When losing a loved one, it is expected those left behind will navigate their way through the stages of grief, but for the family of Ira Briscoe, throngs of conspiracy theories and messages of horrific suggestions surrounding the disappearance and possible murder of Briscoe continue to rob them of peace and closure.
“I just want my son’s body. I just want closure,” said Marilyn Briscoe, Ira’s mother.
December 17, 2022 marks the second anniversary of the disappearance of then 25-year-old Briscoe, as well, as the last known contact with Briscoe’s roommate, then 49-year-old Limon Little who were last seen at their residence in Lanton, Missouri.
Every day for decades, Marilyn said she and her son would speak, whether in person or by phone.
“It didn’t matter if we’d had an argument or if it was a good day or a bad day or not, we would always talk and work it out. We talked every day,” Marilyn said.
On Dec. 23, 2020, six days after Briscoe was last seen or heard from, Marilyn and her husband Rodney traveled to the local sheriff’s department to report the disappearance.
“We had just walked through the door and I got this message from a number I didn’t know that said ‘I know who killed your son’,” Marilyn said.
The hautning claim made through text message to Marilyn could not be substantiated but laid the foundation for the long road ahead.
When asked why she believed Briscoe might not only be missing, but dead, Marilyn said she had never been given hope by those investigating the case.
“Howell County and Fulton County have been so good to us through all of this. Their heads are spinning just as fast as ours, but from day one, minute one, no one gave us hope. Not only that, but even today, two years later, it seems like every time just before I’m about to go to bed, someone will send me a message saying things like ‘oh your son was cut up’ and then say where they think his body is,” Marilyn said.
Desperate for answers, Marilyn and a slew of family and friends work to track down every lead in conjunction with authorities.
Possibly one of the most disheartening messages came earlier this year when Marilyn and a small group of supporters spent their day crawling into crevices and tunnels of a cave… looking for the head of her son.
“Two people don’t just come up missing and another person just a few miles away killed without somebody knowing something…. I am totally exhausted.. I spent three hours, me, crawling through a cave and I wasn’t looking for a body.. I was looking for my son’s head,” Marilyn said. “The reason why is a story got back to me that my son’s head was in the back of a very skinny part of the cave. I crawled on my hands and knees to the very back.. to look for my son’s head and the whole time I prayed I’d find it and for this to be over, but it didn’t happen. I am so mad and I have every right to be mad because somebody knows what happened and they’re not saying. God gave my son to me and someone took him away.”
After two years of consistent grieving and the weight of the unknown weighing on her shoulders, Marilyn said she is seeking one thing, closure.
“At this point, I don’t think my son is coming home. He would have called or reached out if he were here to be able to do it. I just want this to be over. I just want to bury my boy and for this to be over…I am tired. I’ve been looking for over a year and a half, crawling on my hands and knees.. looking for my son and it isn’t my son. It’s his body, it’s his head; it’s whatever I can get!”
On several occasions, cadaver dogs have been used to aid in the search, but the family says any additional help would be welcomed as there is much territory to search, but the dogs would prove useful in key areas of concern.
Both Ira and Little have been listed by authorities as missing under suspicious circumstance, however only Ira has been entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Ira Briscoe is described as a white male, weighing approximately 160 pounds with brown hair, blue eyes standing 5 feet 10 inches tall. Little is listed on the Howell County Sheriff’s Department website as missing and is described as a white male, standing 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing approximately 250 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Reports of new information obtained by the Howell County Sheriff’s Department indicate new leads are possible in the case, however; attempts to contact the department were left unreturned.
If you have information of the whereabouts of Ira Briscoe or Limon Little contact the Howell County Sheriff’s Department at 471-256-2544.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
