The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin -Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski. And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your
host, Ali. And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome back, everyone. And welcome back to both Ali and I. Man, November sure had a hold on us. We had colds back to back. Yes, it was the cold in our household that just had a grip on the both of us. And Eli had it really bad. And then I had it really bad the next week. So I do apologize. I think this is the first time in the history of the podcast that we've taken two consecutive
weeks off. But we wanted to... get back into the recording booth, and get this new episode out to you guys. That's right, and we are on episode 148 this week. And this is a cold case. All right, let's get into it. Let's do it. Today, we are talking about the cold case of Mont Highley IV, and this takes place in Shorter, Alabama in November of 2003. But first, a little bit about Mont. Mont Highley IV and his family moved to Alabama when he was young, but shorter Alabama
was his home that he remembered the most. He was the son of Gail and Dr. Highley III, so throughout the timeline today, I'll be referring to his dad as Dr. Highley and then Mont as Mont, since they share the same name. He also had two sisters, and they were a close family unit. They spent a lot of time together. They had a lake house, and then around 250 acres of hunting land they culled at the farm. The farm was just land, and it was pretty wild land with woods and creeks
running through it. There was a trailer on the property as a home base where you could get warm and spend the night. It was a place full of memories, laughter, and time outdoors. This is where the family spent a lot of time hunting. Mont loved life. He loved people, the outdoors, and spending time with family. Those who knew him described him as loving and outgoing, the kind of person who made everyone around him feel welcome. One of his friends said, quote, In high school, Mont
played both football and basketball. As an adult, he was working construction jobs and living in Florida. But Alabama was always his home, and he would often come back to spend weekends and the holidays with family. And that's exactly what he did for Thanksgiving in 2003. So with that, we will get into a timeline of events. So Thursday, November 27, 2003, Thanksgiving Day. That Thanksgiving, Mont spent the day with
his family. His mother, Gail, would later remember that Mont was a little quieter than usual, but not in a way that worried her. just quieter. The next day, Friday, November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving, Mont and his father went hunting near Prattville, Alabama, finishing up around 5 p .m. As the sun began to set, Mont told his dad that he was going to spend the night at the family hunting cabin, the one they called
The Farm in Macon County. He and his dad had plans to meet there again the next day for another hunting trip. The next few points in the timeline come from Alabama Cold Case Advocacy. I wasn't able to verify these with another source, but wanted to include them in the timeline, but just wanted to point out that I couldn't verify with a second source on these. So before he left Montgomery, Mont took a brief but friendly phone call, one his mother remembered because it seemed cheerful.
Around 5 .30 that evening, he told his parents goodbye and got into his green Tahoe and drove toward the farm on County Road 30. At around 6 to 6 .30 p .m., Monts stopped at a gas station near I -85. According to Alabama Cold Case Advocacy, security footage later confirmed that he bought some beer while at the convenience store. Also while there, he called a close friend and invited him to go hunting that night. The friend couldn't
go because he already had plans. After 8 p .m., Mont's phone showed a few calls, but the last cell phone activity from his phone was just after 9 .30 that night. However, police report that the last seen sighting of Mont Highley was on County Road 30, according to police. Okay, and with that, we're back into the official timeline. So Saturday, November 29, 2003. That next afternoon, around 3 p .m., Mont's dad arrived at the farm for their planned hunting trip. But Mont wasn't
there. The gate to the property, which Mont always kept locked, was wide open. While Mont was a strong guy, he didn't love being out at the property by himself. It creeped him out a little bit. His dad also noticed that the metal storage building was open too. The front door to the trailer on the property was ajar and lights inside were all left on. The TV was still playing, too, and the volume was loud. Dr. Highley said he could hear it from outside of the trailer. But Mott
was gone, and so was his green Tahoe. Dr. Highley says, quote, I figured one of his friends came by and said, come on, we'll go celebrate. The Alabama -Auburn game had happened that day with a favorable outcome. Dr. Highley continues and says, quote, so I just locked up. I hunted, locked it up, and came home. Later, Dr. Highley would recall, quote, something felt strange. There were lots of things that weren't right. He was antsy about being out there by himself and he
