What happened to Terrance Williams and Felipe Santos nearly a decade ago? For years, there have been whispers in Naples, Fla., about the men and the last person they were seen with, a police officer who said he dropped off the two men at separate convenience stores.
On Thursday, movie mogul Tyler Perry, the Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP president Ben Jealous announced as much as $100,000 in rewards for information on the cases.
“This is injustice,” said Perry, who throughout a news conference in Naples clutched the hand of Williams’ mother.
“I don’t think this is about race or social status as much as it is about, no matter who we are, we should be outraged that this is happening in America in 2013,” he added, according to video recordings of the event.
Seconds after Perry offered his reward, a man in the audience interrupted, approaching the podium to claim he had information pertinent to the case and feared for his life, according to video of the event.
“Be here for my safety,” said the man, sobbing.
Pictured: Tyler Perry, left, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, center, look on as an unidentified man comes forward during a news conference to discuss the missing-persons case.
