For the family of Michael Gorley, the past 10 days have been heart-wrenching ones.
“My gut tells me something is wrong,” said his sister, Jennifer Coffey.
Gorley, 38, of Boyle County was last seen about 9 p.m. May 17 at a house at 5050 Knob Lick Road/Ky. 300 east of Junction City.
“The people that were there tell us that he left there walking. His shoes and his hat were still on the porch,” said Coffey.
At the time, he was wearing only teal and white Hawaiian-style swimming trunks, she said.
“He left walking there toward Junction, and they don’t know what happened to him. That was the last time they saw him,” she said.
With the help of extended family, a $1,000 reward is being offered to the person who can lead police and family to Gorley.
“I wish they would come forward. It’s been a lot of sleepless nights,” Coffey said. “The family’s just tore up. And not just family, the community, too.”
The theory that Gorley could have left town doesn’t make sense to his sister.
“He was fresh out of jail — he had no money. He had a cell phone, but he didn’t have any minutes on it. He didn’t have the means to run off and go take a vacation,” she said.
Gorley was arrested in February, when the car he was riding in was stopped by police and 12 grams of crystal methamphetamine were discovered. Gorley and three others were charged with trafficking and possession of methamphetamines; others had additional charges.
His driver’s license places his address in Parksville, with his sister, but since being released from jail on May 12, he had been staying with his mom in McKinney.
“He never came home,” Coffey said. “No one’s seen or heard from him.”
The family has set up a Facebook page, Justice for Michael Gorley, to share information on the search. They are also coming up with ways to hold fundraisers, to boost the reward money in hopes that someone will come forward.
“It’s just really hard on my family — not knowing,” she said. “Different possibilities have been going through my mind, and I’ve not been able to come up with anything.”
According to Kentucky State Police spokesperson Trooper Kenny Sandusky, Gorley’s friends said he was acting paranoid for no reason prior to his departure.
Currently, KSP has opened an investigation into his disappearance.
“He is entered as a missing person,” Sandusky said. “At some point, it gets to be (suspicious). It’s been 10 days. We can’t confirm if something happened, if he got in a car — he’s missing, that’s all we know.”
Officers are following leads as they arrive, but he said nothing concrete has come out yet.
“We talk to someone, that leads us to another person and that leads us to another person,” Sandusky said.
There are a variety of ways to come forward with information, including contacting the family directly at (859) 319-3842 or (859) 319-3025. To contact the Kentucky State Police, call (859) 623-2404. The Missing Person Hotline is 1(800) 543-7723.
People with information also may text a tip to 67283, with KSPTIP in the message field. Leave a space and then enter the information. A confirmation text will be sent back.
