The family of a missing Utah construction worker is still desperate for answers, years after he went missing on his way to a Salt Lake City construction site.
Justin Hooiman was leaving for work around 6 a.m. on November 20, 2017. On the way there, he called his mother and arranged to meet her for lunch.
“He’s a spoiled 27-year-old kid who just craves Chipotle,” his sister, Misty Bieber, told Fox News Digital. “He said, ‘Mom, I’m craving Chipotle. Can you come and join me for lunch?’ And she said, sure.”
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A missing persons flyer for Justin Hooiman is placed on a table at private investigator Jason Jensen’s booth at CrimeCon 2024 on June 2, 2024 in Nashville. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
That was the last we heard from him.
His mother, Marilyn Stevenson, went to see him at his workplace but he wasn’t there.
“He never showed up to work that day,” Beaver said, “so between the time he clocked in and the time he got to work, he just disappeared.”
No new transactions were recorded on his credit card, and his cell phone rang one last time, but we haven’t heard from him since.
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Misty Beever (left) and Marilyn Stevenson (right) are the sister and mother of Justin Hooiman, a Salt Lake City construction worker who is missing. They have been desperate for answers since he broke a lunch date with Stevenson on Nov. 20, 2017, and has not been seen since. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
Investigators began investigating the case as a possible homicide in March 2021 after a federal informant came forward claiming he was killed, according to his family.
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Hooiman’s family was one of several who attended CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville last month to raise awareness of their loved one’s unsolved case and seek answers.
A star high school football player, he injured his leg and was prescribed the painkiller OxyContin, but his sister said she now opposes any use of the drug, especially in young patients.
Justin Hooiman takes a selfie wearing an American flag tank top and beanie. (Justin Hooiman/Facebook)
She said he became dependent on drugs after another shoulder operation and began using harder drugs, but was in treatment and had a job.
“He’s not some loser off the street,” Bieber said. “He’s precious. I miss his hugs every day.”
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Hooiman was 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed approximately 190 pounds when last seen in Salt Lake City. He has brown hair and eyes.
At the time of her disappearance, Hooyman was living at a rehabilitation facility called Fortitude, and the family’s private investigator, Jason Jensen, said Hooyman and another resident had left together that morning.
“We would like to hear from the public about experiences with unsafe individuals at Fortitude, particularly around November 2017,” Jensen told Fox News Digital. “We would like to know who was living there at the time and who may have been visiting individuals who were living there at the time.”
The case remains unsolved.
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Anyone with information is asked to contact Salt Lake City Police at 801-799-3454.
The family is separately appealing for anyone who knew Hooiman when he was living in Fortitude to contact Jensen at 801-759-2248.
“I would be more than happy if someone could help me bring him home and put this behind me,” Beaver said.
