A $10,000 reward and newly reported witness information have renewed attention on the disappearance of a Virginia grandmother who walked away from her Petersburg home three years ago and has not been seen by her family since.

Sherell Renea Brown was 52 when she disappeared near Hanover and Patterson streets in Petersburg, Virginia, on Sept. 1, 2023. Her whereabouts remain unknown, and the Petersburg Bureau of Police continues to investigate. In September 2026, WTVR CBS 6 and the Reopen the Case Foundation reported that people interviewed during a renewed review of the case described encounters that were not part of the publicly known timeline when Brown first went missing.

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Sherell Walked Away From Home After 11 P.M.

Earlier accounts of Brown’s disappearance centered on the home she shared with her husband and two grandchildren, whom the couple had custody of.

Brown’s mother, Brenda Blackwell, visited her around 7 p.m. that evening. Blackwell later told WTVR that her daughter asked for a ride somewhere, but she encouraged Brown to remain home. Brown had recently experienced seizures and was still physically weak.

After 11:00 p.m., Brown’s husband returned home and found her sitting outside with their 11-year-old granddaughter. According to information compiled by The Charley Project, he went inside for several minutes. When he returned, Brown was gone.

The granddaughter reportedly said Brown told her she needed to get help and would return before walking away.

Brown did not take her cellphone or medication. She has diabetes and a seizure disorder and had reportedly suffered two seizures during the two weeks before she disappeared. Her husband searched for her that night, and she was reported missing on Sept. 4.

Blackwell told WTVR that her daughter was deeply involved in raising her grandchildren and had fought to obtain custody of them. She said she could not imagine Brown voluntarily staying away from them.

“She would be here for the children,” Blackwell said.

Her family also reported no known activity on Brown’s bank card after she disappeared.

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New Witnesses Describe Seeing Sherell That Night

The publicly known timeline has shifted as additional people have described possible encounters with Brown after she left her home.

In September 2026, WTVR reported that Lachelle Gates said Brown appeared on Augusta Avenue late that night and asked for a cup of water. Gates said she and her daughter later gave Brown a ride home but did not remain to see whether she went inside.

WTVR also reported that neighbors told journalist Jon Burkett they saw Brown get into a white van with an unidentified man and woman. According to those witnesses, Brown later became sick and was put out of the vehicle.

Those claims differ from information released closer to Brown’s disappearance, when her granddaughter was described as the last known person to see her. Authorities have not publicly explained how the newer witness accounts fit into the official investigative timeline or whether detectives have independently verified each sighting.

The Reopen the Case Foundation has been working with CBS 6 to review Brown’s disappearance and develop information that was not publicly available during the original investigation.

A $10,000 reward is now being offered for information that helps move the case forward.

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Her Family Has Spent Three Years Waiting

Brown’s disappearance left two children without the grandmother helping to raise them and a mother who has repeatedly asked the public for help finding her daughter.

Two months after Brown vanished, Blackwell told WTVR that family milestones were passing without her. Brown missed her grandson’s birthday on Sept. 19, 2023, and the family was approaching its first holiday season without knowing where she was.

Blackwell described how Brown normally helped plan family gatherings and meals and remained closely involved in her grandchildren’s lives.

By December 2023, she had bought Christmas gifts for Brown and still hoped her daughter would walk through the door.

Brown remains missing three years later.

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Sherell Renea Brown: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Sherell Renea Brown stood at approximately 4 feet 11 inches to 5 feet tall and weighed between 175 and 185 pounds.

She has brown eyes and black or brown hair. Her ears are pierced, she wears eyeglasses, and she often wears wigs. When she disappeared, Brown was reportedly wearing a blue-and-white shirt, blue shorts, light-colored shoes with orange accents, and a black bob-style wig.

Some missing-person materials spell her name “Sherrell” and list her middle name as “Renae.”

She has diabetes and has experienced seizures since 2011. Brown requires medication for her medical conditions and left home without it.

Anyone with information can contact the Petersburg Bureau of Police at 804-732-4222. The department’s Major Crimes Unit can be reached at 804-203-4466. You can also provide information to the Reopen the Case Foundation at 1-833-RTCFNVA or tips@reopenthecase.org.

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• Case Number: 23-003818

• Agency: Petersburg Bureau of Police

• Phone: 804-732-4222

• Email: tips@reopenthecase.org

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A woman whose body was discovered inside a bag floating in a New Orleans bayou has been identified, but authorities have yet to determine what happened to her.

