Police Officer Last Person To See Missing Men

Back in 2004, a family had to endure a familiar tragedy. On January 12th of that year, 27-year-old Terrance Williams moved to Florida. The young father of four traveled there to take care of his mother in need. While she was resting, Terrance decided to attend a party. Unfortunately, he decided to make the drive while having a suspended license.

Terrance Williams never made it home the next day.

His mother Marcia immediately knew that something was wrong. She knew her son and was certain that he would never leave Florida without making his family aware. His family proceeded to file a missing person’s report. Shortly after doing so, Terrance’s white Cadillac was found by one of his family members. The car was left abandoned at a local cemetery until a police officer had it towed.

The name on the tow ticket belonged to Steven Calkins.

Officer Calkins worked at the Collier County Sheriff’s Department…and was unfortunately no stranger to being involved in precarious situations (more on that later). During the onset of the investigation, Calkins had initially said that he never met Terrance Williams. He also said that he never had his car towed, despite his name being on the ticket. Calkins would change his story about the tow once he was confronted with that fact. He would go on to change his story about never having met Williams when workers at the cemetery told officials that they saw Williams get into Calkins’ car.

In his new version of events, Calkins now says that he came across Williams while he was having car trouble. He allegedly gave him a ride to a nearby gas station after some time. Calkins says that he dropped him off at Circle K and left. Terrance Williams would never be seen again.

This would make him the second person of color to disappear after getting into the patrol car of Steven Calkins.

In October of 2003, 23-year-old Felipe Santos had his run-in with Officer Calkins. The Mexican immigrant was last seen getting into Calkins’ patrol car (by his brothers). Just like Williams after him, Santos was never seen again after getting into that car. The Collier Sheriff’s Office says that both men are presumed dead.

The unsettling disappearances of both men have attracted the attention of activist and filmmaker Tyler Perry. Perry not only offered a $200,000 reward for information regarding their fate, but he is also featuring their story in his upcoming docuseries Never Seen Again. The show is a Paramount+ exclusive aimed at telling the stories of those that vanished without a trace — frequently featuring the last people to see them alive. The story of Terrance Williams and Felipe Santos is looking to be the premiere of the series as Perry had personal involvement in the case.

Steven Calkins has never faced any charges for their disappearance. In 2004, he was fired by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. An internal investigation found that he was “deceptive” in the statements he gave about Williams’ disappearance. To put it bluntly: he lied. He Lied during his polygraph, and he lied during his initial statements. Firing him was the bare minimum.

Marcia sued Calkins in 2018. The suit was a wrongful death action on behalf of Williams’ estate and four children. However, her legal team missed a deadline to file for a trial. The appeals were unsuccessful. Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump — who is now representing the family — is seeking other ways to find justice.

In a press release about his docuseries, Tyler Perry expressed his frustration with the lack of action taken against Steven Calkins. “They’re both disappearing with the same deputy after being put in the same deputy’s car. If this is a coincidence, then he is the most unlucky man in the world, that this could actually be something that happened to him twice,” Perry said. “I just don’t see how that is possible. And I think that anybody in law enforcement can look at this and go, ‘What happened to them?’”

Let’s hope we find the answer to that question.