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They've found the witnesses. They've talked to people. They've done searches. They've handed everything over to the police.

And nothing has happened. Finally, they're getting a little bit of traction now and increasing the reward.

And hopefully, an increased reward will be motivation for somebody to say something. But not everybody's motivated by money.

If you're more motivated by fear than you are by money and increased reward, doesn't do anything for you. That's the difficult thing.

22-year-old George James was last seen by his family on November 23, 1998.

George hadn't argued with his mother at her Millbrook Alabama home in Stormdorf. Something seemed to be weighing heavily on George.

Like he needed to get away from some sort of danger. George's mother, Tillis, was confused by this interaction.

But never imagined that this would be the last time she'd ever see her son. As the days passed with no word from George, Tillis reported him missing. And since that day, she's never stopped looking for her son.

Ammarissa, and from Wondery, this is Episode 354 of The Vanished. George James's story.

Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wondery's Podcast Business Wars. In our latest series, two visionary automakers each believe they can beat Detroit and build America's favorite cars.

Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

It was just days before Thanksgiving in 1998, when George James picked a fight with his mother, seemingly out of nowhere.

It was almost like he was intentionally pushing her away. Perhaps to shield his family from some danger that was lurking.

This was out of character for George, who would always had a special bond with his mother. When George walked out the door that day, his mother Tillis thought he would be back.

She was confused over the argument, but never thought that she would spend the rest of her life looking and advocating for her son.

It is rare that we come upon a case where the reason someone is missing is simply due to something that happened on the day they disappeared.

In most cases, you can find answers and warning signs if you explore the life experiences and relationships of a person. And George's story is no different.

So we're going to start by looking at George's life, which wasn't always easy. George is one of Tillis James's five sons.

Tillis told us that George's early life was unstable for several years.

Their childhood was rough. On my boys, I have five boys. George is natural to him. He was adopted by my husband that just died two years ago when he was nine.

Before that, we were on the run from his dad. He was very violent.

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