Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox has pledged to use all resources at the city's disposal to find a University of Alabama student who has been missing since early Sunday morning.

The student, 20-year-old Garrett Winston James Walker, was last seen leaving a bar on Greensboro Avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa's around 1:15 a.m. Sunday.

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Since then, his phone and an article of his clothing have been found at the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk on the southern bank of the Black Warrior River.

Since dawn broke Monday, crews with the Tuscaloosa Police Department and the Tuscaloosa FIre Rescue Service have been combing the river near the dock of the Bama Belle riverboat searching for signs of the missing man.

In a Monday morning interview outside the Tuscaloosa Police Department's headquarters, Maddox said as the city's leader and especially as a father himself, his thoughts were with Walker's family in this uncertain time.

"I can't imagine what that family is going through and the best thing that we can do is provide answers to that family," Maddox said. "There's nothing you can say that's adequate, just that what we're going to do, from our responsibility, is do everything necessary to hopefully find some answers about where this young man is."

Maddox said the city will use every tool they have to find Walker and learn more about his predawn disappearance.

"We're putting every resource that's available to us from TPD to Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue," Maddox said. "There's no way that you don't put yourself in the position of being a parent at this time and the uncertainty and fear that you must have and so we're trying to approach it from that level. Certainly, we want to do it in a way that gets some answers soon for that family."

 

Maddox did not speculate on the circumstances of Walker's disappearance and said city staff would share updates on the case as they became available.

To close the interview, Maddox implored anyone with information about Walker's whereabouts or his actions early Sunday morning to contact police and work with them to find him.

"If anyone knows anything about this particular case, please call 205-349-2121 or just call 311 and let us know," Maddox said. It's important that we find answers. You just can't imagine what that family is feeling right now and the best thing we can do for the community is help find answers."

Watch Maddox's full comments below, and stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread for additional details as they become available.

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