On March 11, 2016, deputies from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office took a missing persons report. Friends of Mathew Duane Valentine, of Camden County, reported he had been missing since March 8th. He was last seen in the area of Tunnel Dam, near Camdenton, when he attempted to hide from sheriff’s deputies by jumping into the Big Niangua River and swimming to a cave on the opposite shore. Valentine did not make it across the river and was allegedly swept downstream.

 

Deputies had responded to the area on March 8th on a tip from an anonymous caller who knew about Valentine’s active arrest warrants. When deputies arrived they located a vehicle suspected to belong to Valentine, but could not locate him and left the area.

 

After receiving the missing persons report, deputies from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Water Patrol Division in searching the area downstream from where Valentine was last seen.  Despite searching the area throughout the weekend, authorities were unsuccessful in finding Valentine. We are now asking for the public’s help in finding Valentine to ensure his safety.

 

Valentine is a white male, 37 years of age with multiple tattoos on his hands, arms and chest. He is 5’7” tall and weighs approximately 210 pounds. If you have any information concerning Valentine’s whereabouts, please contact the Camden County Sheriff’s Office at 573-346-2243 or your local law enforcement agency.