The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office identified the woman as 44-year-old Benita Robinson of New Orleans on Sept. 2, about a month after her remains were recovered from Bayou St. John. According to WDSU, the New Orleans Police Department is continuing to investigate Robinson’s death, while her cause of death remains undetermined.

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A Resident Found The Bag In Bayou St. John

The discovery was reported shortly before 5:00 p.m. on Aug. 2 in the 5100 block of Bancroft Drive, in New Orleans’ Filmore neighborhood near City Park.

Early reports said a resident found a bag containing a body in a backyard. Police later clarified that the bag had been floating in Bayou St. John and was pulled from the water by a resident who lived nearby.

At the time, authorities had not released the person’s identity or said how long the remains may have been in the water. It was another month before the coroner publicly confirmed that the woman was Robinson.

Police have not disclosed how the bag came to be in the bayou or whether investigators have determined where Robinson was before her death. No suspect or arrest has been announced.

Friend Remembers Benita As Someone Who Shared With Others

Those who knew Robinson have since begun filling in details about the woman behind the investigation.

Eddy Roche told WDSU that he became friends with Robinson several years ago and often spent time with her along Decatur Street in the French Quarter.

“She was such an angel,” Roche said. He remembered Robinson as someone who would share what she had, including her own food, when someone else was in need.

Her sister, Evelyn Bennett, has publicly appealed for information about Robinson’s death and how she ended up in the bag.

“My family, her closest friends, are still shocked and devastated at the [loss] of my sister, and we just want answers about her death,” Evelyn stated. She asked anyone who knows how Robinson ended up in the bag to come forward, adding, “Cocoa was loved and did not deserve this.”

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Police Have Not Classified Benita’s Death As A Homicide

Despite the circumstances in which Robinson was found, New Orleans police have not publicly classified her death as a homicide.

NOPD is investigating the case as an unclassified death, meaning authorities have not yet publicly determined the circumstances or manner of her death. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office has also said her cause of death remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about Benita Robinson’s death or how she ended up in Bayou St. John can contact the New Orleans Police Department at 504-821-2222. You can also submit anonymous tips to Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111.

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• Agency: New Orleans Police Department

• Phone: 504-821-2222

• Email:

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A mother was driving her five children home in northwest Harris County, Texas, when gunfire struck their vehicle, killing her 5-year-old daughter and injuring two of the child’s siblings.

Jeremy Porter, 47, was arrested the following day and charged with capital murder in the Sept. 19, 2026, killing of Zah’Layah Walter, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced. Porter was booked into the Harris County Jail as investigators continued examining what led to the shooting.

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The Family Was Almost Home

Monica Hicks was driving west along Grant Road near Jones Road around 11:30 p.m. with all five of her children inside the vehicle. According to FOX 26 Houston, Hicks said she was preparing to turn into The Estates at Cypress, where the family lived, when someone in a white, four-door Ford truck began shooting.

Zah’Layah was struck by the gunfire. Two of her siblings suffered minor injuries from shattered glass, while Hicks was not physically injured. Zah’Layah was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where she died.

Hicks told ABC13 Houston that the shooting did not initially sound like gunfire to her. She recalled hearing a whizzing sound before her children began screaming. When she stopped and tried to get them out of the car, she realized her youngest daughter was slumped over and unresponsive. Hicks called 911 as paramedics responded and attempted to save Zah’Layah.

Hours before her death, Zah’Layah had told her mother, “I love you, mommy,” and given her a kiss. Hicks described the little girl to FOX 26 Houston as “the light of my life” and said she was loving. Her four surviving children witnessed what happened to their sister.

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Her Mother Says There Was No Road Rage Confrontation

Investigators initially described the shooting as an apparent road rage incident, but Hicks has challenged that characterization.

She told ABC13 Houston that she did not believe she had cut anyone off or exchanged words with another driver before the shooting. In a separate interview with FOX 26, Hicks said she had not spoken to the occupants of the truck or honked at them and had not even noticed the vehicle before shots were fired.

Hicks claimed the family had simply been returning from her mother’s home and was nearly back to where she expected her children to be safe.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Authorities have not publicly established that Hicks or anyone traveling with her initiated a confrontation.

