HAMERSVILLE, Ohio | The reward posters in southern Ohio are faded or gone, but Clermont County officials are hoping fresh eyes and social media may help solve the 1982 murder of a Hamersville man.

Permon “Gene” Gilbert, 46, was last seen alive May 22, 1982, in Maysville, after completing a service repair call, and his family reported him missing early the next morning, said Clermont County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Steve Leahy.

He was last seen when he stopped at the Forest Avenue Clyde’s grocery and Carol Jeans Flowers, in Maysville, officials said.

On Tuesday a deputy suggested posting the old case information on the CCSO internet and social media sites, including a 2012 article by The Ledger Independent, which recapped known details of the case.

“We know there must be someone out there who knows something and we’re hoping this jogs their memory or their conscience gets to them,” Leahy said on Wednesday. “Since (the 2012) story there have been some changes. His wife has died, but we want to let the public know we have not lost interest in the case.”

A resolution to the case is necessary for Gilbert’s remaining family, Leahy said.

A person mowing found Gilbert’s beaten, shot, and nude body, May 23, 1982 in a ditch on Swope Road, in Clermont County, Ohio, just a few miles from his home on Ohio 774, police said.

His van was found several days later on Ebeneezer Road in Adams County, more than 20 miles from his home.

“What we think may happen is that whoever may be a suspect may eventually die and a second person with knowledge could come forward,” Leahy said. “At the least it could be a resolution of the case.”

New technology has also been used to test materials gathered in the case, from his body and the van, but a recent test did not yield new results, he said.

National media attention in 1989 also featured the case, Leahy said, when the Unsolved Mysteries television show researched the case and aired the show on Feb. 22, 1989.

Someone may have trophies of the murder, or they may have been discarded, but Gilbert’s clothing, boots, cowboy hat, and Masonic items were never located, police said.

A theory brought out in the Unsolved Mysteries show was of a possible link to crime cases his brother Vernon Gilbert allegedly testified about.

Suicide was the only thing ruled out in the case, police said.

To read the 2012 article, go to https://maysville-online.com/news/local/year-old-murder-case-investigated/article_7fe31cc0-93ef-5368-a534-ffeb277f87d6.html

To access the episode of Unsolved Mysteries go to http://www.unsolved.com/archives/permon-gilbert.

Anyone with information on the case should contact CCSO at 513-732-7545.

Items missing from Permon Gilberts possessions include clothing and a Masonic wallet and belt buckle, which were similar to the items in this undated photo.