The views and opinions expressed in Cold and
Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All
parties mentioned are considered innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing
also contains adult themes and languages. Listener
discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin
-Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski.
And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover
cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone,
and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your
host, Ali. And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome
back, everyone. And welcome back to both Ali
and I. Man, November sure had a hold on us. We
had colds back to back. Yes, it was the cold
in our household that just had a grip on the
both of us. And Eli had it really bad. And then
I had it really bad the next week. So I do apologize.
I think this is the first time in the history
of the podcast that we've taken two consecutive
weeks off. But we wanted to... get back into
the recording booth, and get this new episode
out to you guys. That's right, and we are on
episode 148 this week. And this is a cold case.
All right, let's get into it. Let's do it. Today,
we are talking about the cold case of Mont Highley
IV, and this takes place in Shorter, Alabama
in November of 2003. But first, a little bit
about Mont. Mont Highley IV and his family moved
to Alabama when he was young, but shorter Alabama
was his home that he remembered the most. He
was the son of Gail and Dr. Highley III, so throughout
the timeline today, I'll be referring to his
dad as Dr. Highley and then Mont as Mont, since
they share the same name. He also had two sisters,
and they were a close family unit. They spent
a lot of time together. They had a lake house,
and then around 250 acres of hunting land they
culled at the farm. The farm was just land, and
it was pretty wild land with woods and creeks
running through it. There was a trailer on the
property as a home base where you could get warm
and spend the night. It was a place full of memories,
laughter, and time outdoors. This is where the
family spent a lot of time hunting. Mont loved
life. He loved people, the outdoors, and spending
time with family. Those who knew him described
him as loving and outgoing, the kind of person
who made everyone around him feel welcome. One
of his friends said, quote, In high school, Mont
played both football and basketball. As an adult,
he was working construction jobs and living in
Florida. But Alabama was always his home, and
he would often come back to spend weekends and
the holidays with family. And that's exactly
what he did for Thanksgiving in 2003. So with
that, we will get into a timeline of events.
So Thursday, November 27, 2003, Thanksgiving
Day. That Thanksgiving, Mont spent the day with
his family. His mother, Gail, would later remember
that Mont was a little quieter than usual, but
not in a way that worried her. just quieter.
The next day, Friday, November 28th, the day
after Thanksgiving, Mont and his father went
hunting near Prattville, Alabama, finishing up
around 5 p .m. As the sun began to set, Mont
told his dad that he was going to spend the night
at the family hunting cabin, the one they called
The Farm in Macon County. He and his dad had
plans to meet there again the next day for another
hunting trip. The next few points in the timeline
come from Alabama Cold Case Advocacy. I wasn't
able to verify these with another source, but
wanted to include them in the timeline, but just
wanted to point out that I couldn't verify with
a second source on these. So before he left Montgomery,
Mont took a brief but friendly phone call, one
his mother remembered because it seemed cheerful.
Around 5 .30 that evening, he told his parents
goodbye and got into his green Tahoe and drove
toward the farm on County Road 30. At around
6 to 6 .30 p .m., Monts stopped at a gas station
near I -85. According to Alabama Cold Case Advocacy,
security footage later confirmed that he bought
some beer while at the convenience store. Also
while there, he called a close friend and invited
him to go hunting that night. The friend couldn't
go because he already had plans. After 8 p .m.,
Mont's phone showed a few calls, but the last
cell phone activity from his phone was just after
9 .30 that night. However, police report that
the last seen sighting of Mont Highley was on County
Road 30, according to police. Okay, and with
that, we're back into the official timeline.
So Saturday, November 29, 2003. That next afternoon,
around 3 p .m., Mont's dad arrived at the farm
for their planned hunting trip. But Mont wasn't
there. The gate to the property, which Mont always
kept locked, was wide open. While Mont was a
strong guy, he didn't love being out at the property
by himself. It creeped him out a little bit.
