JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The sister of a Jacksonville man whose remains were found last week said she’s grateful.
Patricia Baden wants to thank the man who discovered the body of her brother, William Charles Blume, who disappeared on Oct. 24.
“Without him walking his dog on March 22, 2020 ... this dog would not have found my brother, and he wouldn’t have called. Angels are placed everywhere,” said Baden, who spoke with News4Jax in hopes of finding the man to thank him for bringing her and her family peace.
Blume’s body was discovered on March 22, but Baden said that because of the coronavirus pandemic, the body wasn’t identified until Aug. 20.
To Baden, her brother was “Bubba.”
“I could not say ‘brother’ growing up, so ‘Bubba,’ and it just stuck,” Baden said. “I was always Bubba’s sister. I never had a name. I never had a name.”
But to her brother, she was “Patty.”
“Bubba was a gentleman to the end,” Baden said.
Baden said her nightmare began when Blume disappeared.
“My life has been a terror since Oct. 24 when he went missing,” she said.
Baden said she spoke to her younger brother that Thursday afternoon, and that was it.
“When I called him Friday, he never answered. Saturday morning, I always picked him up. He did not answer, so I went over there. I always picked him up Saturday. I called, he didn’t answer. I knocked on the door, he didn’t answer,” Baden recounted.
Baden said the back door was open, and Blume was gone.
“They didn’t take his wallet, they didn’t take his keys, they didn’t take his teeth or his cigarettes, but they took his body and all his medicine,” Baden said.
She said the thought that went through her mind was “somebody hurt him.”
“I went over there the following Monday and met the detective at the house at 11:01, and at 11:02, Silverlink (a long-term care facility) called and said they had a room for him and asked if he wanted to come take a tour. I said, ‘He is missing. You missed him by five days,’” Baden said.
News4Jax asked her whether she was ever worried that she would never find him.
“I wasn’t going to stop until I die. Worrying had nothing to do. The terror that went through my mind on what happened to my brother, I have to let go because I have him now to bury,” Baden said. “I thought he’d outlive me.”
Forty-four weeks to the day Blume went missing, Baden got word that the body found in March was her younger brother’s remains. The body was found a block away from his Longbranch home by a man out walking his dog.
“I have been posting on Facebook every Thursday since he’s been gone,” she explained.
While his disappearance and death remain a mystery, Baden has a plea to the public.
“God has brought miracles into my life, and this man walking a dog is an angel to me. Whether he calls me, I want him to know, I thank him, because if not, I would never have had my brother back to bury him. That’s my whole goal. Whether he calls, that’s up to him. But I thank him from the bottom of my heart,” she said.
News4Jax reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for more information.
Baden said she plans to bury Blume on Thursday, Aug. 27, the same day she buried her mother, the same day she turns 62 and the same day she officially retires.
If you or someone you know found Blume’s remains, you can contact News4Jax reporter and anchor Zachery Lashway or Baden on social media.