Beloved ‘Mr. Noble,’ who sells flowers on Raleigh streets, is missing

For the last four months, the homeless man known as Mr. Noble has faithfully occupied his corner on Peace Street, wearing his Marine Corps cap and his scratched glasses, selling roses from a bucket.

The dozens of people who have befriended him describe him as quiet but unfailingly polite, greeting people with a wave or a salute, writing out his messages on paper or silently mouthing the words when he needs something — a Coke or a new pair of socks.

He buys his roses at Fallon’s Flowers at the corner of St. Mary’s Street, getting them at wholesale prices because everyone there looks out for him. Often, he gives out those flowers for free, and those who know Mr. Noble best suppose he does that because he knows what it’s like to feel alone.

Now that he’s missing, gone for more than a week, they only want to see him well again. Alone is the last thing he needs to be.

“It’s crazy that someone who’s so quiet just has so much joy on their face,” said Ashton Owen, his friend who works at Fallon’s. “It’s very sad to come here and not be able to wave to him. A lot of people care about him. When he notices you, he just makes you feel seen. Even if he doesn’t talk. I just miss him terribly.”

Mr. Nobles’ disappearance is circulating widely on Raleigh Instagram and Nextdoor pages, drawing thousands of likes and promises to keep an eye out. Raleigh police have been notified. Owen asked anyone who sees him or knows his whereabouts to call (919) 828-4134.

He hasn’t shared much of his backstory.

His friend and nearby Realtor Lisa Knox Rose asked him how he got to Raleigh and he wrote USMC, then an arrow to Raleigh, then an arrow to “Atlantic,” which still isn’t clear. His legal name appears to be William Bryant Polite, 54, which Rose knows because she’s taken him to get his glasses prescription updated, and that’s the name he provided.

She last saw him the weekend before last, when she took him to a Walmart for a pair of Dickies pants, and to some eyeglasses shops where he could get his lenses cleaned but not repaired. He got a pair of Hershey pies from a Burger King, paying with all of his change, leaving the excess in a charity jar.

“He never touches me, he always gives me his elbow to high five,” she said. “But he hugged me.”

Back on Peace Street, she said, he changed his pants behind a bush and put on a pair of double extra-large shirts, oversized for a small man because he wore so many. Then he gave her his duffel bag to clean out, and his money, Bible and prayer mat came spilling out, along with his socks — wet from the rain.

She told him he looked great, bought him a burger and promised to bring back the laundered socks on Sunday. That was Oct. 23, and when Rose returned that morning, Mr. Noble wasn’t there.

Most of his things were still at Fallon’s, including his sleeping supplies, his Bible and his flowers.

“He has been at that corner nonstop sleeping every single day for probably four or five months straight,” Rose said. “That is what is so alarming. Overnight, he disappeared.”

Several people have reported sightings near Meredith College by the Ben & Jerry’s, or on a Raleigh bus, but Rose had checked there with no sign of Mr. Noble. She recalled telling him once about the people who posted online about buying him a sandwich and complimented him for being so friendly.

“You are loved by so many people,” she told him. “These people adore you. Do you want me to read you any of these comments? They are saying some real nice things about you.

“He shook his head, ‘No.’”