A community search for a Montrose man who went missing in June 2023 will be held on Saturday at 44 Zyme Rock Road in Durango.
On June 23, 2023, 41-year-old Lawrence David Hammett was taken to Mercy Hospital from Montrose for treatment, according to a missing person alert from Durango Police Department.
The alert said Hammett walked out of the hospital before being seen by a doctor and has not been seen since. He was last described as having shoulder-length brown hair and a full beard. He was last seen wearing hospital scrubs.
Hammett also has numerous tattoos covering his body.
DPD Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop confirmed the search for Hammett remains an active case, though law enforcement has no good leads.
In November, DPD Detective Derrick Gallegos spoke with people who claimed to have seen Hammett in Montrose, but they were unable to confirm the person was the 41-year-old man.
The case went cold after interviews with Mercy Hospital medical staff, family members, and others in Montrose and Durango.
According to police records, Hammett wasn’t reported missing until November 2023, which complicated search efforts. Dunlop said it becomes challenging to gather forensic evidence and interview witnesses when their memories are unclear.
He said in such cases, police often attempt to interview members of the unhoused community to determine if they have noticed any new campers. However, these interviews have yielded few answers.
Hammett’s sister, Thereasa Bastion, said a man in Montrose bears a resemblance to her brother, and the November sighting was a case of mistaken identity.
Bastion said her brother was battling addiction and was in treatment when he was transferred from Montrose to Durango. She added that when he is using substances, he tends to disappear, but it’s usually for only a couple of weeks.
The search for Hammett will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Maverik Gas Station on Zyme Rock Road. Participants will divvy up responsibilities and go to different locations where they will hand out flyers and ask people if they have seen anyone matching Hammett’s description.
“We are going to check the open land between the hospital and Durango proper. And we will also be canvassing businesses in Durango,” Bastion said.
She said the search party will check liquor stores and tattoo shops, as Hammett was a tattoo artist about 15 years ago in Durango.
Based on his last known location, his family believes he is still in the Durango area. They are offering a $2,500 reward to anyone who finds Hammett or provides information leading to his discovery.
If anyone has information about Hammett or his disappearance, they should contact Gallegos at (970) 764-0470 or DPD dispatch at 375-2900. More information about Saturday’s search can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/events/870350651338320/?ref=newsfeed
tbrown@durangoherald.com
