McDowell deputies seek missing man last seen at War supermarket

Richard Raphael, 59, was reported missing after McDowell County authorities received a complaint about 3 p.m. Saturday, April 11, and deputies are asking anyone who has seen him to act immediately. The strongest lead so far is his last known location: Grant’s Supermarket in War, at 14297 Rocket Boys Drive, where witnesses last saw him before the search began.

Investigators have tied Raphael to a dark brown 2018 Ford F-150 with West Virginia plate 904445A and a busted driver’s-side window. That vehicle detail matters because it gives residents in War, Welch, Gary and the surrounding hollows a specific sight to remember, whether they saw the truck parked near the store, moving along a local road or sitting in a driveway where it should not have been.

The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office said anyone with information should call 911 or contact the department directly at 304-436-4106. Deputies responded after the report was relayed through McDowell County Communications and spoke with the caller as the case moved forward.

WVNS identified the missing man as Richard Francis Rafael and reported that he was born Dec. 2, 1966. That kind of identifying detail, along with the vehicle description and the last known stop at a busy grocery store, is the information deputies are urging the public to focus on while the search is active.

The sheriff’s office is based in Welch, at 90 Wyoming St., Ste. 117, and the agency is listed with about 15 officers, a reminder of how quickly a small department can be stretched across a county as geographically spread out as McDowell. The county’s estimated population was 16,878 on July 1, 2025, down from 19,111 in the 2020 census, underscoring how a missing-person search here can touch a community where many people know the same roads, stores and vehicles.

West Virginia law requires law enforcement to collect and relay key missing-person details, including a person’s name, date of birth, identifying characteristics, last known contact and possible vehicle information. In this case, deputies are relying on those details now, as every new sighting or remembered stop in War could help narrow the trail and bring Raphael home.