NEWS

Mom says son disappeared from Springfield McDonald's before fatal shooting

Harrison Keegan
HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

The mother of a man who was shot to death this month in Springfield said he was abducted from the parking lot of a Springfield McDonald's on the night of the shooting.

Landon Bays

Robyn Wittke said her son Landon Bays, 18, went to the McDonald's on Sunshine Street near Campbell Avenue with a couple of friends on Friday evening.

Wittke said Bays' friend told her Bays' phone started to ring as he was entering the restaurant, so he stepped outside to take the call.

When Bays' friends finished eating, Wittke said, they went outside to meet up with him, but he wasn't there.

Bays' car was still in the parking lot, but he was gone, his mother said.

About 7 p.m. that evening, police say they found Bays on the side of a dark stretch of Catalpa Street about a mile away from the McDonald's. He had been shot.

Bays died in the hospital three days later.

"It’s unbelievable," Wittke said. "We don’t know why anyone would want to hurt him."

The Springfield Police Department has not said much publicly about the homicide. Lt. Grant Dorrell said Thursday the investigation is ongoing and he could not confirm Bay's last known whereabouts.

Police ask anyone with information about the case to contact the department at 417-864-1810.

Earlier this week, Les Workman, who lives near where Bays was found in the 800 block of West Catalpa Street, told the News-Leader he heard a loud pop and then what sounded like a vehicle speeding away a little before 7 p.m. Friday.

Workman said he looked outside after hearing the pop, but he didn't see anything.

A few minutes later, Workman's neighbor José Morales said he found a bloodied Bays lying on the side of the road in that poorly light stretch of Catalpa Street. Morales called 911, and Bays was taken away in an ambulance.

Police said they were initially unable to identify Bays because he did not have any ID cards on his person. The department released a photo of a wolf tattoo on Bays' forearm and asked for the public's help to find out who he was.

When Wittke saw the photo, she said she knew immediately it was her son.

"We didn't want him to get the tattoo initially," Wittke said. "But he said it represented family and courage and honor and his late stepfather."

Wittke said she still can't believe her son is gone.

Wittke said Bays was a bright, hardworking young man who graduated high school at 16.

Bays worked at Spinnaker Resorts. He and his girlfriend, Nim, were set to be married this summer.

Wittke said her 6-foot-4, 250-pound son was a gentle man who always looked out for others.

"He was the one that represented the underdogs," Wittke said. "He was a big guy and he wouldn’t let people bully the ones who were the underdogs. He was the one who was there to protect and support them."

Wittke said Bays was very close with his family, especially his sister and brothers.

As a child, Bays would often try to give his Christmas presents away to others. That generosity continued even in death, Wittke said, as Bays' kidneys, heart, lungs and liver were donated to strangers in need of healthy organs.

"He was a great young man," Wittke said. "He loved his family."

Lt. Dorrell with the police department confirmed Thursday that no arrests have been made in connection with the homicide.