always locked the gate. Well, the gate was wide open. The next morning, Dr. Highley got a call from a man named Dale Segrist who lived about two and a half miles from the Highley family camp. Dr. Highley says, quote, he, referring to Dale, was a judge at that time. He called saying Mont's truck was found behind his mother's house. His son Mike had a group that hunted out there during the week, and there were about five or six of them. When the Hyleys arrived to Dale's property,
they find Mont's green Tahoe. Inside the car were his wallet and briefcase, with $200 cash still in it. The keys were in the ignition, and his hunting rifle was still inside the car, and there didn't appear to be any signs of a struggle. When his dad turned the keys, On his car, it started right up, so it didn't appear that he had any kind of engine trouble. The Segrists and the Heileys walked the property but found no other trace of Mont. Mont's parents began
to panic. They decided to go check on their other home at the lake, Lake Martin, and there was no sign of Mont there. They started calling his friends and local hospitals to see if anybody had heard of him, but no one had seen or heard from him. That evening, his parents went back to the farm. This time they noticed details that his dad had missed before. Mont's new boots were sitting side by side on the porch, but they were wet. His pants were also wet from the thighs
down and were found on the bedroom floor. Inside of the pockets were $100 cash and his cell phone. His dad would later say, quote, if my son was going to take one thing with him, it's a cell phone. That's when the family knew something was very wrong. They filed a missing person report that evening. So over the next few days, from December 1st through the 4th, this marks the search for Mont. Over the next few days, hundreds
of people join the search for Mont. Friends, family, volunteers, and of course police comb hundreds of acres across the family farm and adjoining properties. Helicopters were brought in and tracking dogs were deployed looking for any sign of Mont. During the search on that first day, December 1st, Mont's family's golf cart was found stuck on a tree root. The family used
the golf cart to get around the property. Around the golf cart was Mont's shirt, a pistol, and a rechargeable flashlight that was still working. In some reports, it's noted that his cell phone was found here around the golf cart instead of in his pants in the trailer, so there is some discrepancy about where his cell phone was found. The golf cart itself wasn't badly stuck. Dr. Highley was able to free it by himself, which made it strange that Mont would have abandoned it.
If his father could get it unstuck, Mont surely would have been able to get it unstuck. The tracking dogs did pick up Mont's scent. It led from the Highleaf Farm to the Segrist property, then across the street to another property owned by a Segrist relative. And there, the scent trail stopped. Again, police searched for days, but finally on December 4th, six days after Mont disappeared, police called off the search for him after finding
no additional signs. On December 19th, Mont's 34th birthday come and goes without any sign of him. On Christmas of that year, his family raised the reward money for information to $50 ,000. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation was now involved in his disappearance, but investigators admitted that they were perplexed. There were no signs of a struggle anywhere and no clear
crime scene. On January 14, 2004, nearly seven weeks after Mont vanished, A man and his child were walking behind a restaurant called The Back Forty, about half a mile from where Mont's Tahoe had been found and roughly two and a half miles from the family's hunting camp. The child wandered near an old grain silo. When the man went to go retrieve the child, he looked inside the grain silo and saw a body. According to the property owners, the silo hadn't been used since the 1980s.
It was near a barn that housed dogs, and just 10 yards away was a pig pen, which may have masked the smell of any decomposition that was happening. Neighbors later said that they thought that area had been searched by police when they were doing their initial search for Mont, but police couldn't confirm if the inside of the silo had ever been checked, but it does appear that they had looked around that property during the initial search. The body was identified the next day through
dental records. It was Mont. Inside of the silo, police found something odd. A pair of pants folded neatly and placed on Mont's chest. His mother, who often did his laundry still, didn't recognize the pair of pants as one of his. Mont Mighley IV had been found, but no one could really say what happened to him. Police never release an official
cause of death or results from an autopsy. On Sunday, January 18th, Mont's family held a memorial service, and the church was packed with mourners and people who wanted to pay their respects to Mont. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation officially takes over the case. Evidence was being processed, but due to a backlog at the state forensic lab, results are delayed for months in this investigation.
