Missing Since: 2001-04-11 Location: Skidmore, Missouri
Perry was last seen in his home in the 300 block of west Oak Street in Skidmore, Missouri at 3:00 p.m. on April 11, 2001. He went outside to put some jumper cables in a shed. He was expected to be right back, but never returned and has never been heard from again. His family says it is extremely uncharacteristic of Perry to be out of touch with his family and friends for more than a few days. He was reported missing on April 17, six days after he disappeared. He left his van and all of his belongings behind. The jumper cables were not in the shed the first time police checked it, but two weeks later they were located in the shed just inside the door. At the time of his disappearance, Perry lived with his father; his parents were divorced. His father was hospitalized on the day he disappeared, but due to come home shortly. Perry had wanted to make the sure the house was cleaned up before his father’s return, and had asked a friend to help him with that. Two men were also at the residence repairing Perry’s father’s car, which had a broken alternator. Jack Wayne Rogers was considered a possible suspect in Perry’s case at one time. He was arrested in 2002 on child pornography charges, and in 2004 was convicted of charges related to child pornography and assault and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Police found messages that Rogers had sent to another user on an online message board in which he described picking up a blond male hitchhiker and raping, torturing, mutilating and murdering him before burying his body. The physical description of the victim seemed to match Perry, and police found a necklace among Rogers’s belongings that looked like one Perry had. Rogers, however, said he had never met Perry and that the murder he had described on the message board was just a fantasy. Perry’s mother came to believe Rogers was not involved in her son’s disappearance, and the police investigation has since turned in other directions. Another theory is that drugs could have been a factor in Perry’s case. The friend who was helping him clean up on the day he disappeared told police that she and Perry had used marijuana and methamphetamines. Authorities got tips that after leaving his home that day, Perry was sighted at a particular house a mile east of Quitman, Missouri, a house known at the time as a popular place to buy drugs. This house was destroyed by fire less than a week after Perry’s disappearance, before he was reported missing. In 2024, authorities stated two individuals were being questioned about Perry’s disappearance and they both identified a particular spot in the rural Quitman area where they claimed his remains were. Police dug up the identified spot and didn’t find Perry’s body, but did find indications that the earth was disturbed and something had been buried there at one time. Perry graduated Nodaway-Holt High School in 1999, and had worked for a roofing company and for a traveling petting zoo, although he was unemployed at the time of his disappearance. He is a non-smoker and a weightlifter, has a black belt in hapkido, and enjoys outdoor pursuits. He was well-liked in the local community. Perry’s father died in 2004 and his mother in 2011. In his mother’s obituary, it was noted that he predeceased her. One of the men who was working on Perry’s father’s car in the driveway at the time of Perry’s disappearance died in 2021. Foul play is suspected in Perry’s case. Investigating Agency Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office 660-582-7451 Source Information Mound City Area Chamber of Commerce Truth or Fiction The Kansas City Channel The Fulton Sun The Kansas City Star Missing — Branson Kayne Perry NamUs MySpace Page for Branson Perry Investigation Discovery Trace Evidence Podcast Fox 4 KMBC 9 The Maryville Forum The Fulton Sun Updated 8 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 4, 2024; picture and details of disappearance updated.