The Boy from Beech Island

Jeremy James Grice was born May 12, 1981.  He disappeared on November 22, 1985.  He was only four years old.  At the time of his disappearance, Jeremy was living in a mobile home on Beech Island in Aiken County, South Carolina with his mother, Donna, and his stepfather, Nickie Arrington.  Jeremy’s mother, Donna, said that on November 21, 1985 she had put him on the bus to attend a pre-school class at Jefferson Elementary School.  She left for work sometime that afternoon and Jeremy’s stepfather, Nickie Arrington, got Jeremy off of the bus, made him dinner and put him in bed before Donna returned home from work.  She stated she did look in on him when she returned home at 1:00AM, but she did not actually see him.  However, the arrangement of blankets and pillows looked like he was in the bed asleep. 

The next morning, November 22, 1985, when Donna woke up to check on her son, around 10:00AM, he was nowhere to be found.  Searching the house, Jeremy’s mother only found his shoes, socks, and favorite jacket lying by his bed.  Before contacting the Aiken County Sheriff’s Department, Donna Arrington called Jeremy’s father, Ray Grice.  

Family and law enforcement, including the FBI, conducted extensive air and ground searches, including the draining of two local ponds searching for Jeremy Grice. 

There has only ever been one witness in the case, though her statement is unsubstantiated.  This witness was a neighbor and she stated that she saw Jeremy Grice around 8:45AM standing outside in his pajamas by a mailbox with his bike and no shoes, as if he was waiting for the school bus.  However, Jeremy apparently did not have school that day.  It’s also been mentioned that other neighbors saw Jeremy the morning he disappeared playing out front of his home his German Shepherd.  

No evidence was ever uncovered during the searches as to what happened to Jeremy Grice and law enforcement believes that he was abducted by a non-family member.

In 1995, acting on a tip from a self-professed psychic named Ron Mangum, a private Aiken security firm organized a search of Langley Pond in Langley, South Carolina.  The search involved almost two dozen divers from various counties in South Carolina, but the only things found were a bow of a boat and a tri-cycle sized wheel.  

At one point, child rapist/murderer William Ernest Downs, Jr., was suspected in Jeremy Grice’s abduction.  William Ernest Downs, Jr., was charged with the rape and murder of six year old Keenan O’Mailia in 1999.  While being questioned by police in that case, he made statements linking him to the slaying of James Mitchell Porter, 11, in 1991, which originally was declared an accidental drowning.  Downs’ statements led to the reopening of Porter’s case and eventual charges.  Eventually, law enforcement determined that it was likely William Ernest Downs, Jr., was not responsible for Jeremy’s abduction and they were of the belief that Keenan O’Mailia and James Mitchell Porter were his only victims.  William Ernest Downs, Jr., was executed in 2006 for his crimes.

As of today, Jeremy James Grice has never been found.

 

One thing that has stood out to me about this case is the fact that Jeremy’s dog, a German Shepard, is often mentioned as being with him in the front yard when he was last seen.  German Shepherds are naturally protective of their family and territory.  They are known to closely bond with their family and be extremely loyal.  I find it hard to believe that Jeremy Grice’s dog allowed someone just to take Jeremy out of the yard without trying to protect the little boy.  No one heard the dog barking like crazy?  No evidence showing that the dog tried to protect Jeremy?

The day Jeremy went missing, it was cold and raining.  The likelihood that he was outside playing in the rain or standing outside in the rain with no shoes is pretty low.  Especially considering the statement his mother made in 1987. “And more than anything else, it was raining when he disappeared, and Jeremy was scared to death of the rain.  He didn’t leave this trailer – somebody came in here and got him."  With that statement and the fact that there is no mention of the German Shepard being injured or anyone reporting the dog barking like crazy, what if Jeremy wasn’t abducted by a stranger?  Despite law enforcement’s theory of a non-family abduction, I have a different opinion.  So did Jeremy’s father, Ray Grice.  In 1987, The Greenville News reported Ray Grice as saying “I’ve claimed from the start it wasn’t a total stranger – somebody in that neighborhood got him.  There’s one road in there and one road out.  There wouldn’t be strange traffic in there on a rainy Friday morning.  I haven’t given up on him, and when he’s found, it’ll surprise a lot of people who’s involved.”

This is just my opinion, not fact, but I am of the belief that Jeremy’s stepfather is responsible for whatever happened to Jeremy.  While I am sure he was interviewed extensively, being the last person to see Jeremy, I came across some things in my research.  One of the very first newspaper articles regarding Jeremy’s disappearance states that his stepfather, Nickie Arrington, last saw Jeremy awake and playing when he left the house at 7:00AM.  Newspaper articles after that say that the last time he saw Jeremy Grice was when he put him to bed the night before.  Another thing I noticed in newspaper articles was Nickie Arrington never spoke with any of them.  Jeremy’s mother and father, Donna Arrington and Ray Grice were interviewed, as was Jeremy’s step-grandfather, Ernest Arrington, Jr.  I have not been able to find any articles in which Nickie Arrington said anything.  I also mentioned before that Jeremy’s mother also believed he was taken from the trailer and was never outside the day he disappeared because of the weather and Jeremy’s fear of the rain. 

Nickie Arrington also has a past.  In 1980, when he was 18 years old, he was arrested for criminal attempt at armed robbery in August, Georgia. 

Mr. Arrington has quite a few things on his record in Aiken County, South Carolina.  In November of 1993, he was charged with Driving under Suspension.  In 1996, he was charged with Fraudulently Obtaining Unemployment.  Also in 1996, he was charged with Driving under the Influence and Driving under Suspension.  In August 2001, Nickie Arrington was charged with Driving under the Influence.  Also in August and September of 2001 he was charged with numerous Fraudulent Checks.  Finally, in 2004, Arrington was charged with Receiving Stolen Goods valued more than $1000, but less than $5000.

With the exception of his arrest in 1980, none of these charges were of a violent nature, but that doesn’t really mean anything.  To me, more than one DUI means he had some sort of substance abuse problem.  Whether it be alcohol or drugs, I don’t know.  Did he have a substance abuse problem in 1985 when he was taking care of Jeremy Grice?  If so, did that problem lead to him making an incredibly bad decision and doing something to Jeremy? 

Again, Arrington being responsible for whatever happened to Jeremy is just my opinion.  His arrest record, however, is fact and of public record.

I, just like everyone else involved in this case, have no idea what really happened to Jeremy Grice.  What I do know is that this is another child gone and another family is left with questions, wondering what happened to their child.  Maybe someday, they will have the answers they so deserve.

M.