84 Year-Old Selma Man Missing Since December

SELMA – Police are asking for help locating a missing 84 year-old man. James Norman Batten was last seen on December 15, 2021. He was reported missing by his family on March 6, 2022 after they were unable to reach him.

Mr. Batten, who often goes by the nicknames of “Mose” and “Jimmy” was last seen on December 15 at his home on Madison Street in the Selma city limits. Officers are asking anyone who saw Mr. Batten in December, or anytime since then, to come forward.

Batten is 5 foot 10, 165 pounds, with brown balding hair, and brown eyes. He sometimes wears glasses.

Due to vision issues he no longer has a vehicle. He would regularly take a taxi to a local grocery store and immediately return home. A taxi company that Batten called for those grocery store trips said he hasn’t called them since December.

Family members said Mr. Batten, who is a US Army veteran, likes to keep to himself and there are no known locations he frequents. His cell phone was left behind at his residence, which police said was not disturbed.

Police Detective J. Vause said foul play is not suspected at this time. Batten has no known cognitive impairments.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of James Norman Batten of Selma is asked to contact Detective Vause at the Selma Police Department at 919-965-8189.

5 COMMENTS

  1. So sad that the family wasn’t in contact with him more frequently. December 15 was the last time they contacted him? How about Christmas? No one visited him then? Elderly people need contact with family on a regular basis. Poor man.

  2. Who paid his utility bills for three months? What about his mailbox being full? Didn’t his neighbors notice him missing? Did he receive Meals on Wheels? You would think that someone noticed something had gone awry.

  3. His family made numerous attempts to contact him but could not reach him. Cards mailed to him were returned to the family the first of March. He did not have a wife or children, only siblings who are also older.

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