary Bryan, Nicholson's nephew.
And they'll be back at it when the weather's cooler. On everyone's mind? If it's hard on those searching, what must it be like for the man who's missing?
"I'd go back down there and spend the night if I thought it would help find him," says Anthony.
"Hopefully he's wandered somewhere," says Bryan. "That's not reasonable, but we're still hoping."
Saturday, July 23rd is Nicholson's 83rd birthday. His family and friends will be spending the day in Tunica, searching, not celebrating.
