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Rhodes College is a private, four-year institution located just outside the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. Its beautiful architecture, consisting of towering buildings covered in complex stonework and stained glass windows, is certainly a whisper to a much older, simpler time. The school proudly boasts over a century of studies and tradition dedicated to liberal arts and sciences. And while many students successfully graduate every year,
One did not. Matthew Pendergrass was just two weeks shy of earning his bachelor's degree when he went missing on Friday, December 1st, 2000.
His landlord had stated that she heard him leave sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., which was noted as strange behavior by his mother, Mary Ellen Pendergrast, because Matthew's Spanish class wasn't until 9:00 a.m. that day, and the college campus was only four blocks away from where he lived. She had said that he was never an early bird and would sleep as late as he possibly could, always writing a fine line between never being late but also never being early to anything either.
But somehow, during his abnormally early commute, something happened to Matthew, causing him to never arrive to class that morning, and the 23-year-old college student was never seen again. Around 2:00 p.m. that Friday, Mary Ellen received a strange call from a man stating that he'd found Matthew's vehicle parked on a private dirt road in Lone Oak County, Arkansas, nearly two hours away from Memphis.
His maroon 1998 Toyota 4Runner was discovered just off of Interstate 40 on a dirt road that local hunters used to access the Bayou Mido swamp area. These hunting grounds were a hotspot for duck and geese migrations, making it a well-traversed area by bird hunters. A group of men had gone into the area at 10 am that morning to go duck hunting, and at that time, the 4Runner hadn't been there.
But when they came out at 2pm to leave, the vehicle was blocking the path. After approaching the 4Runner, they discovered that it was unlocked and that the keys were still in the ignition. They took the liberty of investigating the interior of the car and found a recent oil change receipt with Matthew's information on it.
The listed phone number was his parents' home phone. After calling and speaking with Jeff and Mary Ellen Pendergrast, the situation quickly escalated from confusion to a feeling of dread that something bad had happened to Matthew.
They immediately contacted the Lone Oak County Sheriff's Department and filed a missing persons report both there and in Memphis. According to his parents, he had no reason to be in Lone Oak County. He had no friends or associates in the area, and it would be very out of character for him to skip class and head to Arkansas on a whim. But somehow, his vehicle had ended up abandoned there all the same.
After an initial investigation of the scene and finding no evidence, the Lone Oak County Sheriff's Department sent out a search and rescue helicopter to search the surrounding forest and swamplands. After a thorough search, the choppers spotted a pile of clothing on a bank not too far from where the car had been discovered. There had been different accounts and speculation on exactly how the clothing was initially found. Some reported that it was found in a very neat pile.
and others say it looked like he had just stripped down and then disappeared because no footprints were found in the area, which was extremely odd. One officer said that the shirt was warm to the touch, almost as if it had come straight out of the dryer, which should have been impossible due to the frigid temperatures outside. But one thing is agreed upon, the pants were wet and stained with mud from the knees down, almost as if Matthew had waded into the water before turning back to remove his clothing.
Another investigator disagrees with this theory though, because one would have to swim to the bank on which they were found, and the mud stains should have been much higher than just at his knees. Lieutenant Frank Sturdivant was quoted stating: "It was all there. Sweatshirt, pants, socks, underwear. It looked like he just stood right there and undressed. I've been in this job for 25 years, and this is one of the most bizarre things I've seen.
His wallet, still containing his ID, $46 in cash and his credit cards, was still in his pants, along with other personal items. He had just talked to a friend the night before, and was described as being very upbeat and eager for graduation. Matthew was a good student, an aspiring philanthropist, and well-known and liked on campus. With many people he called friends. So what happened to him?
Why would his car wind up off an exit that offered nothing but rural landscape and swamplands? There was no evidence of a struggle, but could there have been foul play? Or did Matthew simply disappear into the marsh, never to be found? These questions certainly continued to haunt his family and all who were involved. But before we discuss the investigation further, let's get to know the young man himself.
Matthew David Pentagrast was born on January 4, 1977, to parents Jeff and Mary Ellen. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended a local private school. Throughout his high school years, Matthew was a scholar-athlete at the prestigious Westminster School in Buckhead. He was a dual athlete, running cross country and also playing on the school soccer team.
He was formidable on the field, despite his small structure at 5'6" 115 pounds. He also was a drummer for the high school band and received first place at the school talent show his senior year after juggling with fire sticks on the stage, something his father had tried to talk him out of as he didn't want to see his son get burned, but was struck in awe along with the rest of the audience all the same.
He was a very active boy who was described by friends, family and teachers as "unselfish, kind and caring." Once he received his diploma, he was very selective in choosing the university where he'd complete his bachelor's degree. His parents helped him in this endeavor, and they had a ritual where the three of them would stay the night in the dorms on a Sunday to see if it was a good fit.
After trying several, he landed on Rhodes College, which seemed to be the perfect match for his passions and interests. He initially enrolled in pre-med, but after spending a summer volunteering at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic with friends, he fell in love with the Spanish language and changed his major to Spanish upon his return. He was well liked by his professors and very involved with discussions and debates within the classroom.
