Dock Thompson Sr. and Doc Thompson Jr. are featured in the “Florida Unsolved Homicides & Missing Persons Playing Cards” on the red Jack of Hearts.

Background:

Thompson Sr. owned and operated a store called, “Thompsons Texaco Station” located in Tallahassee Florida. Thompson Jr. was employed at his father’s store.
Thompson Sr. established a financial relationship with a man by the name Robert Lee Lindsey. Lindsey sought after a capital to help fund his construction business. This is where the story between Thompson Sr. and Lindsey began.
Thompson Sr. evidently advances a private loan of $25,000 to assist Lindsey with his business.
When it came time to pay… there was trouble.

The mystery : February 9th, 1989

When it came time for Lindsey to make payments for his loan debt, there was a major problem, he did not have the money. Lindsey becomes desperate to keep Thompson at bay, he writes multiple $5,000 checks as “good faith” partial repayments. All of these checks bounce immediately due to “non-sufficient funds”.

Thompson soon realized what was happening and that he was not Lindsey’s only fraud victim in town. Thompson decides to apply legal pressures and file formal police complaints. In result, Lindsey was arrested, booked, and charged with grand larceny and check fraud. This would not sit will with Lindsey.

January 9th 1989, Thompson Sr. and Thompson Jr. are going about a normal day at the store when Lindsey arrives. He approaches Thompson Sr. with a whole new promise: “I’ll repay everything, just come with me”. Though Thompson was hesitant, his curiosity of the sudden financial resolution evidently wins. Thompson loads into Lindsey’s van (it’s important to note that it has been reported that Thompson consistently traveled armed and would not enter a situation in which he felt in danger). What happens to Doc Thompson Sr. beyond this point, is a mystery.

Lindsey did not stop there. He returns to the Texaco where Thompson Jr. is still working, but this time, with no passenger. He enters the store and begins to tell Jr. that his father is in a different location trying to finalize a loan repayment. He tells Jr. there is a problem with the payment and he needs to get into the van. Lindsey proclaims Jr.’s signature is needed to complete the transaction. Trusting Lindsey and his word, Jr. follows into the van. Once again.. what happens beyond this point is a mystery.

Lindsey returns to the Texaco later that evening with neither Thompson Sr. or Jr… completely alone. Instead he enters the store and bluntly proclaims to the staff that neither of the men would be returning to work that day. Lindsey fled the area for good.

Once family members noticed neither the father nor son had returned home from work, they notified law enforcement. Police tracked down Lindsey and interrogated him as to where he was after his encounter with the Thompsons. Lindsey’s only defense, “I drove them both to Quincy, Florida and dropped them off on a street corner before driving back to Tallahassee alone”.

Police doubted Lindsey’s explanation was truthful due to never finding a witness that verified seeing any of the three men in Quincy and no record of a $25,000 payment. The investigation went cold after neither of the men were located and remains were never found.
Both men have been missing ever since…

My thoughts:

Knowing Sr. was a business owner and protective over his family and business I don’t believe he would have willingly got out on a random corner. If Sr. always traveled armed, was it a coincidence that he may have not been armed that day leading him to be defenseless? Or, was this entire timeline given by Lindsey a lie?
Lindsey had a prison sentence and his belief was that Sr. played a big role in this. I think that’s the motive no question. Lindsey knew without the victim/s there’s not much to prove your guilt.
I wonder why and at what point Lindsey decided to go back for Jr., what was the reason.
Did the Texaco employees see or hear more than they told police? They say both men went willingly, but there’s no way none of them knew the conflict between the Thompsons and Lindsey. If they were aware of the conflict why did this not raise flags to them?