Missing Big Rapids man's car in MO

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The vehicle of a well-known member of the Big Rapids community, who hasn't been seen since Tuesday, has been found in Missouri.

The Carter County (Mo.) Sheriff's Department late Thursday afternoon received a phone call about a car parked off a service road in the Mark Twain National Forest in Van Buren, Mo. The caller said the vehicle "has been there for a couple of days now," according to a news release.

Carter County Sheriff Richard Stephens told 24 Hour News 8 Friday morning deputies checked the car and discovered it belongs to Fred Byrne of Big Rapids, Mich. His wallet was on the rear floor, and the keys were in the center console of the unlocked, silver 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. But there was no sign of the 49-year-old Byrne.

Sheriff Stephens said there were no obvious signs of foul play at the scene.

Members of the Carter County Sheriff's Office, National Forest Service, Missouri Highway Patrol and National Parks Service searched the area for clues Thursday night and Friday.

24 Hour News 8 talked Friday morning to Byrne's wife, Diana, who said neither she nor Fred have any ties to that area of Missouri. She said she can't imagine why he would have driven the nearly 600-mile distance from West Michigan.

Fred Byrne was last seen at 3 p.m. Tuesday leaving his mother's residence in Holland (Mich.) after taking his son back to Hope College, according to a news release from the Big Rapids (Mich.) Department of Public Safety.

He told his family he intended on going to RiverTown Crossings Mall in Grandville in Kent County to buy a Valentine's Day gift for his wife, police said, on his way back home. But he never arrived at his Mecosta County residence.

He has not been in contact with family or friends since his disappearance, and they said this is "extremely out of character for him," according to police. Byrne does not have any medical conditions, his family told 24 Hour News 8.

== Watch the video above as Byrne's wife discusses her husband's disappearance ==

Byrne is described as a 49-year-old white male, 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighs about 340 pounds, and has blond hair and blue eyes.

Byrne's Malibu has a Michigan license plate BSY0298 in a Hope College plate cover and a BR sticker on one side of the back window and a Hope College Parent sticker on the other side of the window.

If you know anything about this case then you are asked to call the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety at 231.527.0005.