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Families not giving up on missing Collier men

Families of missing Collier men seek answers
Posted at 10:58 PM, Oct 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-26 01:17:57-04

More than a decade after two men in Collier County disappeared in separate traffic stops, speculation swirls around a fired Collier County Deputy.

Deputy Steve Calkins was fired after lying about what happened to Terrance Williams and Felipe Santos.

Williams was last seen in the back of Calkins' squad car at the corner of 111th Avenue and Vanderbilt Drive in January 2014.

"There's not one day that doesn't go by, that I'm calling his name, I wake up in the middle of the night," said Terrance's mother Marcia.

Terrance did not know Felipe Santos, but both men had something in common.

Three months before Williams vanished, Calkins approached Santos after a traffic violation at the corner of Immokalee and Airport Road.

"Felipe was taken into custody, was put into the back of the patrol car, and that's the last time his brother saw him," said family friend Julia Perkins.

The Community United Center for missing persons has been fighting to keep this case in the limelight.

In 2013, founder Monica Caison brought in the Reverend Al Sharpton and Movie director Tyler Perry, who offered 50,000 dollars in reward money for anyone who helps solve the case.

"The reward that is still standing today, that Mr. Perry offered it did bring in some tips and leads and it brought in a lot of hope for Marcia and us as well," said Caison.

But both families are still looking for closure, Marcia wants the fired deputy to face criminal charges.

"He's not telling the truth, he's not speaking the way he should, it's very frustrating."

The sheriff's office has said in the past there is not enough evidence to charge Calkins with a crime.

Anyone with information on what happened to Williams and Santos is asked to call the Collier County Sheriff's Office at 239-252-9300 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-730-8477.