A Louisiana couple is in town this week searching for their son, who disappeared from Natchez, Miss., in 2009.

“We received info that he is in the Andalusia area,” said his mother, Brenda Olsen.

Casey Dee Herring of Ferriday, La., was staying at the Best Western in Natchez in October 2009, when he asked the desk clerk to call for an ambulance, saying he had hurt his ankle, The Natchez Democrat reported.

When the ambulance arrived, however, Herring – who was 30 at the time – bolted on foot in the direction of the Natchez Visitor and Reception Center. He has been missing since.

Olsen said she filed a missing persons report with the Natchez Police Department.

No one in the family has seen or heard from Herring since that day, but a promising lead has led the Olsens to take the six-hour journey to Andalusia.

“We’ve had a few leads, but nothing as substantial as this one,” Olsen said. “We heard he was working on a farm here. Our source told us that he’s not going by his name, and he’s going by Sam, Jacob or Duke.”

Olsen said it’s been extremely difficult for her.

“It’s a struggle,” she said. “We used to talk every day.”

Herring’s stepfather, George Randall Olsen said the family’s biggest chance of finding Herring is the community.

“Our biggest chance is to have common people recognize him,” he said.

Adams County, Miss. Sheriff Chuck Mayfield told The Democrat last month “we will never give up on an investigation.”

“Anytime we have a new lead or revisit an old lead that gives us direction, we will pursue it,” Mayfield said. “We never officially close a case if it is not solved.”

When Herring disappeared, he was 5-foot, 11-inches tall and weighed 140 pounds. He had brown hair, brown eyes and a scar on the back of his head.

His stepfather also said he had a blue-purple “KCD” tattoo on his stomach.

Anyone with information about Herring should call the ACSO 601-442-2911 or 601-442-2752.