His dad also noticed that the metal storage building
was open too. The front door to the trailer on
the property was ajar and lights inside were
all left on. The TV was still playing, too, and
the volume was loud. Dr. Highley said he could
hear it from outside of the trailer. But Mott
was gone, and so was his green Tahoe. Dr. Highley
says, quote, I figured one of his friends came
by and said, come on, we'll go celebrate. The
Alabama -Auburn game had happened that day with
a favorable outcome. Dr. Highley continues and
says, quote, so I just locked up. I hunted, locked
it up, and came home. Later, Dr. Highley would
recall, quote, something felt strange. There
were lots of things that weren't right. He was
antsy about being out there by himself and he
always locked the gate. Well, the gate was wide
open. The next morning, Dr. Highley got a call
from a man named Dale Segrist who lived about
two and a half miles from the Highley family camp.
Dr. Highley says, quote, he, referring to Dale,
was a judge at that time. He called saying Mont's
truck was found behind his mother's house. His
son Mike had a group that hunted out there during
the week, and there were about five or six of
them. When the Hyleys arrived to Dale's property,
they find Mont's green Tahoe. Inside the car
were his wallet and briefcase, with $200 cash
still in it. The keys were in the ignition, and
his hunting rifle was still inside the car, and
there didn't appear to be any signs of a struggle.
When his dad turned the keys, On his car, it
started right up, so it didn't appear that he
had any kind of engine trouble. The Segrists
and the Heileys walked the property but found
no other trace of Mont. Mont's parents began
to panic. They decided to go check on their other
home at the lake, Lake Martin, and there was
no sign of Mont there. They started calling his
friends and local hospitals to see if anybody
had heard of him, but no one had seen or heard
from him. That evening, his parents went back
to the farm. This time they noticed details that
his dad had missed before. Mont's new boots were
sitting side by side on the porch, but they were
wet. His pants were also wet from the thighs
down and were found on the bedroom floor. Inside
of the pockets were $100 cash and his cell phone.
His dad would later say, quote, if my son was
going to take one thing with him, it's a cell
phone. That's when the family knew something
was very wrong. They filed a missing person report
that evening. So over the next few days, from
December 1st through the 4th, this marks the
search for Mont. Over the next few days, hundreds
of people join the search for Mont. Friends,
family, volunteers, and of course police comb
hundreds of acres across the family farm and
adjoining properties. Helicopters were brought
in and tracking dogs were deployed looking for
any sign of Mont. During the search on that first
day, December 1st, Mont's family's golf cart
was found stuck on a tree root. The family used
the golf cart to get around the property. Around
the golf cart was Mont's shirt, a pistol, and
a rechargeable flashlight that was still working.
In some reports, it's noted that his cell phone
was found here around the golf cart instead of
in his pants in the trailer, so there is some
discrepancy about where his cell phone was found.
The golf cart itself wasn't badly stuck. Dr.
Highley was able to free it by himself, which made
it strange that Mont would have abandoned it.
If his father could get it unstuck, Mont surely
would have been able to get it unstuck. The tracking
dogs did pick up Mont's scent. It led from the
Highleaf Farm to the Segrist property, then across
the street to another property owned by a Segrist
relative. And there, the scent trail stopped.
Again, police searched for days, but finally
on December 4th, six days after Mont disappeared,
police called off the search for him after finding
no additional signs. On December 19th, Mont's
34th birthday come and goes without any sign
of him. On Christmas of that year, his family
raised the reward money for information to $50
,000. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation was
now involved in his disappearance, but investigators
admitted that they were perplexed. There were
no signs of a struggle anywhere and no clear
crime scene. On January 14, 2004, nearly seven
weeks after Mont vanished, A man and his child
were walking behind a restaurant called The Back
Forty, about half a mile from where Mont's Tahoe
had been found and roughly two and a half miles
from the family's hunting camp. The child wandered
near an old grain silo. When the man went to
go retrieve the child, he looked inside the grain
silo and saw a body. According to the property
owners, the silo hadn't been used since the 1980s.
It was near a barn that housed dogs, and just
10 yards away was a pig pen, which may have masked
the smell of any decomposition that was happening.
Neighbors later said that they thought that area
had been searched by police when they were doing
their initial search for Mont, but police couldn't
confirm if the inside of the silo had ever been
checked, but it does appear that they had looked
around that property during the initial search.
The body was identified the next day through
dental records. It was Mont. Inside of the silo,
police found something odd. A pair of pants folded
neatly and placed on Mont's chest. His mother,
who often did his laundry still, didn't recognize
the pair of pants as one of his. Mont Mighley IV
had been found, but no one could really say what
happened to him. Police never release an official
cause of death or results from an autopsy. On
Sunday, January 18th, Mont's family held a memorial
service, and the church was packed with mourners
and people who wanted to pay their respects to
Mont. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation officially
takes over the case. Evidence was being processed,
but due to a backlog at the state forensic lab,
results are delayed for months in this investigation.
