Realtor Disappeared After Leaving Liquor Store With Two Women — Police Believe He Was Abducted, and Family Wants Answers

An Alabama family is looking for answers about what happened to a father of three who disappeared in 2024.

The last time family members spoke to Ronald Dumas Jr., was on the night of Dec. 15, 2024.

“He picked my son up pretty much every weekend, and he was returning him from their weekend activities,” says Shakeria Samples, the mother of Dumas’ oldest son.

Samples says Ronald, a popular realtor and chemist, dropped their son off at her Huntsville home around 8 p.m., and then she spoke to him briefly two hours later to thank him for buying their son clothes.

“I could hear people in his background, and I could tell that he wasn’t at home, so I kind of just let him know we’ll catch up later,” she says. “He had taken Kai shopping and got him some new jeans and shorts and stuff.”

Later that night, he vanished without a trace.

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His family is now offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to his whereabouts.

“It’s really important because this case has been a struggle,” Samples tells PEOPLE. “It’s pretty much like he’s just disappeared into thin air, you know?”

On Feb. 7, 2025, the Huntsville Police Department announced that investigators believed that Dumas was abducted.

“This development marks a significant shift in the investigation, which has now escalated from a missing person case to an active abduction investigation,” according to a police press release at the time.

Dumas was last seen on surveillance footage entering and leaving a liquor store with two women. Police were able to identify those women and traced them to their apartment.

“Further investigation confirmed their connection to Dumas and revealed additional evidence of his abduction,” police said. “As the case progressed, HPD determined multiple individuals were involved in the incident.”

Per the press release, arrest warrants were issued for Quintarius Shikelion White, Toure Laron McLaurin, Sabrina Rochelle Chambers for first-degree kidnapping. Additional arrest warrants were also issued for Kierra Symone Clark for conspiracy to commit kidnapping and Carissa Cash for first-degree receiving stolen property.

“So we are aware that there’s some type of foul play involved,” says Samples. “There’s just a whole lot of unanswered questions, but for our family, we just need, we need answers at this point, and we need Ronnie home. We’re hoping that with that reward, it’ll motivate somebody to maybe say something. Even if somebody’s afraid or reluctant to reach out to law enforcement, we have other avenues and people can report tips anonymously. We are really at this point desperate for answers.”

“We are always holding up that hope that he’s out there somewhere and that we’ll get him back home soon,” she says.

“He’s all about community,” Samples tells PEOPLE. “He’s all about village. And if you wanna better yourself, he’s gonna help you. He’s gonna motivate you. He’s gonna push you to be, you know, the best that you can be.”