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Porter Charged With Capital Murder

Meanwhile, Gonzalez announced Sunday (Sept. 20) that Porter had been arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with Zah’Layah’s death. According to the Houston Chronicle, the arrest came less than 24 hours after the shooting.

The sheriff credited Flock camera automated license plate reader technology with helping detectives quickly develop information during the investigation. Porter was then taken into custody and booked into the Harris County Jail.

Harris County investigators are still asking anyone with information about Zah’Layah’s killing to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 713-221-6000 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

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• Agency: Harris County Sheriff’s Office

• Phone: 713-221-6000

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Nearly a month after a Worcester teenager disappeared from her family’s home, her cellphone provided a possible clue hundreds of miles away. Police said Sue Maniyon Paye’s phone last pinged in Brooklyn, New York, on Feb. 7, 2022, and investigators contacted the New York Police Department as the search expanded beyond Massachusetts, according to Spectrum News 1.

Sue had been missing since Jan. 9. She was 15 and lived on Mason Street in Worcester when her mother, Roseline Potipah, last saw her before leaving for church. When Potipah returned, Sue was gone along with an overnight bag and some clothing, reports The Charley Project.

Her family believed Sue may have walked to Worcester’s Union Station and taken a bus to New York City, a trip she had made before. ThisWeekinWorcester reported that police knew Sue used buses and had previously traveled to New York.

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The Search Reached New York

By February 2022, Sue’s parents were publicly pleading for their daughter to come home. Family members, friends, and community leaders gathered outside Union Station before later holding a prayer vigil at Christ Worship Center in Worcester. Her father, Farley Kegbeh, told Spectrum News 1 that the family still believed Sue would be found.

Her family also searched for her in Brooklyn. Kegbeh believed Sue’s increasing involvement with religion before her disappearance could be connected to where she went and traveled to New York looking for her at a Deeper Life Bible Church. The Charley Project reports that a credit card belonging to Sue’s mother was also used at a Brooklyn restaurant.

No evidence publicly released by investigators has established that Sue was staying at the church or that anyone associated with it was involved in her disappearance.

Worcester police told reporters at the time that Sue appeared to have left home voluntarily, but her age made the case a high priority. Her disappearance remained unresolved when Unsolved: Worcester revisited the case in March 2023.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children continues to list Sue as missing.

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Sue Maniyon Paye: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Sue Maniyon Paye stood 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes. Sue was 15 when she disappeared and turned 20 in August 2026. Her middle name is “Maniyon.”

Anyone with information about Sue’s whereabouts can contact the Worcester Police Department at 508-799-8600 or (508) 799-8466. NCMEC can also be reached at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

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• Case Number: 22-2980

• Agency: Worcester Police Department

• Phone: (508) 799-8466

• Email:

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A seven-year-old playing outside near her aunt’s Baltimore home disappeared on Sept. 10, 1978, leaving behind a case that remains unresolved nearly five decades later. According to The Charley Project, Telethia R. Good had been left with her aunt in the 1700 block of Montpelier Street while her mother attended church services.

Telethia, known to her family as “Lee Lee,” was playing with three other children in the neighborhood before she vanished. Her family reported her missing around 10 p.m. after she failed to return.

Telethia lived with her mother in the 1500 block of Montpelier Street and attended Coldstream Elementary School. The Resource Center for Cold Case Missing Children’s Cases, which cites archived Baltimore Sun and Evening Sun coverage from 1978, reports that she had been adopted as an infant in Newark, New Jersey, before her family moved to Baltimore.

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Searches Failed To Find Telethia

Investigators and community members searched for Telethia in the days after she disappeared. According to The Resource Center for Cold Case Missing Children’s Cases, Baltimore newspaper reports documented searches around the neighborhood and nearby areas, including Clifton Park and Lake Montebello.

There wasn’t any evidence publicly released from those searches that established where Telethia went after she was last seen on Montpelier Street.

Years later, her disappearance resurfaced during the investigation into the 1988 murder of 11-year-old LaTanya Kim Wallace. In a 2019 post, The Charley Project connected details from David Simon’s book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets to Telethia’s case. The man police considered the prime suspect in LaTanya’s murder had a business associate who lived on Montpelier Street and reportedly visited the area regularly.

Investigators allegedly later showed that man a photograph of Telethia. He initially said he recognized her, then changed his answer and denied knowing her.