It is reported that by mid -2004, so about six
months after Mont's body had been found, a grand
jury had been convened, but no indictments were
returned. It wasn't until August of 2004, nearly
nine months after Mont's disappearance, that
the governor announced a $5 ,000 reward for the
conviction of the murderer. And this was really
the first public confirmation that Mont's death
was being treated as a homicide. We know that
the Alabama Bureau of Investigation re -canvassed
the area, and new leads did come in, but no arrests
or no suspects were ever named. Another grand
jury is held in 2005, but again, the same result.
No charges, no suspects. In October of 2022,
billboards went up around the area to reignite
interest in Mont's case, and in July of 2025,
The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation confirmed
that the case remains open and unsolved, but
didn't provide any more updates on where they
are in the case. So as of today, it's been almost
22 years since Mont Highley IV was murdered. So
if you know anything about the murder of Mont
Highley IV, please contact the Alabama SBI Montgomery
office at 1 -800 -392 -8011. So that is the cold
case of Mont Highly IV. I really liked hearing
about Mont and how heavily involved he was with
his family. I loved knowing that he was a brother
of two sisters and that he loved the outdoors.
And just again, that he was so committed to spending
time with his family and building his life with
his extended family. at his side. It sounded
like his home and the community that he built
really meant a lot to him. Definitely. You know,
in reading all of the interviews with the family,
I got the sense that they were all very close
and Mont, you know, really enjoyed coming home.
He was living in Florida at this time, but according
to reports, he was actually looking for jobs
that would, like construction jobs that would
keep him in Alabama closer to family. So it was
definitely important for him. The first thing
I want to take note of, which you said about
Mont's mom, was that she noticed that he was
quiet. It seemed like it would have been a personality
trait for him to be, when he was with his family,
a bit more involved, maybe rambunctious. But
she took note that he was quiet and it was something
that was not lost on me. Yeah, this is one of
those examples of, you know, when someone goes
missing or is murdered, how... everything kind
of surrounding that time period kind of gets
looked at in a whole new way. So with Mom being
quiet, is that related to ultimately what happened
to him, or was he just having a quieter Thanksgiving?
It's hard to know at this point, but his mother
taking note of it I think is always notable.
Like when a mom is noticing a change in her child,
I always think that's worth noting. Another question
I had was, Was Mont going out to the hunting
home or the property something normal that he
did regularly? And I honestly don't think that
it was. Certainly not without someone else. We
know that even on his way there, he called a
friend on his cell phone to ask to meet him up
there. The friend couldn't do it. And we know
that the following day that his dad was supposed
to be there. So for me, I don't think he went
out there completely by himself. very often.
And I don't know, I started to draw some conclusions
with that information. Yeah. So I actually had
the opposite impression. I had the impression
that it was at least normal enough for him to
go out there by himself, that his dad knew that
he was like kind of creeped out to be there by
himself, to like note that he always kept the
gate locked when he was out there. So I got the
impression that it was something. At least with
some regularity, he would do. But I do agree
with you that it seems like if he could avoid
it, he wanted, you know, a buddy out there, a
friend, someone to hang out with. It didn't seem
like he really wanted to be there by himself
that often. I had another clarifying question.
You said something about the last time he was
possibly seen was on the road. I don't remember
the name of it, but I. Was just curious about
more details on that. How was he seen on the
road? Was he walking? Was he in his Tahoe? Was
he in the golf cart? I'd love more information
on that if you do have it. I would also love
more information on that. We don't have the details.
Police just state that he was last seen on County
Road 30. That is what we know. I don't know if
that's, you know, we have this information coming
from the Alabama cold case advocacy that he was
stopping at, you know, like a gas station and
buying some beer. I don't know if that's coming
from the footage of him pulling out. I believe
that was on the Route 30 road. So maybe it's
just coming from there or maybe there's more
information that, you know, he was walking. It
was the golf cart, the Tahoe, something like
that. That's at least where police last put him.
