Updated: Authorities, Family, Friends Search for Missing Bartow Man

Updated 11 a.m.

The Bartow County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for help finding Cowart, who has been placed on a national law enforcement database as a missing person, Sheriff Clark Millsap said in a press release.

Several patrol deputies and a Georgia Department of Natural Resources ranger searched for Cowart the morning he was reported missing, but found no sign of him in the area of his 891 Harding Bridge Road home or along the Etowah River, which is about 15 yards from the home, according to the BCSO incident report, attached.

Authorities didn't enter the water or search by air due to conditions, but combed the woods for several hours, according to the report. They didn't see any marks indicating someone had slipped into the river, which was too rough for a Bartow County Fire Department rescue boat.

Cowart's sister told deputies he had been up for several days, possibly under the influence of illegal drugs.

"[She] stated the drug use and the past head injury causes her brother [to] have hallucinations and act out of his mind," the deputy reported.

Cowart sustained a head injury about a year ago, but had not taken his seizure medication for several days, according to his girlfriend, who told authorities he had been smoking "Spice" throughout the prior month.

Millsap said his deputies would respond and check out any new information or possible locations for Cowart, if any are reported.

Original Report

A group of family and friends searched the area of Bartow County's Hardin Bridge and Etowah River on Sunday for any sign of a local man reported missing Thursday morning.

Richard "Blake" Cowart, 28, has brown hair and brown eyes, stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. He was last seen Wednesday, April 3, about 10 p.m., wearing pajama pants and no shirt, according to the Bartow County Sheriff's Office.

"On the morning of April 4th, 2013, BCSO deputies responded to the home of Blake Cowart after his girlfriend reported him missing," reads a post on the department's Facebook page. "Their home is located on Hardin Bridge Road near the Etowah River. According to her, she last saw Blake when they went to bed at about 10 p.m."

Family and friends think he could have fallen in the river, according to one of the searchers. Cowart suffers from the effects of a brain injury, which include short-term memory loss, confusion and seizures, according to his family.

BCSO asks anyone with any information about the case to call its 911 Center at 770-382-5050, option 7, or submit a tip via its Facebook page.

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