Mississippi : Jarrod Johnston

Written By Navigating Advocacy Podcast

This week I am taking us to Yazoo City, Mississippi. Even to this day, as I type the word Mississippi I have to say M I crooked letter crooked letter I, crooked letter crooked letter I, humpback humpback I to make sure I spell it correctly. If that doesn’t say something about the power of mnemonic devices I don’t know what does. Yazoo is named after the Yazoo River and is located just 46 miles north of Jackson. In 2010, there were just over 11k people that lived there, as you can imagine this smaller town hasn’t updated its wikipedia page with the 2020 census numbers. As you can imagine in a southern state, there are many civil war ties to the area including the Yazoo Rifles Company. This is a 100-man regiment was led by Colonel Jefferson Davis who would later become the president of the Confederacy. Outside of war history, Yazoo City was plagued with a few natural disasters.  There were several outbreaks of yellow fever, the business district and more than 100 residences where destroyed when a young boy was playing with matches on a windy day in 1904.  Only one church, the courthouse, the new library, and an unfinished school survived and surprisingly not a person died. In 1927, the Mississippi River flooded and covered the entire area with several feet of water but Yazoo city was not as damaged as the surrounding suburbs. 

The crime rates in Yazoo City were surprising to me. Most of the time you think, a smaller town with less crime but your chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 216 which is just under double the state average for Mississippi. 

Yazoo City was the home to the family members of Jarrod Johnston. Jarrod was born on August 21, 1988, and was very talented. He enjoyed theater, music, and poetry. Even had ambitions to become a musician. His father Steve and stepmother Lisa enjoyed spending time with him as a young man and he as many theater kids are, he was outgoing and spontaneous. Being the oldest of 4 total kids in the house, he helped out quite a bit. Not only was he helpful but he was incredibly intelligent. Jarrod consistently read well above his reading level as a younger child. As with many advanced kids in school, Jarrod easily became bored with the mundane tasks of high school and he turned his attention to using drugs. He regularly abused Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold. This is an over-the-counter cold medicine that is a mixture of Chlorpheniramine and Dextromethorphan. When taken in excess, it can cause hallucinations. 

Jarrod’s addiction was so severe while in high school, at a party he threw when his family was out of town, he had to be taken to the hospital because he had taken a high number of pills. His family did everything they could for Jarrod and placed him in a rehabilitation facility a few times over the course of 2 years. While in rehab, Jarrod was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and placed on a prescription to help him manage.

The family of 6 lived about 7 hours away from Yazoo City in Franklin, Kentucky. Now I know what you’re thinking… Whitney, I thought we were in Mississippi, why are we talking about Kentucky… Well after Jarrod left rehab and was succeeding in his sobriety and homeschooling through his junior year his parents thought a summer away in Yazoo City was just what he needed. Jarrod had a girlfriend there as well as friends. 

On July 4, 2007, his parents drove him and his two youngest siblings down to Mississippi. The plan was for the younger ones to stay with their grandmother and for Jarrod to stay at a friend’s house for the summer. His grandmother had just had hip surgery and she was concerned that Jarrod would be tempted to take her pain medication as he had done so to another in the past. 

After the younger siblings were dropped off, Jarrod was taken to his friend’s house. After staying for a few days, the plans that Jarrod had given his parent’s confidence in fell apart and his friend’s parents said he had overstayed his welcome and asked him to leave.

The friend’s parents did give him a ride to his grandmother’s house on July 7, 2007. Once he arrived, his grandmother was not happy that he was there and that he had not made concrete plans with his friend. An argument ensued and his grandmother told Jarrod that she had no option but to call his parents to pick him up and take him back to Kentucky. 

Having no other option and not wanting to return to Kentucky yet Jarrod gathered his belongings and left in a rage around 3 pm. He took his walnut-colored guitar in a black carrying case, his black duffel bag, a backpack, a 3 month supply of his bipolar medication and he had $20 in cash in his pocket. 

His younger sister attempted to get him to stop and calm down but he was not hearing her at that moment. It wasn’t uncommon for Jarrod to storm off and need a couple of days away to cool off. When his grandmother called and informed them of the fight, they decided to give him some space knowing he had some options in Yazoo City. Other than his friends, his girlfriend also lived there. Steve and Lisa assumed Jarrod would go stay with her. 

A few days pass with no word as to where Jarrod was staying or where he had been. The days quickly turned into 3 weeks and when they received exciting news about Jarrod’s future they sought out a way to talk to him. He had earned a full-ride scholarship to any Kentucky state school because his ACT scores and grade point average were exceptionally high.

Knowing Jarrod didn’t have a cell phone with him, they finally contacted his girlfriend. She stated she hadn’t seen Jarrod since his last visit in January of 2007! She wasn’t even aware that he had come to town for the summer! In fact, she even had some of the items he left behind in her car in January including his wallet that held his ID and social security card.


Once learning that his girlfriend hadn’t heard from him, panic immediately set in and the good news they hoped to share with Jarrod quickly sank away. Jarrod’s parents contacted local law enforcement and filed an official missing persons report. Investigators weren’t much help as Jarrod was 18 years old and legally allowed to go on his own and there is no evidence to support nefarious activities having occurred or that he was in any real danger. Family members posted flyers on social media as well as many bulletin boards as they could find. 

The first reported sighting was the very next day when the same friend he originally stayed with’s mother saw hin walking through downtown Yazoo City. However, at that moment Jarrod hadn’t been reported missing so the mother just assumed he was out and about in town and didn’t think anything of it. 

Several months passed and in February 2008, a tip came into the family off of the missing poster that said they were holding Jarrod for ransom. The demands were a wire transfer of $50,000 or they would murder Jarrod. Thankfully the family had the wherewithal to contact the local FBI field office and they were able to determine that the supposed captors had no connection to Jarrod and that they likely just saw the flyer and attempted to benefit from the Johnston family tragedy.

In March, a jewelry store employee called Jarrod’s family saying he had walked into the store and attempted to purchase an engagement ring. His credit card was declined and he said he would be back in later. He never returned to the jewelry store. The police followed up on this lead but were able to verify it. The store’s surveillance footage had been recorded over and I could not determine if they contacted his credit card company to see if a transaction had been attempted or not. 

A few other reports were filed over the years of people claiming to have seen Jarrod. Not one lead has panned out. The family’s biggest concern is that Jarrod’s bipolar diagnosis going unmedicated could be detrimental to his health. When he went missing he only had a 3 months supply with him. His mother has also mentioned she’s worried about his addiction and that the cold medicine he would take could cause hallucinations and that Jarrod may not even know who he is or his own name. 

Like all families with missing persons, the Johnstons hope every single day that a call will come in that Jarrod has been found and that he is safe. 

If you have any information about the disappearance of Jarrod Johnston please contact the Yazoo County Sheriff’s office at 662.741.5611

Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Whitney and Melissa, hosts of Navigating Advocacy, blend their true crime interests with a mission to spark justice through storytelling, inspiring action, and building a community of advocates.

https://www.navigatingadvocacy.com
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