Well, something we do know for sure from his
dad's memory is that the gate was unlocked. The
lights were on. The TV was on. And we know now
that the gate. would have been locked if Mont
was inside and closed everything behind him.
It seemed like to me that's something that the
family usually does, or especially if someone
is out at the property alone, they lock it up
behind them. And that was not the case here.
To me, that would have been a major red flag.
I think it's possible that when you're not living
your life assuming that something bad has happened
to someone, it's completely possible that...
The gate being unlocked and the TV being on and
the lights being on wouldn't have read as a red
flag to his dad. So I realize that that's a possibility
here. Yeah. And his dad even, you know, kind
of put backstory to it of being like, I know
there was like an Auburn Alabama game happening
the night before like that day. And I won't pretend
to know which team the family was rooting for
if it was Auburn or Alabama. I assume Alabama,
but I guess it could be Auburn. But it was a
favorable outcome. Like whoever Mont would have
been rooting for would have won. So his dad just
thought, hey, they probably left to go celebrate
or watch the game somewhere at a bar or at a
buddy's house or something like that. And he
just kind of left quickly and didn't lock up.
So his dad inevitably does his small hunting
trip there, ends up going home, and then the
following day gets the phone call from Dale S.
Now. I want to know what his car is doing there,
and I'm sure you do as well. Was it driven there?
Was it dropped there? Did Mont drive it himself?
There are so many questions behind this discovery.
Yeah, it's definitely interesting. And, you know,
if I could sit down and learn anything about
this case, I would be interested to know if any
evidence came out of... His car, you know, as
far as like foreign fingerprints maybe would
go, you know, was the seat moved at all or was
it where Mont would have had it? I know that
the police said there didn't seem to be any signs
of struggle within the Tahoe. And, you know,
his briefcase was in there. His wallet was in
there with cash, quite a bit of cash still in
it. And his hunting rifle was also found in the
car. He would have had a weapon with him, presumably,
if he was in that car. So it's very strange that
it ended up there. This is another observation
that I made, especially after the discovery of
his car being out there and it being at a place
that he knew. Something that I thought was there
were a lot of people in his life that knew he
was out there and that... presumably he would
be out there alone. Again, that is not to design
a pointing finger at anyone. But as far as this
being a cold case, I think people having information
that he was out there is worth mentioning. Yeah.
And, you know, if that information from the Alabama
cold case advocacy is accurate, you know, his
cell phone was having activity. throughout that
day like that that Friday after Thanksgiving
up until about 9 30 so we know he called at least
one friend but maybe he reached out to other
people so again if I could know anything about
this case his cell phone activity for one is
one I'm really interested in who were those last
communications with what were the last um you
know movements on the cell phone lots of questions
there and potentially answers. I think the cell
phone could hold a lot of answers. And not to
mention the discovery of the golf cart. I just
want to know what you make of it. To me, it read
that, and this isn't all speculation so far from
my end, but to me, it read that Mont was maybe
riding the golf cart and trying to get away from
something and had a small crash or bump but then
again it also said that his dad could move it
pretty easily so I don't know I guess I wanted
to know what you made of it as well yes I think
the golf cart is a very interesting piece of
evidence and I would love to get clarity around
what exactly was found around the golf cart it
seems like for sure his shirt was found there
um like a rechargeable flashlight that was still
in working order was found there a pistol was
found there and then maybe his cell phone but
there are reports that was found back in the
trailer so i'd love to get clarity on that but
then as far as what i make of it tons of questions
around it i get the sense of panic when i think
about it just you know it getting snug or It
getting snagged on a tree root. But his dad,
from my understanding of it, his dad just kind
of like lifted the golf cart up over the root
and then it was unstuck. It was free after that.
So something as simple as that of just getting
it unstuck, just kind of lifting it up over the
barrier. It makes me just think that Mont was
possibly panicked about something and didn't
take the time to troubleshoot. It's like he had
to go. He had to get away from it. But that's,
again, all speculation on my part, but I just
get the sense of panic around it. Yeah, a sense
of panic and urgency, which brings me to when
they had the dogs out doing scent trails after,
you know, his car was found. Ultimately, the
scents, the scent trails began and ended with
no conclusion drawn. And that was heartbreaking
for me, I think, to know that he was there and
to know what inevitably happened is all of this
happened very close to home. And it's so scary
and disturbing and upsetting to know that. Yeah,
the scent trail is... Some interesting evidence.
