By Billy Davis

Just hours before he disappeared, Michael Faulkner told family members he was concerned about a sexual relationship with a teenage girl, his sister said Monday.

Local authorities have been searching for Faulkner on the Tallahatchie River since March 21, a Wednesday morning, after a passing motorist spotted a bicycle on the Panola bridge just west of Batesville.

Family members have said the bicycle belonged to Faulkner, 33. His tennis shoes and foot prints were found on the bank of the river, indicating he may have waded into the muddy waters.

“I believe he jumped in that water,” said sister Leshia Faulker, 42.

A DeSoto County sheriff’s helicopter made numerous passes over the river last Friday when the river was too low for boat traffic, said Panola sheriff’s investigator Bryan Arnold.  

Worried about the relationship, he left the family’s home on Pearson Street in Batesville about 11:30 that night, she said.

Michael Wayne Faulkner had pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual battery in April 2011 in a Lafayette County case according to court documents.

Faulkner was sentenced to 20 years in state prison but was credited for time served while awaiting trial. He was also given five years of supervised probation by the court and had to register as a sex offender.

Millie Mae Faulkner said her brother-in-law, a South Panola graduate, is the “baby” in a family of numerous brothers and sisters — all of them sick with worry.

“We need Michael to show up or we need a body that we can identify,” she said. “We just need closure.”