Cahokia father, missing since June 19, found dead
Brandon Carson, the 29-year-old father of three who went missing following a Juneteenth celebration with his family, was found dead of a gunshot wound Thursday evening.
Cahokia police were dispatched to the 1200 block of St. Williams on the report of a body laying in the backyard of a vacant house there. St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. confirmed late Friday afternoon that it was Carson, who lived just blocks away in the 1100 block of St. Boniface.
Dye said Carson was pronounced at the scene at 4:55 p.m. Thursday. An autopsy revealed Carson had been shot, Dye said.
Carson’s mother, Marion Hudson, reported her son missing. She last saw him on June 19 at the family’s Cahokia residence.
She said the family barbecued and talked about Juneteenth — which commemorates the passage of the 13th Amendment to outlaw slavery — what it means and why it is an important date to celebrate.
“That was our way of taking a stand on the way things are in the world right now,” she said at the time. “I don’t want the great time we had on Juneteenth to be the last memory of us together.”
Carson had three children between the ages of 5 and 7. Cahokia Police Capt. Dennis Plew said Carson was not the type to leave home for extended periods of time without telling someone.
Anyone with information about Carson’s death is asked to call the Cahokia Police Department at 618-337-9505. Or call anonymously to CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-Tips.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 6:31 PM.
