BOGALUSA, La (WVUE) – An elderly Bogalusa man hasn’t been seen since June, but it wasn’t until his son was arrested for murder that investigators knew he was missing.
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Washington Parish Sheriff’s deputies are searching for 78-year-old Carley Provost. He was discovered missing after deputies arrested his adult son last Tuesday for what investigators believe to be an unrelated fatal shooting near their home on North Jones Road.
“Once Carley Junior was arrested, and it became clear that this is the same person that is supposed to be responsible for his elderly father and he’s now in jail. So, who is responsible for his elderly father? Where is his elderly father? To this point we haven’t been able to locate him,” Sheriff Jason Smith said.
Family had concerns about care
The family says Provost, Jr., moved his father out of a nursing home. But they had concerns that he couldn’t provide an appropriate level of care.
“Growing up in Bogalusa is rough by itself. It’s historically been plagued with drug abuse, drug use. Little Carley was no exception,” said Daryll Smith, Provost’s nephew.
Provost’s family tells Fox 8 they do not expect to find their loved one alive, given his age and his health complications, but his nephew says that the closure of laying him to rest means everything.
“Unfortunately, this didn’t rise to the level that it has,” Sheriff Smith said. “Maybe had it a while ago, it would’ve been a different story.”
Son not cooperating with investigation
Back at the Washington Parish Jail, Sheriff Jason Smith says Provost, Jr. is not cooperating.
“But I think any kind of nefarious actions by little Carley could cause him to not want to talk about where Uncle Carley is,” the nephew said.
Beginning in the fall, Smith says he asked the sheriff’s office to do a few welfare checks. Deputies could not find Provost, Sr. but say they also didn’t find anything worrying. Investigators say they had no reason to believe the man was in danger then.
“The most important thing is finding him,” the nephew said. “If Little Carley was involved and it was neglect or he just couldn’t provide the care, we don’t care at this point. We just want our Uncle Carley found, his body found, so we can have a memorial service and have closure that he’s okay.”
If you have any information, call 985-839-3434 and ask for Capt. Corbet Hunt.
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