It is reported that by mid -2004, so about six months after Mont's body had been found, a grand jury had been convened, but no indictments were returned. It wasn't until August of 2004, nearly nine months after Mont's disappearance, that the governor announced a $5 ,000 reward for the conviction of the murderer. And this was really the first public confirmation that Mont's death
was being treated as a homicide. We know that the Alabama Bureau of Investigation re -canvassed the area, and new leads did come in, but no arrests or no suspects were ever named. Another grand jury is held in 2005, but again, the same result.
No charges, no suspects. In October of 2022, billboards went up around the area to reignite interest in Mont's case, and in July of 2025, The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the case remains open and unsolved, but didn't provide any more updates on where they are in the case. So as of today, it's been almost 22 years since Mont Highley IV was murdered. So if you know anything about the murder of Mont Highley IV, please contact the Alabama SBI Montgomery
office at 1 -800 -392 -8011. So that is the cold case of Mont Highly IV. I really liked hearing about Mont and how heavily involved he was with his family. I loved knowing that he was a brother of two sisters and that he loved the outdoors. And just again, that he was so committed to spending time with his family and building his life with his extended family. at his side. It sounded like his home and the community that he built
really meant a lot to him. Definitely. You know, in reading all of the interviews with the family, I got the sense that they were all very close and Mont, you know, really enjoyed coming home. He was living in Florida at this time, but according to reports, he was actually looking for jobs that would, like construction jobs that would keep him in Alabama closer to family. So it was
definitely important for him. The first thing I want to take note of, which you said about Mont's mom, was that she noticed that he was quiet. It seemed like it would have been a personality trait for him to be, when he was with his family, a bit more involved, maybe rambunctious. But she took note that he was quiet and it was something
that was not lost on me. Yeah, this is one of those examples of, you know, when someone goes missing or is murdered, how... everything kind of surrounding that time period kind of gets looked at in a whole new way. So with Mom being quiet, is that related to ultimately what happened to him, or was he just having a quieter Thanksgiving? It's hard to know at this point, but his mother taking note of it I think is always notable. Like when a mom is noticing a change in her child,
I always think that's worth noting. Another question I had was, Was Mont going out to the hunting home or the property something normal that he did regularly? And I honestly don't think that it was. Certainly not without someone else. We know that even on his way there, he called a friend on his cell phone to ask to meet him up there. The friend couldn't do it. And we know that the following day that his dad was supposed to be there. So for me, I don't think he went
out there completely by himself. very often. And I don't know, I started to draw some conclusions with that information. Yeah. So I actually had the opposite impression. I had the impression that it was at least normal enough for him to go out there by himself, that his dad knew that he was like kind of creeped out to be there by himself, to like note that he always kept the gate locked when he was out there. So I got the impression that it was something. At least with
some regularity, he would do. But I do agree with you that it seems like if he could avoid it, he wanted, you know, a buddy out there, a friend, someone to hang out with. It didn't seem like he really wanted to be there by himself that often. I had another clarifying question. You said something about the last time he was possibly seen was on the road. I don't remember the name of it, but I. Was just curious about more details on that. How was he seen on the
road? Was he walking? Was he in his Tahoe? Was he in the golf cart? I'd love more information on that if you do have it. I would also love more information on that. We don't have the details. Police just state that he was last seen on County Road 30. That is what we know. I don't know if that's, you know, we have this information coming from the Alabama cold case advocacy that he was stopping at, you know, like a gas station and buying some beer. I don't know if that's coming
from the footage of him pulling out. I believe that was on the Route 30 road. So maybe it's just coming from there or maybe there's more information that, you know, he was walking. It was the golf cart, the Tahoe, something like that. That's at least where police last put him. Well, something we do know for sure from his dad's memory is that the gate was unlocked. The lights were on. The TV was on. And we know now
that the gate. would have been locked if Mont was inside and closed everything behind him. It seemed like to me that's something that the family usually does, or especially if someone is out at the property alone, they lock it up behind them. And that was not the case here. To me, that would have been a major red flag. I think it's possible that when you're not living your life assuming that something bad has happened to someone, it's completely possible that...
