Felipe Santos: TAMPA, Fla.

Deputy Steven Calkins Dept: TAMPA, Fla. -- Felipe Santos, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, and Terrance Williams, a black man, had little in common until about eight years ago. That was when they disappeared three months apart in the same area of South Florida, both of them right after crossing paths with sheriff's Deputy Steven Calkins, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Now their disappearance is back in the spotlight, in part because Hollywood star Tyler Perry and civil rights activists are using the Trayvon Martin case to draw attention to what they see as a string of injustices and incomplete investigations involving minorities and carl Juste / MCT archives Arleen Poitier attends a rally in support of Trayvon Martin in Miami on April 1. TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT Investigations by local, state and federal authorities went nowhere. Calkins, who is white, denied doing anything more than dropping off the men at different convenience stores. He was never charged but was fired after he stopped co-operating with investigators. The men's families were left to wonder after public interest faded. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.