Apr 25, 2008  |  By: JOSHUA LYNSEN  | COMMENTS     

Efforts are growing to find a gay Maryland man who disappeared last year following a breakup with his partner.

John Morris was last seen July 30 leaving a friend’s home in Dickerson, Md., a town of about 2,000 people 45 miles northwest of Washington.

His family and friends are working this spring to expand their search along the eastern seaboard. Madeline Morris, the man’s mother, said she’s relying on help from the public.

“I just wish if they knew where he was, just to have him call me to let me know he’s OK,” she said.

Jeanette Wright, a Montgomery County police spokesperson, said investigators consider the case active, but have “no new information” to pursue.

Madeline Morris said her son, who deserted his vehicle and pets following the breakup, has attention deficit disorder and had exhausted his medication the night he disappeared.

“I’m afraid that he might be suicidal,” she said. “And if he doesn’t have his medication, he self-medicates with alcohol or illegal drugs.”

Madeline Morris said her son has not used his credit card or cell phone since he disappeared.

She said her son could be in Maryland, where he lived before disappearing, New Jersey, his home state, Florida, where he has friends, or Arizona, which he visited shortly before his disappearance.

“I have not heard anything,” she said. “And he used to call me at least once or twice a week.”

John Morris is 6 feet tall and weighs 175 pounds. His left ear is pierced, and he has tattoos of a serpentine creature on his right forearm and a scorpion on his left shoulder.

Tips can be reported to Montgomery County investigators at 301-840-2407. More information about John Morris is available online at www.findjohnmorris.com.