In 1995, during the fall of his freshman year, he pledged to Kappa Sigma fraternity and made friends with two other Atlantans, Jason Woods and Justin Lennon. The three became close friends and were tutored by an older student, Gio Presley Brooks, who quickly became an integral part of the group as another good friend. After his disappearance, Woods stated that Matthew had been brimming with creativity and had such a passion for life.
We spent many nights in intellectual discussions that ranged from existential philosophy to literature to quantum physics," says Woods. Lennon echoed Woods' statement, describing Matthew as such a bright and kind person, one who had big plans after graduation, which only made his disappearance more tragic and confusing. "Matt looked for the best in people,
Even those who might be closed-minded were simply mean-spirited. His younger sister, Diana Bendergrast, states that she couldn't imagine him going off and not telling anyone because he wouldn't want to worry his family. She said he often talked about his plans to join a non-profit group after graduating and helping underprivileged kids. He even had plans to celebrate his college graduation by visiting the Caribbean.
He had known plans to move in with a friend in Atlanta and find a job with a local nonprofit, where he'd learn the inner workings of such an organization and with the ultimate goal of starting his own someday. By all accounts, he seemed like a very intelligent young man who had a big heart and was planning on using his talents to make the world a better place. And that's why to this day, his disappearance is such a mystery.
Any motive or theory remains shallow and unproven. The concrete just won't mix, and the foundation for this case remains unpoored.
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The search continued for two days by the Lone Oak County Sheriff's Department. K-9 units were given the scent of Matthews' clothing and tracked for hours, but turned up nothing.
Even Matthew's friends traveled to assist in the search, but were disheartened when the Sheriff's Department made them watch from a staging area due to the fact that they were untrained for such an investigation. His friends are quoted being heavily dissatisfied with the quality of the search that the Sheriff's Department conducted. They state that the officers were hasty, haphazardly stomping around the scene and flying across the fields and banks at high speeds on ATVs.
The Sheriff's Department disregards and rebuts these comments, stating that they've done their due diligence and assured them that they operated within proper procedures. After the two-day search concluded, Arkansas State Police took over the scene and sent the friends home. A small army of uniformed men combed the area further and coordinated with the State Fish and Game Commission, who sent out boats and divers to search the murky depths for Matthew's possible remains.
But a body was never found. Arkansas State Police Sergeant Paul Curtis is quoted saying, Meanwhile, the Memphis Police Department didn't uncover anything unusual at his apartment.
His bed was unmade, clothes were strung about the bedroom floor, and books were scattered throughout the home. A very typical living situation for a young college student. One thing worth an interesting mention was the journal that was found in Matthew's vehicle. It was full of musings on life, death, and nature.
One entry in particular stood out to Frank Sturtevant, the lead investigator on the case, which discussed becoming a part of the Silver Elves and seeking immortality. But after a thorough search online, nothing of great importance surfaced, other than a blog about a group of people who claimed to be living the secret elven life since 1975. They did discuss something on the site about the elven tree of life and death,
which leads visitors on a journey of self-discovery and the means to obtaining immortality, which some seem to think is the doom of the elves even while they hunger after it. Sturdivant says the journal entry also describes going into the cold mud in the woods, lying down in the icy water, and feeling his blood turning into ice crystals.
Oddly enough, the Lone Oak Sheriff's Department thought hiring a local medium and psychic would be a good idea. And after hearing about the journal entry, the psychic claims Matthew wanted to be rebirthed as a silver elf. The psychic told Sturdivant that she saw Matthew take off his clothes, fold them neatly, and step out into the bayou where he died of hypothermia.
This was widely dismissed as nonsense by everyone involved, since even though the waters were swollen and fast moving this time of year, they would have surely found a body which would have resurfaced at some point. She also missed the details about the pants, where the mud had been stained up to the knees. His friend Justin Lennon says that Matthew got more involved with online gaming after his Atlanta friends graduated one year before he did.
He became very involved with a website called Threshold-RPG.com, which is a high fantasy, multi-user virtual reality game. Lennon refutes the idea that Matthew would have killed himself in such a bizarre ritual to be reborn a silver elf. Jason Woods also finds this a preposterous theory and is quoted saying, "Matt wrote creatively about all aspects of life,
Focusing on dark poems or a fantastical idea only sensationalizes and creates nonsensical mystery. I urge you to give Matt a modicum of respect and privacy of thought. So what are the theories? What do we think happened to Matthew Pendergrast on December 1st in the year 2000? Three ideals stand out most prominent when people hear of this case. Theory number one: suicide.
Now this one doesn't line up with Matthew's character at all and is largely dismissed by his parents. But it's a very popular first reaction by commenters on forums such as Reddit. Let's examine the facts. There were zero signs or evidence pointing towards a struggle at the crime scene. Everything had played out like Matthew was a willing participant in his disappearance. His clothes were left in a pile and many described it as a "neat pile". Although that is up to some debate.