Police were never able to establish that he was in the neighborhood when Telethia disappeared, and he was never charged in connection with her case. He has since died.

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Telethia Good: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Telethia Good stood 3 feet 4 inches tall and weighed approximately 60 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes. She was missing her two front teeth and was known by the nickname “Lee Lee.” Her DNA is reportedly on file; however, her dental records and fingerprints are not.

She was wearing a blue T-shirt with “Collington Square” printed across the front and blue Levi’s jeans or gaucho-style pants. The Resource Center for Cold Case Missing Children’s Cases lists her date of birth as July 15, 1971.

Anyone with information about Telethia’s disappearance can contact the Baltimore Police Department at 443-984-7385, or their local law enforcement agency. The agency case no. is 784I27586.

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• Case Number: 784I27586

• Agency: Baltimore Police Department Missing Person Unit

• Phone: (443) 984-7385

• Email:

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An argument in a Fresno, California, parking lot ended with 34-year-old Tiffany Stewart being shot and killed, according to police.

Officers were called to the area of Palm and Shields avenues shortly after 11 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2026, for reports of a shooting. Tiffany was found suffering from a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts by officers and emergency personnel to save her, ABC30 Action News reported.

Police identified Tiffany’s partner as 29-year-old Jeffrey Randall and described her killing as a domestic violence incident.

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Tiffany Was Walking Away When She Was Shot

Investigators said Tiffany and Randall had been arguing in the parking lot at 3206 N. Palm Ave. before the shooting.

According to GV Wire, homicide detectives determined that Randall shot Tiffany as she was walking away from him.

Officers found Randall nearby and arrested him. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office booking log lists him as Jeffery Preston Randall and shows that he was booked Sept. 17 on suspicion of murder under California Penal Code 187(a). Bail was listed at $1 million.

The same booking record gives the Fresno Police Department’s agency case no. as 2609161616-1.

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Detectives Continue Seeking Information

Although an arrest has been made, Fresno homicide detectives are still asking witnesses or anyone with information about Tiffany’s killing to come forward.

GV Wire reports that tips can be given directly to Fresno Police Homicide Detective A. Lopez at 559-621-2443 or Detective A. Barragan at 559-621-2449. Submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers at 559-498-STOP (7867).

For anyone experiencing domestic violence in Fresno County, the Marjaree Mason Center provides a 24-hour crisis line at 559-233-4357. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available at 800-799-SAFE (7233).

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More than three years after four-year-old Kastari Isabella Nunez was fatally shot inside her Northeast Philadelphia home, her father pleaded guilty to charges connected to the conditions that led to her death. The plea did not answer the question investigators had faced since 2020 of who fired the gun that killed the child known to her family as “Star.”

On Sept. 29, 2023, Alhakim Nunez pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person as part of a negotiated agreement. According to KYW Newsradio, he was sentenced to 1.5 to five years in prison and received credit for approximately 16 months he had already served.

The involuntary manslaughter charge initially filed against him did not result in a conviction. Charges against Kastari’s mother, Iris Rodriguez, and another woman who had been inside the home, Ashley Gushue, were also dropped.

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A Loaded Gun Inside Kastari’s Home

Kastari was shot inside her family’s home on the 2900 block of Secane Drive late on April 20, 2020. Her mother and uncle drove her to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital with a gunshot wound to her abdomen. She was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on April 21, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

Four adults were inside the home when the shooting occurred, including both of Kastari’s parents. Investigators recovered a .357 revolver from a living room sofa containing five live rounds and one spent cartridge casing.

Authorities said the gun belonged to Nunez, who was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior felony convictions. Prosecutors also alleged that he was upstairs conducting a drug transaction when Kastari was shot downstairs.

Investigators did not believe Kastari had shot herself. In the days after her death, authorities said forensic testing was still underway in an effort to determine who fired the weapon.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office initially charged Nunez and Rodriguez with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child and other offenses. Gushue was charged with unsworn falsification to authorities, tampering with evidence, and obstruction of justice.

At the time, prosecutors maintained that although Kastari’s shooting was unintended, the presence of an unsecured firearm in a home with children made her death preventable.

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Prosecutors Said Gaps Remained In The Case

By the time Nunez appeared before a judge in 2023, the prosecution’s case had changed considerably. KYW Newsradio reported that prosecutors acknowledged there were unresolved gaps in the evidence and that they remained unsure exactly what occurred inside the home when Kastari was shot.

