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Mobile County approves $3,750 billboard sponsorship for Steven Pearson cold-case campaign
Summary
The commission approved a $3,750 sponsorship to fund a billboard in Grand Bay for Alabama Cold Case Advocacy’s campaign to raise awareness of the 2000 disappearance of Steven H. Pearson; family members and the advocacy group's founder addressed the commission at the meeting.
The Mobile County Commission on Feb. 24 approved a $3,750 sponsorship agreement from District 3 commission funds with Alabama Cold Case Advocacy to place a billboard in Grand Bay promoting awareness of the missing-person case of Steven H. Pearson.
An audio statement from Julie Pearson, identified in the meeting as Pearson’s daughter, was played for commissioners. In the recording she described her father as missing from Grand Bay since Dec. 27, 2000, and urged anyone with information to come forward. "After 24 years, every detail counts," she said in the recording.
Carrie New, founder of Alabama Cold Case Advocacy, told commissioners the group began in 2022 as a social-media effort to bridge a communication gap between families and law‑enforcement agencies and to re‑expose cold cases to the public. New said there are roughly 300 missing persons in Alabama but the state database does not align with the national database and that there is about a 70‑name discrepancy between the two. She said her group worked with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office on the Pearson case and that the planned billboard will be placed near where Pearson was last seen to increase the chances that someone with information will call investigators.
A law‑enforcement official present told the commission that Sheriff Burch originally investigated the case as a homicide investigator and that, in his professional view together with Sheriff Burch, a homicide likely occurred. The official said that, beyond serving the family, renewed public attention is important because an alleged offender could still be at large.
The item on the consent agenda describes the approved agreement as "sponsorship agreement with Alabama Cold Case Advocacy in the amount of $3,750 from District 3 Commission Funds for a billboard in Grand Bay promoting awareness for the Steven Pearson missing person case." The motion to approve was made and seconded on the record; the commission proceeded with the consent agenda approvals.