We know that the dogs picked it up starting at
the Highley’s farm property and then it went to
Dale's property and then went across the street
to a relative's of Dale's. Tons of questions
there because why did it suddenly stop? And I
would be curious as to where on the property
it stopped. Like, did it stop near the road?
So maybe he could have gotten into a car and
that explains it? Or was it back out some ways?
A lot more questions. Yeah. A couple of them
being, why was his scent there in the first place?
Questions we would love to have answers to. And
ultimately what's found is Mont inside of a grain
silo. And I don't think that he climbed in there
himself. To me, it reads as someone was trying
to hide him or hide what they most likely had
done to him. And that's heartbreaking. I'm so
sad to know that the family had to have that
information, that they had to, if that makes
sense, that they had to know it all, that their
loved one was just discarded. Yeah, and when,
you know, Mont's body was first found, police
didn't reveal anything from the autopsy. We still
don't have those results, but it wasn't even
revealed that it was a murder until, you know,
sometime later. The finding of the body, you
know, was obviously very devastating for the
family. But then there's that detail of the pants
kind of neatly folded on his chest. Because that,
to me, that's somebody that's not Mont putting
them there. So I would be very curious to know
if any, what police know about. The pair of pants.
And from my understanding, it was like a new
pair of pants. That's kind of how they were described,
was like a new pair of pants. So I don't know
if that meant it had tags on it or if they just
were very clean. I'm not sure. But very strange
detail there. Yeah, I was just going to say that.
A lot of odd and end details that don't string
together, but glaring things that stand out like
brand new pants. folded on top of someone who
is dead inside of a green silo. All of it reads
as very, very suspicious and very odd to me.
Ultimately, I would love answers for Mont and
justice for his family because they absolutely
deserve that here. Well, then there are additional
just strange details like... The pants that his
family found in the trailer that were wet, like
up to the thigh, and then his shoes were wet.
But what does that mean? Where does that all
come into play? And do they think his shirt that
was found by the golf cart was wet? Lots of questions
about what happened that Friday night when Mott
went to the farm and likely disappeared that
night, it does seem. That's the evening that
police mark as Mott's disappearance was that
Friday after Thanksgiving when he was out on
the farm. So many questions. And ultimately,
Mott's family want answers here. And there seems
to be so much evidence in this case, strange
evidence, that it just really makes me think
that there has to be something here. You know,
if we can go back with fresh eyes, with new testing.
more scientific testing, more sensitive testing,
go back and what evidence do we have? I think
we could get some more answers in Mont's case
and have someone held accountable for his very
untimely death and his murder. So again, if you
know anything about the murder of Mont Highley
IV, please call the Alabama SBI Montgomery office
at 1 -800 -392 -8011. As always, I will be providing
graphics of Mont, and those will be shared on
our Instagram. If you're not following us there
already, I really encourage you to do so. At
Cold and Missing, it's where we share graphics
of all of our episodes, all of our cold cases,
all of our missing person cases. It's a great
way to engage with us and the true crime community
in general, especially if you are interested
in amplifying cases like the ones that we cover
here at Cold and Missing. And if we ever need
to take time off because we're sick, we always
update the Instagram. So that has been updated
over the last two weeks. So if you've been missing
Cold and Missing and wondering where we're at,
follow us at Cold and Missing and you'll always
be updated. And thank you so much to everyone
who's left reviews. Even though, you know, we've
been off these last two weeks, some really kind
reviews have come in, some wonderful emails,
some case suggestions. So thank you so much to
everyone who has taken the time out of their
day to do that. And maybe if you haven't. given
us a five -star review yet. Maybe today's that
day. So if you could take a minute in your podcast
player, give us five stars. It helps the algorithm.
It helps others find these cases and ultimately
amplifies them. So just by giving us a five -star
review, you are advocating for these cold cases.
So thank you. And if you or someone you love
is hard of hearing, we have all of our transcripts
for our episodes, the official transcripts on
our website, www .coldandmissing .com. Those
have all of the correct spellings of names and
locations. So if you or someone you love needs
to follow along there, you can find all of them
on our website. But that is all I have for you
today. Thank you so much for listening to Cold
and Missing. I'm your host, Ali. And I'm your
co -host, Eli. Have a good week and stay safe,
y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all.