Those evidentiary problems resulted in a negotiated plea to child endangerment and prohibited firearm possession rather than a conviction for Kastari’s death. Rodriguez and Gushue no longer faced charges in the case.

Nunez had been released on bail after serving roughly 16 months while the case was pending. Following his guilty plea, Judge Glenn Bronson sentenced him to 1.5 to five years and ordered him to surrender in October 2023.

No one has been convicted of firing the shot that killed Kastari. She would have turned five less than two months after her death.

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A version of this article was first published in 2020.

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Georgia sent a 44-year-old mother of three to the electric chair in 1945 after a one-day murder trial before an all-white, all-male jury. Lena Baker maintained that she killed Ernest B. Knight while trying to escape a man who had confined her and threatened her life. Six decades later, the state granted her a posthumous pardon. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles later acknowledged that refusing her clemency had been a “grievous error” in a case that called for mercy.

Baker remains the first and only woman executed in Georgia’s electric chair, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia. Her case unfolded in Jim Crow Georgia, where a Black woman’s claim of self-defense against a white man was judged within a segregated criminal justice system that excluded Black citizens from meaningful participation.

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Baker Said Knight Held Her Against Her Will

Born in 1900 near Cuthbert, Georgia, Baker grew up doing farm work with her family before supporting herself and her three children by cleaning homes and washing clothes. Ernest B. Knight, a 67-year-old white gristmill owner, later hired her to care for him while he recovered from an injury. The New Georgia Encyclopedia reports that Knight eventually began locking Baker inside his mill for extended periods.

Historical accounts describe their relationship differently. The Guardian reported in 2005 that Baker and Knight had a sexual relationship, while Baker’s testimony focused on being held against her will and threatened. Knight’s son also admitted in court that he had previously beaten Baker after finding her with his father.

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Baker also testified that Knight forced her from her home on April 29, 1944. She eventually escaped and spent the night outside, but Knight encountered her again the following day and took her to his gristmill, where she said he locked her inside while he left. The Black Commentator, drawing from research into the trial record, detailed the sequence that preceded Knight’s death.

When Knight returned, Baker said she wanted to leave. According to her testimony, he refused and raised an iron bar used to secure the mill door. A struggle followed involving Knight’s pistol. The gun discharged, killing him.

Baker immediately went to county coroner J.A. Cox and reported that she had killed Knight. She maintained that she had acted because she feared for her life. The New Georgia Encyclopedia preserves that account from the court record.

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A Four-Hour Trial And A Death Sentence

Baker went on trial in Randolph County on Aug. 14, 1944. The proceedings lasted only several hours, and the jury consisted entirely of white men. After rejecting her self-defense claim, jurors convicted her of murder and did not recommend mercy, making death by electrocution mandatory under Georgia law at the time. The Los Angeles Times later reported on the circumstances when Georgia issued her pardon.

Gov. Ellis Arnall granted Baker a 60-day reprieve so the Board of Pardons and Paroles could review her case, but the board denied clemency in January 1945. She was transferred to Georgia State Prison in Reidsville the following month.

On March 5, 1945, Georgia executed Baker by electrocution.

Her recorded final statement returned to the defense she had maintained from the beginning. “What I done, I did in self-defense, or I would have been killed myself.” She also said she held nothing against anyone and was ready to meet God. The New Georgia Encyclopedia reports that she was pronounced dead at 11:26 a.m.

Baker was buried near Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church in Randolph County, where she had sung in the choir. Her grave initially went without a formal marker. Church members placed a simple marker there decades later.

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Georgia Pardoned Lena 60 Years After Her Execution

Renewed attention to Baker’s case eventually led her relatives and advocates to seek a pardon. Her great-nephew Roosevelt Curry formally pursued the effort with support from the Prison and Jail Project.

On Aug. 30, 2005, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles granted Baker a posthumous pardon 60 years after her execution. The board said the decision to deny clemency in 1945 was a grievous error and that her case called for mercy.

The pardon did not declare Baker innocent. The board specifically said it was not making that finding. Instead, it concluded that the circumstances could have supported a voluntary manslaughter charge rather than murder, which would not have resulted in her execution.

In January 2011, family members and supporters gathered at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church Cemetery to dedicate a new headstone honoring Baker. Curry told the Albany Herald that the effort to obtain justice for his great-aunt had begun with only a handful of supporters before growing over the years.

