Rockbridge County authorities have confirmed that human remains found last month are those of Dustin Cody Butler, 38, of Vesuvius, who had been reported missing in 2022.
It’s still not known what happened to Butler, who reportedly got into an argument with someone at a Glasgow Mountain residence at which he was last seen on Dec. 5, 2022, before leaving the residence on foot, and not being seen or heard from thereafter.
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According to reporting from The News-Gazette in Lexington, the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office, acting on the basis of several tips received late last year, conducted search efforts in the Sallings Mountain Road/Forge Road area, basically at the midpoint between Natural Bridge and Glasgow, over a two-day period last month.
The sheriff’s office had originally listed Butler as a “missing person,” before updating the status of the case in March 2023 to be one involving a “missing person/wanted person,” with the sheriff’s office reporting that it had obtained multiple arrest warrants against Butler regarding allegations of sex offenses involving children.
According to a family member who reached out to AFP about the case in 2023, the sheriff’s office was overstating the allegations – which the family member said doesn’t involve “children,” but rather a single 17-year-old.
“I know that’s bad, but it’s beside the point,” the family member said.
The original missing person notice from the sheriff’s office offered that Butler battles depression and bipolar disorder, and Butler’s final Facebook post, dated Nov. 23, 2022, noted as his status “feeling done,” and the message was “I’m so without you f–k this life. Goodbye is all that’s left.”
Another post from Nov. 23, 2022, had Butler sharing this message: “Not sorry for the feelings I have. Situation got blown way out so idc what anyone thinks of me.”
The sheriff’s office reported in 2022 and 2023 that it was not under the assumption that there was foul play involved in Butler’s disappearance, but Butler’s family pushed back on that point.
“They don’t suspect foul play, but truth of the matter is, they really don’t know anything,” the family member who reached out to us in 2023 wrote in an email.
Anyone with information relevant to this case is urged to contact the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office at 540-463-7328.
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Chris Graham
