The family of Eric Darnell, a 38-year-old Black father of four and seasoned truck driver from Birmingham, Alabama, is pleading for help and demanding answers as the days pass with no word from him.
Eric went missing mid-route during a routine haul from Phoenix, Arizona to Memphis, Tennessee, a drive he had completed many times before without incident. Now, his sudden disappearance is raising serious questions — and frustrations over what his family says is a lack of urgency from authorities.
Eric’s last known communication was with his wife, Yolanda Darnell, at 3:40 a.m., when he called to say he was stopping to grab coffee. By 9:00 a.m., his employer noticed that the GPS tracking system on his rig went dark near Interstate 40 just outside of Little Rock, Arkansas — a stretch of highway infamous among truckers for its limited surveillance, poor reception, and reports of suspicious activity.
Later that day, Eric’s 18-wheeler was found abandoned, parked on a gravel turnout off the interstate. The truck was locked, the engine turned off, and most notably, Eric’s keys and logbook were missing — as was Eric himself. There were no immediate signs of a struggle, but his disappearance was far from voluntary, his family insists.
“He didn’t just walk off,” said Yolanda, her voice cracking with emotion. “Eric would never abandon his truck, his job, or us. Something happened out there, and we need someone to care enough to find out what.”
Eric has been a professional driver for over a decade, known among fellow truckers for his dependability, his kind nature, and his deep devotion to his family. He and Yolanda have four children together, and Eric was described as a hands-on father, always video-calling from the road and looking forward to being back home with his kids.
Fellow truckers have come forward, backing Yolanda’s belief that something suspicious is going on. Several drivers have reported unmarked vehicles tailing semis along that same stretch of I-40, a route that some now refer to as “sketchy and unsafe.” Despite these warnings, local authorities have yet to launch a formal investigation, and no official search teams have been deployed in the area.
“Truckers talk to each other. We’ve all heard the stories,” said a fellow driver who knew Eric. “It’s not the first time someone’s gone missing out there, but nothing ever seems to come of it.”
Eric’s family is urging the public to share his story, raise awareness, and pressure authorities to act. They’re hoping someone along that corridor saw something — a vehicle following his truck, a person near the abandoned rig, anything that could help.
