Missing in Beaumont

Family members of two people reported missing out of the south end of Beaumont are asking for the public’s help in finding their loved ones.

In the aftermath of Christmas and the Artic Blast that overtook Southeast Texas the week of the holiday, the Beaumont Police Department alerted residents of an ongoing search to locate 42-year-old Zaqon “Zawon” Kameyon Johnson.

Johnson, BPD detailed, was last seen Dec. 11, near the 2900 block of S. 8th St. in Beaumont’s south end.

“He has not been seen or heard from since and his family is worried,” BPD advised. An undated police file photo accompanied the announcement, but little further information was provided.

A circulated “Missing” poster for Johnson describes the missing man as 6’1, last seen wearing a black jacket, black baseball cap, salmon shirt, and distressed blue jeans.

Johnson’s sister, Shantrice Green, has been on the forefront of the grassroots search for her sibling. According to her, nothing will “distract us from the goal that is finding my brother.

“We still believe that God can and will!”

Green offered gratitude for those aiding in the search, providing reliable information to investigators, and keeping the focus on finding Johnson as soon as possible.

“Zawon/Zaqon is and has always has been loved by his family, good, bad, or otherwise,” the relative shared amid calls for the public to put boots on the ground. “With God’s help and yours we intend to find him. Continue to pray with and for us.”

Fellow Beaumonter Laura Gutierrez, 56, was last seen Dec. 9, according to daughter Juju Salazar, who is also asking for the public to keep a keen eye out for a missing loved one. According to the distraught daughter, Gutierrez frequented “The Avenues” neighbor of Beaumont, in the city’s south end.

Gutierrez is described as 5’2, with a thin 115-pound build, currently sporting short, blonde hair.

“She left all her belongings at a friend’s house on Ave. B,” Salazar described when offering up what she knows of the last time anyone saw her mother. Gutierrez reportedly left keys and a wallet behind, causing her family concern. “That is the last known place she was at.

“All of her closest friends have been looking for her; we’ve contacted hospitals and jails and have had no luck. During the freeze, she didn’t show up to my sister’s home and we didn’t hear anything from her for Christmas.”

Zalazar maintains that her mother’s absence is exceptionally unusual.

“This is not like her,” Salazar reported of her mom, who is also the grandmother of four “that are her world and would frequently check on.”

“I believe someone knows where she’s at or knows more than what I do,” the daughter dismayed. According to Salazar, Gutierrez has been filed as a missing person but has yet to receive a detective assigned to the case or case file number.

“Please, please, please help me bring my mama home,” Salazar pleads with the community. “She is all me and my sisters have.”

Anyone with any information about the location of Johnson or Gutierrez is asked to call the Beaumont Police Department at (409) 832-1234.