Brandon Lawson's family want to know where he is. Photo / Supplied
It was a terrifying call for help in the middle of the night.
But three years after Brandon Lawson called police asking for help, his family are no closer to learning where he is.
A chilling 911 call is the only clue as to what happened to the father of four who went missing after his car broke down in the early hours of August 9, 2013.
The 26-year-old ran out of petrol near Bronte, Texas and started to walk in nearby fields on Highway 277.
Soon after he called 911 revealing he was being chased, but was never heard from again.
In the audio, a clearly distressed Lawson described a confrontation and that he was running into the woods.
"Yes I'm in the middle of a field [inaudible] pushed some guys over, right here going towards Abilene, on both sides," the call begins.
"My truck ran out of gas, there's one car here, the guy's chasing [inaudible] to the woods, please hurry!"
The operator then asks if he needs an ambulance.
"No I need the cops."
That was the last anyone heard from him.
A Facebook page and website dedicated to his disappearance regularly appeals for information but has produced no new leads.
His fiancee Ladessa Lofton told broadcaster NBCDFW, she still struggles to tell the children where their dad could be.
"Each day they ask me why isn't my dad at my birthday party, why is my dad not here for thanksgiving, why is my dad not going to be here for Christmas?" she said.
She said someone out there must know something.
Lawson's father Brad told the broadcaster his son disappeared in rocky cactus terrain and if he had fallen over, a search crew would have found him by now.
Police found his truck abandoned on the side of the highway.
Various other searches have also taken place but have failed to find any sign of Lawson.
In a 2014 press release by not-for-profit group LostNMissing Inc, Lofton dismissed rumours that her loving partner abandoned his family and now fears he is dead.
"We've endured rumours on social media because original news reporting painted a picture that Brandon was a fugitive on the run. Brandon would never run from his kids and while he had an outstanding warrant we were in the process of saving to pay his fine and addressing it through our lawyer.
"Even if Brandon were to serve jail time, he would have seen his children on visitation until released. To say he ran to avoid being apprehended is ridiculous."
Cynthia Caron, president of LostNMissing, said regardless of whether he was alive or dead, his family deserved to know what happened to him.
Caron said she believes there is a second voice on the 911 tape which, is proved correct, would mean someone out there definitely knows what happened to him out on that field.
In an interview this year with San Angelo News, Lofton said she is still grieving her loss and unable to move on because of the lack of closure.
She also revealed how they had an argument on the last day she saw him and that she left her phone to charge in the car. Her boyfriend of almost 10 years had their only other charger.
Later she realised she had three missed calls from him.
Lawson had also called his brother, but when he came to see where he was found only his
car on the side of the road.
"Brandon called me three times and never left a voicemail that night," she said.
"I'll never forgive myself for not having my phone on me."
She also dismissed rumours that he was a drug dealer.
"He worked. He was a good dad," she said.
"He took drug tests at a job and passed every one. Brandon had a past, yes. Everyone has pasts, but he wouldn't do anything like that."
Simone White, 28, is the fifth tourist to have died after becoming ill last week.