The gate being unlocked and the TV being on and the lights being on wouldn't have read as a red flag to his dad. So I realize that that's a possibility here. Yeah. And his dad even, you know, kind of put backstory to it of being like, I know there was like an Auburn Alabama game happening the night before like that day. And I won't pretend to know which team the family was rooting for if it was Auburn or Alabama. I assume Alabama, but I guess it could be Auburn. But it was a
favorable outcome. Like whoever Mont would have been rooting for would have won. So his dad just thought, hey, they probably left to go celebrate or watch the game somewhere at a bar or at a buddy's house or something like that. And he just kind of left quickly and didn't lock up. So his dad inevitably does his small hunting trip there, ends up going home, and then the following day gets the phone call from Dale S. Now. I want to know what his car is doing there,
and I'm sure you do as well. Was it driven there? Was it dropped there? Did Mont drive it himself? There are so many questions behind this discovery. Yeah, it's definitely interesting. And, you know, if I could sit down and learn anything about this case, I would be interested to know if any evidence came out of... His car, you know, as far as like foreign fingerprints maybe would go, you know, was the seat moved at all or was
it where Mont would have had it? I know that the police said there didn't seem to be any signs of struggle within the Tahoe. And, you know, his briefcase was in there. His wallet was in there with cash, quite a bit of cash still in it. And his hunting rifle was also found in the car. He would have had a weapon with him, presumably, if he was in that car. So it's very strange that
it ended up there. This is another observation that I made, especially after the discovery of his car being out there and it being at a place that he knew. Something that I thought was there were a lot of people in his life that knew he was out there and that... presumably he would be out there alone. Again, that is not to design a pointing finger at anyone. But as far as this being a cold case, I think people having information that he was out there is worth mentioning. Yeah.
And, you know, if that information from the Alabama cold case advocacy is accurate, you know, his
cell phone was having activity. throughout that day like that that Friday after Thanksgiving up until about 9 30 so we know he called at least one friend but maybe he reached out to other people so again if I could know anything about this case his cell phone activity for one is one I'm really interested in who were those last communications with what were the last um you know movements on the cell phone lots of questions there and potentially answers. I think the cell
phone could hold a lot of answers. And not to mention the discovery of the golf cart. I just
want to know what you make of it. To me, it read that, and this isn't all speculation so far from my end, but to me, it read that Mont was maybe riding the golf cart and trying to get away from something and had a small crash or bump but then again it also said that his dad could move it pretty easily so I don't know I guess I wanted to know what you made of it as well yes I think the golf cart is a very interesting piece of evidence and I would love to get clarity around
what exactly was found around the golf cart it seems like for sure his shirt was found there um like a rechargeable flashlight that was still in working order was found there a pistol was found there and then maybe his cell phone but there are reports that was found back in the trailer so i'd love to get clarity on that but then as far as what i make of it tons of questions around it i get the sense of panic when i think about it just you know it getting snug or It
getting snagged on a tree root. But his dad, from my understanding of it, his dad just kind of like lifted the golf cart up over the root and then it was unstuck. It was free after that. So something as simple as that of just getting it unstuck, just kind of lifting it up over the barrier. It makes me just think that Mont was possibly panicked about something and didn't take the time to troubleshoot. It's like he had
to go. He had to get away from it. But that's, again, all speculation on my part, but I just get the sense of panic around it. Yeah, a sense of panic and urgency, which brings me to when they had the dogs out doing scent trails after, you know, his car was found. Ultimately, the scents, the scent trails began and ended with no conclusion drawn. And that was heartbreaking for me, I think, to know that he was there and to know what inevitably happened is all of this
happened very close to home. And it's so scary and disturbing and upsetting to know that. Yeah, the scent trail is... Some interesting evidence. We know that the dogs picked it up starting at the Highley’s farm property and then it went to Dale's property and then went across the street to a relative's of Dale's. Tons of questions there because why did it suddenly stop? And I would be curious as to where on the property it stopped. Like, did it stop near the road?
