Family issues warning after teen’s 2022 death still unsolved

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (WRIC) -- Three years after a local 19-year-old first went missing, his family is still searching for answers in his death. And, they have a warning to other families so they can avoid the same grief.

In November of 2022, 19-year-old Marcus Johnson's family reported him missing after they hadn't seen him in more than 10 days. A month later, his remains were found in Colonial Heights. Now, it's still unknown how he got there, or who left him shot multiple times.

"It's gut wrenching. It's heartbreaking," said Tanesha Hudson, Johnson's cousin. "He was a good kid. Never been in trouble, [he] had just graduated."

On December 21, 2022, someone found human remains under a tarp along the wood line near 1300 Yacht Basin Drive. Police later identified the remains as Johnson, who had been missing for a month before the body was discovered.

"He didn't even get a chance to really start his life, and it ended," Hudson said.

Three years later, and police are still looking for a suspect.

Johnson was last seen on November 16, 2022, leaving his Chesterfield home in the 2100 block of Esquire Road. Hudson said he left with friends and never came back.

She said she wished more was done to locate him when he was missing.

"It's unfortunate that when people are 18 or people are above age, that things linger because people think, 'oh, they're grown, they just don't want to come home.' There's no real process for adults," Hudson said.

She also felt the case didn't get the attention it was owed because Johnson was black.

"You hate to always bring up the disparities, [but] that's a real thing," Hudson said. "If Marcus or any other child of color's situation is handled with compassion and empathy and solid care, then they too can get the same exact exposure."

His family told 8News that according to his death certificate, Johnson had been shot multiple times.

Hudson urges families to be vigilant, so the same tragedy doesn't happen to their loved ones.

"Closure for me would be that family take care of other family, that you have a safety plan in place, that you talk to your children [and] know their friends, that you know their whereabouts," Hudson said.

The Colonial Heights Police Department said it believes the crime happened outside of the city, and the suspect then moved Johnson to where he was found on Yacht Basin Drive.

If you have any information that could help bring justice for Johnson and his family, you're asked to contact the Colonial Heights Police Department. You can do so either by phone at 804-520-9329 or by email at velasquezc@colonialheightsva.gov.