But there is a psychological phenomenon where people who commit suicide sometimes fold their clothes neatly before doing so. It's hypothesized that it's done to try to lessen the burden for whoever has to take care of the scene after taking their own life. Not all people strip down when they attempt to take their own life, of course. But they also practice this phenomenon in other ways. In some cases, they clean the house first, or do the dishes, and so on.
Another thought offers aid to the psychic's vision, and that Matthew experienced late-onset schizophrenia, truly believing he'd be reborn as a silver elf if he drowned himself in the dark waters of the Bayou Mido swamps. This can't be ruled out, however unlikely it seems.
We all know that people can seem very happy and friendly on the outside, and be horribly depressed on the inside. This is a reality for most likely thousands of people, and left untreated can be fatal. But one would think if this is what truly happened, a body would have been recovered. Theory number two. Matthew pulled a disappearing act to start over with a new identity, that somehow he was unsatisfied with his current life and longed for a new one.
Somehow Matthew was able to obtain a new identity, social security number, birth certificate, and all other accompanying documents one would need to start over. Perhaps even a new passport with his new persona. And he took off to live in the Dominican Republic, a place he had grown to love, and was even rumored to have a long-distance girlfriend there. While technology and surveillance tracking software was much more rudimentary in the year 2000 compared to now,
It seems highly unlikely that someone wouldn't have caught sight of him at some point on his way out of the country. There is zero evidence to support this idea, and it wasn't even considered by investigators. It was proposed on forums and supported by other anonymous commenters. Theory number three: foul play.
Jim Kulesa, one of the initial Lone Oak County investigators, agreed that the scene was odd and was even quoted saying, "In my opinion, I believe the whole area was staged, but by who? That's the question." Sturdivant even pursued this theory all the way up until his retirement. But the biggest supporter of this theory is the private investigator that Jeff and Mary Ellen hired in May of 2001, five months after Matthew's disappearance.
His name is withheld to secure his anonymity. What first brought him to this theory is the condition of Matthew's pants. "They were wet up to the knees," he says. "Yet the drainage ditch between where his vehicle was found and where his clothes were laid was filled with water that would have come up much higher on Matt than his knees, probably over his head. I think it was all staged." But by who? He doesn't know for sure.
There had only ever been one suspect that surfaced during a suspicious incident on December 28th, 2000. A man driving a blue Cadillac ran out of gas on Kerr Road, the same private drive where Matthew's forerunner had been found. When a trooper stopped to offer aid, he became suspicious when the driver shook uncontrollably, as if nervous about something.
As he started to question the driver, another motorist, who had stopped by the stranded Cadillac previously, brought the man gasoline in a portable gas can. The trooper had come by while the Good Samaritan was out at the gas station. The officer decided the man must have been shaking from the cold and allowed the Cadillac to leave, but took note of the car's license plate in his logbook.
Shortly after, the Cadillac driver broke into a house on Kerr Road, not to steal property, but to make a phone call. The homeowner came home during the call and reported that she screamed for the man to leave, at which time he hung up the owner's home phone and left the residence. The odd thing was that the homeowner reports the man holding a cell phone in his hand as he left.
almost as if he didn't want the number he called to show in his call history. She states that she redialed the number from her phone and it rang to a convenience store in North Little Rock. She gave the number to Sturdivant, who questioned an employee there. Later it was found out that the store clerk had a felony record, which makes the interaction even more curious, although nothing malicious about their interaction was proven.
Sturtevant continued to track the Cadillac driver further until January 2001, about a week after the incident on Kerr Road, where he was busted on a drug charge with the possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms and marijuana in Prescott, Arizona. After investigating the man further, he found that the drug runner lived in Atlanta, only three miles from a friend of Matthews.
Unfortunately, it wasn't for another six months later when they finally investigated the Cadillac that was still in the police impound in Arizona. A luminol test was performed on the car, which glows green when in contact with blood residue, and police saw a circle on the sidewall of the trunk. The private investigator that the Pendergrasts had hired thinks it was shaped just like the top of a head leaning against it.
The test was named "inconclusive" since it had been exposed to the Arizona elements for so long. Why did it take six months to finally perform forensic testing on the vehicle? Was it incompetence or jurisdictional politics at play? The answer is not known. But the investigator gives this statement on the matter: "I think the Cadillac driver killed Matthew and planted the wet pants to throw searchers off."
He thinks the driver hid Matt's body out of range of the search site, then came back to get the body on December 28th when he ran out of gas. I think Matt is buried somewhere between Memphis and Arizona. The PI had searched for the driver, but he'd posted bail months before the luminal testing and disappeared. His whereabouts remain unknown. But how could Matthew have become involved with this person?
He had no history of drug use and no criminal record to speak of. It seems completely outlandish that Matthew would have any association with the drug dealer whatsoever. But the investigator remains convinced all the same.
We may never know what happened to Matthew Pendergrast, but the Lone Oak County Sheriff's Department and Arkansas State Police remain hopeful that one day, this cold case will come to a conclusion and finally be solved, giving peace to his friends and family.
Matthew's family has assumed his death, and although there is no grave, they annually conduct a celebration of life for their long-lost son. His mother still lights a candle in the window of their home, hoping that if he is still out there somewhere alive, that it will help him find his way home.
