Search for Malik Polk remains active as investigators continue reviewing evidence

Investigators say they are still following leads in the disappearance of 25-year-old Malik Polk, whose family has spent nearly two months searching for answers.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office says detectives have searched more than 300 acres using drones, bloodhounds, Georgia Search and Rescue teams, cadaver dogs and side-scan sonar along nearly 20 miles of the Chattahoochee River. Authorities are also continuing to examine digital evidence that could provide new clues.

“We continue to work the digital aspect of this and still have stuff pending that may help us,” Maj. Craig Dodson said.

Polk was last seen after deputies responded to a 911 call about someone trying to open the back door of a home on Shiloh Church Road. Deputies found his vehicle nearby with a flat tire and the engine still running, but say Polk ran into a wooded area before they arrived. He was reported missing the following day, and Carroll County later became the lead agency because it was his last known location.

Investigators believe Polk may have been experiencing a mental health crisis before he disappeared, though Dodson said that is only one part of the ongoing investigation.

Polk’s mother, Sharita Hampton, recently met with investigators to review search maps and dash camera footage from the day he vanished. She said the meeting helped explain the investigation but left her family with the same unanswered question.

“Where is Malik?” Hampton said.

Hampton described her son as intelligent, compassionate and someone who enjoyed making people laugh. She said he could build computers from scratch and was a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

While investigators say they do not suspect foul play, they continue asking the public for information that could help locate Polk. Hampton says her family’s hope has never faded.

“Give me some type of peace,” she said. “The not knowing is what’s killing me.”