Key facts
- Name: James Clyde Gramling
- Born: December 23, 1976
- Age at disappearance: 20
- Last seen: March 30, 1997, ~3:00 p.m. (Easter Sunday)
- Location: Ramswood Drive, southern Richmond County (Augusta), Georgia
- Height / build: 20-year-old man; 5’8″–5’10”; riding a green 1997 Honda TRX300 four-wheeler
- Status: Still missing — Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, open missing-persons case investigated as possible homicide. Note: declared legally dead in 2002; case remains open.
- Investigating agency: Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division
The Easter ride
Easter Sunday, March 30, 1997, around 3:00 in the afternoon. Twenty-year-old James Gramling told his parents he was riding his green 1997 Honda TRX300 four-wheeler the five minutes down the road to his friend Jeremy’s house. He said he’d call if he was going to be late.
He never called. He never came home.
His mother, Song Reames, went out looking for him in the rain that night — driving the roads, calling his name into the dark. The next morning, March 31, she walked into Augusta Fire Station 18 and reported her son missing to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
James worked the night shift at President’s Bakery. He was a high school dropout, by every account kindhearted and non-violent — not a fighter, not a runner. The four-wheeler was his way around. He rode it everywhere.
A week later, on the night of April 6, 1997, searchers found the Honda in the woods off Windsor Spring Road — ground that is now Diamond Lakes Regional Park. The four-wheeler was blood-stained. Human blood had dried on the motor casing and the fuel tank. The machine sat in the woods the way a body would sit: slumped, as if the rider had folded over it.
James Gramling was never found.
Declared dead, still missing
In 2002, five years after he vanished, James was declared legally dead — a probate formality that families of the long-missing sometimes pursue for estate and insurance reasons. It is important to be precise about what that means and what it doesn’t: a legal declaration is not a finding of fact about what happened. No body has ever been recovered. No one has ever been charged. The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office still carries James Gramling as an open missing-persons case, investigated as a possible homicide.
Two suspects were questioned in the early investigation. Neither was charged. As of 2026, investigators say there has been no further evidence — no new leads that have moved the case, no remains, no answers for Song Reames.
In 2025, twenty-eight years after that Easter Sunday, WRDW in Augusta marked the anniversary: “Mother seeks answers 28 years after son vanished.” Song Reames is still seeking them. She has been seeking them since she drove through the rain on the night of March 30, 1997, calling for a 20-year-old who said he’d call if he was late.
He would be 49 years old today.
Theories: what might have happened
Homicide. The theory the evidence most supports, and the one investigators work: human blood dried on the motor casing and fuel tank of an abandoned four-wheeler, a rider who never came home, two suspects questioned and released. The blood says violence happened at that machine. What it doesn’t say is whose hands caused it, or where James’s body went.
An accident followed by a cover-up. Possible in outline — a crash in the woods, a panicked companion — but the blood pattern and the abandonment of the vehicle read more like an attack than a wreck, and no one has ever come forward with an accident account in 29 years.
Voluntary disappearance. There is nothing to support this: no history of running, a close family he called when he’d be late, a job he showed up for, and a blood-stained vehicle left in the woods. The legal declaration of death in 2002 reflects the passage of time, not evidence of a new life.
Have information?
Contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at (706) 821-1020. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- December 23, 1976 — James Clyde Gramling is born.
- March 30, 1997, ~3:00 p.m. (Easter Sunday) — James leaves his Ramswood Drive home on his green 1997 Honda TRX300 four-wheeler for a friend’s house five minutes away. He tells his parents he’ll call if he’s late.
- March 30, 1997 (night) — His mother Song Reames searches for him in the rain.
- March 31, 1997 — Reames reports James missing at Augusta Fire Station 18; Richmond County Sheriff’s Office opens the case.
- April 6, 1997, ~10:00 p.m. — James’s blood-stained four-wheeler is found in the woods off Windsor Spring Road (now Diamond Lakes Regional Park). Human blood on the motor casing and tank.
- 1997–1998 — Two suspects questioned; no charges filed.
- 2002 — James is declared legally dead. The missing-persons case remains open as a possible homicide.
- 2025 — WRDW: “Mother seeks answers 28 years after son vanished.”
- Today — Still missing. No body, no charges, no further evidence as of 2026.
FAQ
Is James Gramling still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, James Gramling has been missing for 29 years. His case remains open with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office as a possible-homicide missing-persons investigation.
Was James Gramling ever found?
No. Neither James nor his remains have ever been found. Only his four-wheeler was recovered.
Was James Gramling declared dead?
Yes — in 2002, James was declared legally dead, a probate formality common in long-term missing-persons cases. This is a legal status, not a finding about what happened to him. His case remains an open missing-persons investigation.
What was found on James Gramling’s four-wheeler?
His green 1997 Honda TRX300 was found April 6, 1997, in woods off Windsor Spring Road (now Diamond Lakes Regional Park). Human blood had dried on the motor casing and the fuel tank, and the machine appeared slumped over as if the rider had folded onto it.
Was anyone charged in James Gramling’s disappearance?
No. Two suspects were questioned early in the investigation, but no charges were ever filed.
How old would James Gramling be today?
James was born December 23, 1976. He turns 50 in December 2026.
How can I help?
Share this case file. If you have any information, contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at (706) 821-1020.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division (706-821-1020).
- News: WRDW (Augusta), “Mother seeks answers 28 years after son vanished” (2025); The Augusta Chronicle coverage of the Gramling case.
- Reference: Wikipedia, “Disappearance of James Gramling”; The Charley Project; NamUs.
- Media: The Fall Line podcast coverage of Richmond County cases.
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.