Columbus, Georgia, police are asking for the public's help finding Jonathan White, a 42-year-old man last seen Saturday afternoon in the 6000 block of Riverbrook Trace in Columbus. White, who is Black, stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs approximately 190 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark gray t-shirt with a Care Bear graphic, black jogger pants, and black Puma sneakers.
According to CNAW2 News, White was reported missing after he was last seen around 2:49 p.m. Saturday, per the Columbus Police Department's Special Victims' Unit. The Riverbrook Trace address is in Columbus.
The case is being led by Detective Joseph Austin within the Special Victims Unit, according to the Columbus Police Department. Anyone with information about White's whereabouts is urged to call 911, the Special Victims Unit at 706-225-3449, or Detective Austin directly at 706-225-3560, the same account notes.
No Waiting Period Under Georgia Law
Mattie's Call is a statewide alert for missing disabled adults, per the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Georgia Code § 35-1-18, part of the Stacey Nicole English Act, bars agencies from imposing a mandatory minimum waiting period before initiating a missing-person report, while leaving each agency discretion to determine what response is required, according to Justia Law. The statute therefore permits agencies to open cases without waiting 24 or 48 hours.
Why Speed Matters in These Searches
The urgency behind that legal mandate is rooted in grim statistics. Data cited by the Alzheimer's Association Coastal Georgia Regional Office and reported by the Savannah Tribune found that missing disabled adults, particularly people with dementia, who are not located within the first 24 hours face a 46 percent chance of being found seriously injured or deceased. Georgia agencies can also coordinate with the Georgia Association of Broadcasters to push emergency alerts across media outlets and regional 911 centers when a case meets the threshold, the same report notes.
Nationally, the scale of these cases is significant. Law enforcement agencies entered 498,038 missing-person records into the National Crime Information Center database during 2025, according to FBI data. It remains unknown at this stage whether White left the Riverbrook Trace area on foot or by vehicle, and whether license plate reader data in Muscogee County has produced any leads.
Hoodline reported remains found near Seale, closing a missing person case that began in Columbus back in July 2019 — a stark reminder of how long these investigations can stretch on when leads go cold. Anyone with information about Jonathan White's current location is asked to contact police immediately.