More than 80 years after Georgia executed Lena Baker, her case continues to appear in examinations of race and capital punishment. In 2026, the Death Penalty Information Center included her case in its review of Georgia’s history of racial violence and the death penalty, pointing to the four-hour trial, all-white jury, and later pardon.

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A version of this article was first published in 2021.

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A 27-year-old Houston woman was last known to have been in contact with someone on July 25, 2018. Beyond that date, very little has been made public about what happened to Elizabeth Wiley or the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

Further, no publicly released account identifies who last saw or spoke with her, where in Houston she was last known to be, or what investigators believe may have happened.

The lack of detail has left Elizabeth’s case with little public narrative beyond the date she vanished and her identifying information. She remains listed as missing in publicly available case records.

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Elizabeth Wiley: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Elizabeth Wiley stood 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed approximately 175 pounds. She had black hair and was 27 years old. Her NamUs record number is MP54309.

Anyone with information about Elizabeth’s disappearance can contact the Houston Police Department Adult Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840. You can also reach the Houston Police Department at (832) 394-1840.

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• Case Number: 1628839-18

• Agency: Houston Police Department

• Phone: (832) 394-1840

• Email:

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A 17-year-old walked out of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis on Sept. 11, 2025, and remains listed among missing children in West Tennessee. A missing child flyer published by Saving Lost Kids states that Lenarika Williams left the hospital on foot without permission and did not return.

The same flyer says Lenarika had threatened self-harm within the previous 24 hours, making her disappearance especially concerning. No diagnosis or additional medical information was included in the public notice.

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Lenarika Remains Missing

At the time of her disappearance, Lenarika Williams stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed about 160 pounds, according to her NamUs record.

Anyone with information regarding Lenarika’s whereabouts can contact the Memphis Police Department Missing Persons Bureau at 901-636-4479. Saving Lost Kids also directs tips to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Anyone with information about Lenarika’s whereabouts can contact the Memphis Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 901-636-4479. You can also reach the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

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Please share this story about Lenarika Williams to keep bringing attention to her missing person case. She is our sister, and her life matters.

• Case Number: 2509024269ME

• Agency: Memphis Police Department

• Phone: (901) 636-3700

• Email:

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A young Houston woman disappeared in the summer of 2007 and seemingly left no financial or official trail behind her. Krystal Nicole Cashaw was 22 when she was last seen in Houston, and the Texas Department of Public Safety continues to classify her as endangered.

The Houston Police Department said Krystal was last seen on July 31, 2007, while Texas DPS lists Aug. 1. Investigators later said they found no bank activity in her name and no subsequent contact between Krystal and law enforcement.

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Police Focused On Krystal’s Husband

Nearly two years after Krystal disappeared, Houston police publicly identified her husband, Raven Ryon Lovings, as a person of interest.

In June 2009, HPD said Krystal had been in an abusive relationship with Lovings before she vanished. Investigators also learned that someone had been removing missing person flyers bearing Krystal’s photograph, and witnesses identified Lovings as the person tearing them down.

At the time, Lovings was wanted in an unrelated sexual assault case involving another woman. Police arrested him later that month and questioned him about Krystal. According to a second HPD release, Lovings told investigators that Krystal was “alive” in his heart.

Police did not announce charges against Lovings in connection with Krystal’s disappearance.

There have also been reports of possible sightings over the years, although The Charley Project states that investigators determined the women spotted were not Krystal.

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Krystal Cashaw: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Krystal Cashaw stood at 5 feet 9 inches and weighed approximately 130 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes. She had scars on her abdomen and left thigh, “Raven” tattooed on her neck, and a tattoo on her right leg containing the word “Tink.”

Krystal was born May 12, 1985. The Texas Department of Public Safety lists agency case number M0804008. Her NamUs record number is MP30187.

Anyone with information can contact the Houston Police Department Adult Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840 or the Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 800-346-3243.

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• Case Number: M0804008

• Agency: Texas Department of Public Safety

• Phone: 832-394-1840

• Email:

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More than four decades after a 19-year-old disappeared from Seattle’s Aurora Avenue, the King County Sheriff’s Office continues to include Patricia Osborn among three women who remain missing in the Green River homicide investigation. Their cases remain uncharged.