So maybe he could have gotten into a car and that explains it? Or was it back out some ways? A lot more questions. Yeah. A couple of them being, why was his scent there in the first place? Questions we would love to have answers to. And ultimately what's found is Mont inside of a grain silo. And I don't think that he climbed in there himself. To me, it reads as someone was trying to hide him or hide what they most likely had
done to him. And that's heartbreaking. I'm so sad to know that the family had to have that information, that they had to, if that makes sense, that they had to know it all, that their loved one was just discarded. Yeah, and when, you know, Mont's body was first found, police didn't reveal anything from the autopsy. We still don't have those results, but it wasn't even revealed that it was a murder until, you know,
sometime later. The finding of the body, you know, was obviously very devastating for the family. But then there's that detail of the pants kind of neatly folded on his chest. Because that, to me, that's somebody that's not Mont putting them there. So I would be very curious to know if any, what police know about. The pair of pants. And from my understanding, it was like a new pair of pants. That's kind of how they were described,
was like a new pair of pants. So I don't know if that meant it had tags on it or if they just were very clean. I'm not sure. But very strange detail there. Yeah, I was just going to say that. A lot of odd and end details that don't string together, but glaring things that stand out like brand new pants. folded on top of someone who is dead inside of a green silo. All of it reads as very, very suspicious and very odd to me.
Ultimately, I would love answers for Mont and justice for his family because they absolutely deserve that here. Well, then there are additional just strange details like... The pants that his family found in the trailer that were wet, like up to the thigh, and then his shoes were wet. But what does that mean? Where does that all come into play? And do they think his shirt that
was found by the golf cart was wet? Lots of questions about what happened that Friday night when Mott went to the farm and likely disappeared that night, it does seem. That's the evening that police mark as Mott's disappearance was that Friday after Thanksgiving when he was out on the farm. So many questions. And ultimately, Mott's family want answers here. And there seems to be so much evidence in this case, strange evidence, that it just really makes me think
that there has to be something here. You know, if we can go back with fresh eyes, with new testing. more scientific testing, more sensitive testing, go back and what evidence do we have? I think we could get some more answers in Mont's case and have someone held accountable for his very untimely death and his murder. So again, if you know anything about the murder of Mont Highley IV, please call the Alabama SBI Montgomery office
at 1 -800 -392 -8011. As always, I will be providing graphics of Mont, and those will be shared on our Instagram. If you're not following us there already, I really encourage you to do so. At Cold and Missing, it's where we share graphics of all of our episodes, all of our cold cases, all of our missing person cases. It's a great way to engage with us and the true crime community in general, especially if you are interested in amplifying cases like the ones that we cover
here at Cold and Missing. And if we ever need to take time off because we're sick, we always update the Instagram. So that has been updated over the last two weeks. So if you've been missing Cold and Missing and wondering where we're at, follow us at Cold and Missing and you'll always be updated. And thank you so much to everyone who's left reviews. Even though, you know, we've been off these last two weeks, some really kind reviews have come in, some wonderful emails,
some case suggestions. So thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time out of their day to do that. And maybe if you haven't. given us a five -star review yet. Maybe today's that day. So if you could take a minute in your podcast player, give us five stars. It helps the algorithm. It helps others find these cases and ultimately amplifies them. So just by giving us a five -star review, you are advocating for these cold cases.
So thank you. And if you or someone you love is hard of hearing, we have all of our transcripts for our episodes, the official transcripts on our website, www .coldandmissing .com. Those have all of the correct spellings of names and locations. So if you or someone you love needs to follow along there, you can find all of them on our website. But that is all I have for you today. Thank you so much for listening to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali. And I'm your
co -host, Eli. Have a good week and stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all.