Vernon Stephens: Missing from Jacksonville Found

UPDATE 4/14/14 – Police confirmed that the body belonged to Vernon. He was seen by a fisherman under the I-95 bridge, but by the police got there the current had moved his body to the 500 block of Maxwell Road. Police confirm that the body of a man recovered from the Trout River early Monday morning is that of the driver who disappeared after his car was in a crash Friday night on the Mathews Bridge.

UPDATE: 4/14/14 – A body has been found in the water. No identification has been made at this time.

Previous story: Vernon Stephens, 39, from Jacksonville, Fla, went missing after he was invovled in a crash on the Mathews Bridge on Friday, April 11, 2014.

The red Mitsubishi Galant that Vernon was driving was broken down on the bridge when it was hit by a car. The driver was taken to the hospital, but Vernon was no where to be found.

Vernon was at dinner with his family on Friday night and the crash happened around 11 p.m.

The family is worried that Vernon may have been thrown off the bridge from the impact. According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Vernon Stephens, the last known driver of a red Mitsubishi Galant involved in a crash on the Mathews Bridge last night, has not been located.

“Family says he was going to meet friends in the downtown area,” said Melissa Bujeda with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. “Those individuals have been contacted, but nobody knows the whereabouts of this individual.”

The family is conducting their own search with volunteers to search the water by the bridge. They also have put out flyers in the community. They are asking anyone with a boat to join them with their search.

If you have seen Stephens, you are asked to call police at 904-630-0500.