A Mississippi mother endured seven months of desperate searching and repeated calls to authorities after reporting her adult son missing only to learn that officials had identified him within days of an off-duty police officer striking him with a patrol vehicle then buried his body in an unmarked pauper grave without any contact. Bettersten Wade of Jackson, Mississippi lost her 37-year-old son Dexter Wade on March 5, 2023. He had left home around 7:30 that evening following an argument about a broken window and was fatally struck while crossing Interstate 55 near McDowell Road just before 8:00 in the evening Central Standard Time. Coroners confirmed his identity promptly through fingerprints, a named prescription bottle and a state identification card in his wallet yet no one reached the family for 172 days.
Bettersten Wade had filed a missing person’s report on March 14, 2023, and continued calling police, posting pleas on social media and searching neighborhoods herself. In late August 2023 a new investigator contacted her saying Dexter had been found and an officer would visit in person. At that moment she recalled knowing in her heart that her son was dead. The officer met her at her mother’s house and revealed he had been hit by a police cruiser, directing her to the coroner’s office. There she learned authorities had known his identity since March and that he had already been buried as an unclaimed body on July 14, 2023, in grave number 672 at the Hinds County Penal Farm cemetery. Overwhelmed, she later visited the wooded site with her sister, her daughter and a close friend, paying a $250 fee to claim the remains and weeping at the numbered grave marker with the words “Mama didn’t know.”
Dexter Wade was a father of two young daughters whom he visited regularly in Gulfport and hosted during summers. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, he had been managing with medication, staying close to home to help with cleaning, yard work and small acts of kindness like giving ice pops to neighborhood children and food to those experiencing homelessness. He had faced earlier challenges including two prison terms and occasional neighborhood sales of sodas and chips but dreamed as a boy of one day running a business refurbishing classic cars. His mother, a retired Nissan line technician who also worked part-time as a home health aide, had raised him and his siblings as a single parent often balancing night shifts while supporting him through difficulties.
The circumstances surrounding the incident have raised serious questions about departmental procedures and possible connections to prior family legal actions. Bettersten Wade had previously pursued a wrongful death claim against the Jackson Police Department related to the 2019 death of her brother George Robinson. That earlier case settled in 2024 for $17,786.25. Attorneys allege the notification failure may stem from that history. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, has called for a Department of Justice investigation into the handling of the case.
Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade implemented updated missing persons and death notification policies working with the United States Department of Justice to avoid future oversights. The family arranged an exhumation on November 13, 2023 only to arrive and discover county workers had removed the body hours earlier than scheduled. Dexter Wade received a proper burial on November 20, 2023. The family continues to seek full accountability including the public identification of the off-duty officer and their wrongful death lawsuit against the city and department remains active more than two years after the incident while details of the prior settlement records provide further public insight.
This tragedy highlights the deep human pain when systems meant to serve families instead prolong suffering through silence and secrecy. Mothers like Bettersten Wade who searched tirelessly deserve immediate truthful answers instead of months of false hope followed by devastating revelations. Strengthening notification protocols and ensuring accountability rebuilds trust between communities and the agencies responsible for public safety. No family should face compounded grief from bureaucratic failures especially when identification occurs swiftly, yet contact does not.
