Dateline brings renewed attention to Chad Austin cold case in VA

BUENA VISTA, Va. – There’s a new national spotlight on a cold case in our area. Over the weekend, Dateline featured the disappearance of Chad Austin of Buena Vista. He was last seen Memorial Day on Memorial Day in 2019. His remains were found near Panther Falls in Amherst County almost a year later.

“It is hard. It’s very hard. Some days are harder than others,” said Ellen Austin, Chad’s mother.

Ellen Austin spoke to 10 News about the case along with her husband, David.

“Chad was a caring person. He really liked to talk to people,” David Austin said. “We remember several times he had been riding around and he’d meet campers or somebody walking off the mountain and he would pick them up, bring them down to the store.”

The Austins said they don’t like the spotlight, but said it’s worth it to find justice for their son.

“As parents, it’s been almost six years, and you feel like you need to do something. And you don’t know what else you can do,” Ellen Austin said. “We want it to stay in the public’s eye. And that’s our main purpose, is to have it out there so that we can try to get justice for Chad.”

10 News has reached out to the Virginia State Police, which said there is nothing new in the case. The family is hoping the attention sparks people’s memory about any details they may have missed that weekend.