Today marks five years since the Hawkins brothers went missing

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- The faded Tennessee banner still hangs on the side of the house. The Christmas tree in the living room still hasn’t been moved, and Donna Hawkins heart’s still heavy. Not much has changed around Hawkins’ Ridenour Lane home since August 2021 when her boys, as she calls them, vanished without a trace.

TOP PHOTO: Donna Hawkins wants to keep sons Scott and Tracy’s memory alive.

“I know they’re not coming back, but I just need some closure,” said Hawkins. See a related story HERE.

It was around 9am, Friday, August 6, 2021, when brothers Scott Hawkins, 51, and Tracy Hawkins, 44, told their mother they were going ginseng hunting on the south end of the county as they left out from her her home. They parked her 2006 Chevy Trailblazer along Highway 116 across from Holley-Gamble Funeral Home, now the Leach Family Funeral Home and Cremation, near the Campbell-Anderson County line. That’s where she found the maroon Chevy the next day.

Friends and neighbors have offered support over the years though none more than the Collins family who lives across the lane. Missy Collins, husband Waylon and nine-year old son Braxton have been there for Hawkins, especially on Tennessee game days. She and her boys always watched the Vols football games.

Hawkins’ hope has not wavered to try and find out just what happened to Tracy and Scott. “I want to keep their memory alive. I’m not forgetting, and I hope the community won’t either,” said Hawkins.

On the upcoming first Game Day, on Sep. 5, when Tennessee hosts Furman, Hawkins will be watching. The heavy hearted mom will watch as if her boys were right there with her, in her Big Orange heart. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 08/06/2026-6AM)