LAURINBURG — It’s been over a year since Brandon McDonald went missing and his mother only wants one thing.
To know where her son’s remains are.
Dena Cox, McDonald’s mother, said he’s her only child and she believes if he was still alive, he would’ve come home by now. “I know he’s already home, he’s with the good Lord, we just want to find his remains and lay him to rest,” she said.
McDonald, who is from Clarkston, went missing on March 25, 2021. His cell phone pinged in Laurinburg and his 2003 Ford F-150 was recovered in Hope Mills.
In October, Governor Roy Cooper announced that the state was offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the disappearance of McDonald.
Now, Cox said there is a $5,000 90-day reward for information on McDonald’s whereabouts. She wants anyone with information to come forward and tell authorities what they know.
“I would like for the community to keep their eyes and ears open,” Cox said. “If they hear anything let us know.”
She added that, unlike the previous reward, a conviction isn’t necessary for the tipster to collect. “The good Lord above is going to convict the individual who hurt my child. The system’s not, the good Lord above is. We just want to find his remains and bring him home.”
Even though there hasn’t been an official determination on whether McDonald is alive or not, Cox says as a mother, she knows. “If he was alive, he would contact us in some way to come to him,” she said. “Do I want to face that fact? No, but I know him and I know his character.”
Cox said she knows one of the last places her son was seen alive was in Laurinburg. She said phone records show that he was texting someone in Laurinburg. Cox said that person lived on Cooper Street.
When asked what would she say to the person responsible for her son being missing, Cox said because of her faith in God, she’d have to forgive whoever is involved. “I’d ask why,” she said. “I would hope that when they lay down at night they see those blue eyes and when they get up in the morning they see those blue eyes. And that they’re satisfied that they took my only child. You didn’t have to do that, but you better get your life right because you’re going to burn in hell if you don’t and the Lord would have you to do that.” Cox’s voice cracked with emotion as she spoke.
She described her son as a man with a good heart. “He would give you the shirt off his back, he didn’t like fussing and arguing. Brandon wouldn’t hurt a fly,” she said.
Cox said that the person who McDonald was texting that day had been telling him that they were depressed and wanted to get out of the lifestyle they were living.
“And that’s what my youngin was going to help them do and it backfired,” she said. Cox said she can’t say who her son was texting because no one is facing charges in the case.
Cox said she wouldn’t be able to keep fighting for her son if it was for her faith. And she’s hopeful that someone knows something about where her son is.
“Please come forward,” she said. “Find it in your heart because I know there’s a family member they love and care about, everybody has got somebody. And what if they were in our shoes and somebody hurt that person that they loved and cared about and somebody knew what happened. How would they feel?”
If you have information about the disappearance of Brandon McDonald or details about his location, contact the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office at (910) 862-6960 or the 24-hour CUE Center for Missing Persons at (910) 232-1687.