Winston-Salem man reported missing; his wife says he was last seen with a friend who has since gone into hiding

The wife of a man from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who has gone missing, reports that she last saw her husband on July 29 at a gas station. He later sent her a text stating he was with a friend who has since gone into hiding.

Jacqueline Guzman shared that her husband, Thomas Burton Jr., 30, was last seen around 2 p.m. on July 29 when she picked up money from him at the Citgo gas station on N Martin Luther King Jr Drive to pay bills.

While there, Jacqueline said he handed her his car key, the only key to his vehicle. They also talked about her picking up items for their upcoming trip to Rhode Island in early August.

A couple hours later, Jacqueline received a text from Thomas at 4:24 p.m., saying he was with his friend, Jaekob Hill, who is the last known person he was with, according to Jacqueline. The North Carolina Beat obtained the text, which showed Thomas texting “With Jaekon.” In response, Jacqueline told Thomas that she was trying to call him back, unaware of what was going on, before the phone hung up.

SEE TEXT BELOW:

‘I’m so f***ing scared’

An hour later, at 5:26 p.m., Thomas called her in a whisper, saying he was scared.

“He was whispering, telling me that he was scared… he literally said, ‘I’m so scared, I’m so f***ing scared, Jacqueline, I’m so scared right now,'” Jacqueline recalled her husband saying to her.

Jacqueline told us that she repeatedly asked Thomas where he was, and that she could pick him up, but he continued to whisper that he was scared and then the phone disconnected.

“He kept saying ‘I can’t, I can’t,’ and I told him then I’ll send him an Uber if I couldn’t come get him,” Jacqueline said. “Then he kept saying ‘I’m so f***king sorry, I’m so f***king sorry, I love you, I love you so much… I gotta go,’ and then the phone hung up.”

Concerned, she tried to call him back, but there was no answer, and eventually, his phone was turned off. Since then, she has not heard from her husband.

“I was saying to myself, ‘What the f**k going on?’ said Jacqueline.

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Thomas Burton Jr. reported missing in Winston-Salem

On July 31, Jacqueline reported Thomas missing to the Winston-Salem Police Department. She told us that she had also contacted her husband’s friends to reach out to Jaekob to find out her husband’s whereabouts, but none of them were able to get in touch with him.

Jacqueline said she has been actively searching for her husband and gathering information, providing the police with around 50 pieces of evidence.

“When I finally went to go speak to someone, I gave them like 50 pieces of evidence – screenshots, videos, and they literally told me to apply,” said Jacqueline.

“I need answers. His family deserves answers. His son deserves answers. And for Jaekob to call my husband his ‘friend’… this is wild,” Jacqueline said.

Jaekob Hill, a tattoo artist from Greensboro, North Carolina, is currently in hiding,  although he posted on Facebook two days after Thomas was last seen with him and his most recent post was on August 1, 2024.

Thomas is described as having brown eyes and black hair, standing about 5′7″ tall and weighing 225 pounds. He has several tattoos, including visible ones on his neck and forearms, and was last seen wearing an orange shirt, black shorts, and orange Crocs.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Thomas Burton Jr., please contact the Winston-Salem Police Department.