Patricia vanished in October 1983 near North 115th Street and Aurora Avenue North. Her remains have never been recovered, and serial killer Gary Ridgway was never charged in her case despite telling investigators years later that he believed he may have killed her.

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Records Conflict On The Day Patricia Disappeared

There is a significant discrepancy in the public record about Patricia’s last known day. The current King County Sheriff’s Office page lists Oct. 28, 1983, saying Patricia left the area of North 115th Street and Aurora Avenue North to walk to a nearby restaurant.

However, Patricia’s NamUs record, HistoryLink, and Green River reporting in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer list her disappearance as Oct. 20, 1983. Those sources place her near the same stretch of Aurora Avenue. Records also vary on the middle-name spelling of “Ann” or “Anne.”

The Charley Project reports that Patricia was staying near the 99 Motel. Beyond the location and circumstances surrounding her disappearance, little about Patricia’s life has entered the public record.

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Ridgway’s Claim Was Never Corroborated

Patricia’s disappearance eventually became part of the sprawling investigation into Gary Ridgway, who pleaded guilty in 2003 to murdering 48 women in King County.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s 2003 Prosecutor’s Summary of the Evidence identified Patricia among three missing women investigators believed or strongly suspected Ridgway had killed. The document states that Patricia was involved in sex work.

Ridgway told investigators that he thought he may have killed Patricia, but he could not provide details about what happened to her or identify where he left her body. Prosecutors specifically noted that his claim had not been corroborated.

That distinction remains important. Patricia is included on the official Green River list, but Ridgway was not convicted or charged with her death. The current King County Sheriff’s Office page still describes Patricia, Kassee Ann Lee, and Kelly Kay McGinnis as missing, and their cases as uncharged.

Patricia Osborn: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Patricia Osborn stood 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed about 125 pounds. She had black hair and hazel eyes. Patricia was biracial, Black and white, and had a one-inch surgical scar near her pelvic bone. She was known as “Patty” and may have gone by Tina Lusk or Pamela M. Osborne, according to The Charley Project.

Patricia was born Feb. 29, 1964, and was 19 when she disappeared from Seattle in October 1983. Her NamUs record number is MP14132.

The King County Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information concerning the remaining Green River cases to contact investigators at 206-263-2130 or mcutips@kingcounty.gov.

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Four days after a 20-year-old Portland woman was last seen getting into her own car with an unidentified man, the vehicle turned up abandoned in the city. Winnefred Jeanette Freeman disappeared on May 8, 1968, and more than 58 years later, her case remains open in NamUs as MP65219.

Details from that day are sparse. The Charley Project reports that Winnefred was seen getting into her blue-and-white 1964 Chevrolet with a heavyset, middle-aged man. She was never heard from again. Her car was recovered in Portland on May 12.

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Her Family Was Seeking Answers In 1968

A newspaper notice published months after Winnefred vanished confirms her family publicly searched for her that same year.

A Sept. 27, 1968, clipping from The Oregonian, preserved in the Websleuths case archive, described Winnefred as a missing woman and said her parents were seeking information about their daughter or her “possible abductor.” According to the notice, Winnefred’s mother said she was last seen entering her Chevrolet with the unidentified man. Readers with information were directed to the Portland Police Bureau’s missing persons department.

The clipping identified her mother as Mrs. Isaac Harpole. Decades later, an obituary published by The Oregonian for Isaac S. Harpole Sr. listed “Winifred Freeman” among his daughters who had predeceased him. Official missing person databases, however, continue to list Winnefred as missing. The obituary also uses a different spelling of her first name.

School Records Add Pieces Of Winnefred’s Life

The photograph now circulating in Winnefred’s missing person case came from her 1965 Jefferson High School yearbook, according to The Charley Project.

Additional yearbook research shared through Websleuths found earlier photographs under the name Winnefred Harpole. One image identifies her at Girls Polytechnic High School, while Jefferson High School records from 1964 show her before the Freeman surname appeared in later records. One yearbook photograph also places her with a girls’ football team.

A 1963 Tektronix company publication provides another glimpse of her teenage years. It identified a Jefferson High School student named Winnefred Harpole among local students touring the company through Junior Achievement.

Those records offer more of Winnefred than the few lines that survived in her missing person file.

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Winnefred Jeanette Freeman: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Winnefred Jeanette Freeman stood 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed about 115 to 120 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes.

