On February 23, 42-year-old Nathan Millard left home on a business trip. He was discovered dead on Monday, March 6.
The Georgia executive reportedly attended a Louisiana State University college basketball game. During the game, he spoke to his wife on the phone for the last time. He was later spotted in Baton Rouge at Happy’s Irish Pub.
At about 11:30 p.m., Millard departed the pub to return to his hotel, the Courtyard Marriott, which is about two minutes away from the bar. He never made it back.
Video surveillance revealed footage of Millard walking with a “mystery man” after he was kicked out of the bar for intoxication. The footage shows that Millard was walking normally, but his companion appeared drunk. Instead of going to the hotel, the businessman went to a nearby bus station, where a security guard offered to assist him but he declined.
Millard was then seen walking around the neighborhood and was last seen at his hotel in the early morning, at around 4:30 am, with a man in a white hat, blue shirt and jeans.
When Millard did not show up for his client’s meeting, police were asked to do a welfare check at the hotel. When the hotel room was checked in the morning, it was found that Millard had not slept in his bed.
Tim Miller, the founder of Texas EquuSearch, claimed that his company helped with the search for Millard. He said his organization told cops that there was an offensive odor near Scenic Highway.
According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, Millard’s body was discovered at around 3:34 a.m. in a vacant lot on Scenic Highway, wrapped in plastic and a carpet. The distance from the bar where he was last seen is seven minutes.
Millard was a director of construction. He had five kids and was married.
A few blocks from the bar, the missing man’s cell phone was discovered, and a man was caught on security video attempting to use Millard’s credit card. The cardholder was questioned by the Baton Rouge police before being let go.
Louisiana police are looking for a man, Derrick Perkins, 45, who was seen in a car near the location where Millard was dumped. Police say he is not a “person of interest,” but may have information that could help in the case.
The preliminary autopsy results were released by the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office on Tuesday, and they showed no signs of trauma or proof that the man had been struck or beaten. The family was told that the death was likely due to a drug overdose.