Missing TX Pastor's Body Found by Sheriff's Deputy After 6-Day Search
The body of a Corpus Christi, Texas-area pastor has been found after he had been reported missing last week. The resulting search to find Phillip Loveday took six days.
The Corpus Christi Police Department announced they had located a vehicle matching Loveday's truck along county road 2444 in Nueces County, Texas Tuesday afternoon. A body was found inside the vehicle, according to police. The investigation is continuing.
Law enforcement authorities told local news outlets the body found inside the truck had a gunshot wound, but they do not suspect foul play.
KRIS-TV reported the vehicle was found by a Kleberg County sheriff's deputy who was working with the Texas Rangers.
The Nueces County Sheriff's Office later confirmed Loveday's identity Tuesday evening, according to the outlet.
Deputy Chief of Operations David Cook told the outlet there were no signs of foul play and that no resources were spared in the search for Loveday.
"There have been many, many law enforcement agencies that have come into play," Cook told KRIS-TV. "All the adjoining counties have been involved in looking for him. Some of the federal agencies have been involved in looking for him. They've scoured LPR license plate readers to determine if his vehicle had been seen anywhere."
Loveday, 47, was last seen on Aug. 2 at 9:30 a.m. when he went to work at his secular job at Kinder Morgan, an oil and gas company, according to the Corpus Christi Police Department. He never arrived at his place of employment and had not contacted his family since that time.
Loveday is the senior pastor at Faith Christian Center in Freer, Texas. Loveday's wife, Meléa told law enforcement officials she "became concerned when she received a phone call that he did not show up for work or church."
She told KRIS-TV she discovered he left his phone behind when she called him later in the day and heard it ringing in the bathroom.
Loveday's family told the outlet this was not unusual behavior from Loveday as he would accidentally forget his phone sometimes. What was unusual was that he didn't find another way to get in contact with the family as the day went on.
"He would definitely always just answer back, so that was, right off the bat, very suspicious... That never ever happens," Loveday's oldest daughter Kayleigh Purnell told KRIS-TV.
Members of Loveday's church told the outlet they expected him to show up to preach that Wednesday night, but he never arrived. This led the members to cancel the scheduled Bible study and instead pray for his safety and health. The next day, residents gathered at the church for a community-wide prayer service.
The pastor's church created a Facebook page titled Finding Phillip Loveday to help with the search. The page had posted grid maps of the search areas and had asked residents for help in finding Loveday. It had more than 11,000 followers as of Wednesday.
In the latest post on Wednesday morning, the group administrator wrote, "As you have all seen and heard, law enforcement has found Phillip. His family and friends are heartbroken by this news. Please be courteous to the family as they mourn. We appreciate all the prayers, help, and suggestions. The outpouring of love and support of the community has been incredible. Please continue to pray for his family and friends."
A GoFundMe page has been set up by friends of the Loveday family. As of Friday, the page had donations totaling $10,390 towards at $15,000 goal.
