The Bucklesberry Lemonade Podcast
For 46 Years, Nobody Knew Their Names Two North Carolina Cold Cases
For decades, investigators in North Carolina had two murdered men—and no names.One was recovered from the Cape Fear River in 1976. Another was found near Pittsboro in 1981.Years passed. Then decades.Their families were searching for missing loved ones while investigators were trying to answer a completely different question:**Who were these men?**More than four decades later, advances in forensic DNA and genetic genealogy finally connected those mysteries to two names:**Jimmy Mack Brooks.****Alexander “Alex” Brown Jr.**Jimmy was a 26-year-old North Carolina native and U.S. Army veteran who had once been stationed at Fort Bragg. His loved ones never stopped looking for him.Alex was reported missing by his family in Baltimore, Maryland, in December 1978. Nearly three years later, unidentified remains were discovered hundreds of miles away near Pittsboro, North Carolina.But Alex's story leaves behind a haunting gap:**Where was he during those missing years—and how did he end up in North Carolina?**DNA eventually answered one enormous question in both cases.It told investigators **who they had found**.It did not tell them **who killed Jimmy and Alex**.In this episode of The *Bucklesberry Lemonade* Podcast, we follow two Chatham County cold cases across nearly half a century—from unidentified homicide victims to the forensic breakthroughs that finally restored their names.These are not stories about John Does.They are the stories of **Jimmy Mack Brooks and Alexander Brown Jr.**And although investigators now know their names, somebody may still know the rest of their stories.If you knew Jimmy Mack Brooks, served with him in the U.S. Army, knew him during his time around Fort Bragg, or have information concerning his whereabouts before his death in 1976, please consider contacting the appropriate law-enforcement authorities.Likewise, if you knew Alexander Brown Jr. in Baltimore, saw or communicated with him after his December 1978 disappearance, or know of any connection he may have had to North Carolina, even a seemingly insignificant memory could matter.Please keep speculation respectful. These were real men with families who spent decades searching for answers.If you enjoy carefully researched cold cases, unidentified-person cases, missing-person mysteries, and forgotten stories from North Carolina and beyond, subscribe to **Bucklesberry Lemonade** for more.**We know their names. Now somebody needs to tell us the rest of their stories.**#TrueStory #TrueCrime #ColdCase #UnsolvedMysteries #UnsolvedMurder #JimmyMackBrooks #AlexanderBrownJr #NorthCarolina #ChathamCounty #CapeFearRiver #PittsboroNC #MissingPersons #Podcast #ColdCases