Her NamUs record number is MP65219. An archived NamUs listing gives her Portland Police Bureau agency case number as 20-680221.

The Portland Police Bureau currently directs non-emergency missing person information to its Missing Persons Unit at missing@police.portlandoregon.gov. The department’s non-emergency number is 503-823-3333.

In September 1968, Winnefred’s parents offered a $300 reward for information leading to her return or information about her possible abductor. The historical notice does not establish that the reward remains active today.

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• Case Number: 20-680221

• Agency: Portland Police Bureau

• Phone: (503) 823-0400

• Email: missing@police.portlandoregon.gov

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An abandoned vehicle near Atherton Road and Van Slyke Road became one of the few publicly known clues in the disappearance of a 38-year-old Flint Township woman. LaQuandra Shavonne Slater was last seen on Dec. 2, 2016, and nearly a decade later, investigators have not announced what happened to her. The Charley Project classifies her as an endangered missing person.

LaQuandra, known to family and friends as “Shay V,” was described by relatives as independent and outspoken. She also remained close to her family, regularly spending holidays with them and visiting her father for his birthday. When that contact suddenly stopped, her relatives knew something was wrong.

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Her Car Was Found Abandoned In Flint

Family members last heard from LaQuandra around the Thanksgiving holiday. WNEM reported that she was last seen in Flint Township on Dec. 2 and was reported missing six days later. Her vehicle was subsequently discovered abandoned near Atherton and Van Slyke roads in Flint.

Precisely what investigators found inside or around LaQuandra’s vehicle has not been publicly detailed. Her disappearance also remains short on a publicly released timeline showing where she had been, who last saw her, or the circumstances under which the vehicle was left behind.

Her cousin LaToya Brown told MLive in 2018 that she did not believe LaQuandra simply walked away.

“Somebody had to do something to her, take her somewhere,” Brown said.

LaToya described her cousin as someone who enjoyed socializing and being around relatives. She said disappearing without contacting them was out of character.

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Investigators Continue Seeking Information

Public appeals have continued despite no announced breakthrough. In August 2023, WNEM reported that Crime Stoppers of Flint & Genesee County was again asking anyone with information about LaQuandra to come forward.

Her case received additional attention in January 2025 when The Deck published an episode based in part on LaQuandra’s missing person case files from the Flint Township Police Department and a Flint Police Department field report. The program identified Flint Township Police Detective Lacey Lopez as a direct contact for information about the investigation.

LaQuandra Shavonne Slater: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, LaQuandra Shavonne Slater stood at 5 feet 4 inches and weighed between 178 and 200 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes. She had piercings in her cheek, lip, eyebrow, and ears.

LaQuandra has numerous tattoos, including dolphins and fish extending from her foot up her body, a portrait of her mother on an upper arm, a sun on one arm, seashells on her lower leg, and additional tattoos on her arms, legs, and neck. She goes by the nickname “Shay V” and may also go by Shavonne Kelly.

Anyone with information can contact the Flint Township Police Department at 810-600-3250. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Flint & Genesee County at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245).

Crime Stoppers continues to feature LaQuandra among its missing persons. In its 2023 appeal, WNEM reported a $2,500 reward for information leading to a felony arrest.

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• Case Number: 1639911672

• Agency: Flint Township Police Department

• Phone: (810) 600-3250

• Email:

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A version of this article was first published in 2018.

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An unfamiliar dark green car remains one of the central pieces in the disappearance of a 19-year-old who left behind her purse and money before vanishing from Montgomery, Alabama. LaQuanta Nachelle Riley was last seen around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2003, and her family has had no confirmed contact with her since. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency currently lists her case as active and classifies her disappearance as involuntary.

LaQuanta had graduated with honors from Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, in 2002. She enjoyed cooking and music, played clarinet in school, and had received a full college scholarship. According to The Charley Project, she wanted to study criminal justice and pursue a career in forensic science.

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The Green Car And LaQuanta’s Disappearance

Days before she vanished, LaQuanta had been living with a roommate in Eufaula, Alabama. She returned to the apartment on Dec. 5 to collect her belongings and later called her mother, Pamela Riley Boldin, upset and asking for a ride to Montgomery. Pam could not pick her up, so LaQuanta made other arrangements and went to stay with relatives on Hill Street.

Two nights later, LaQuanta left the Hill Street residence in a dark green four-door car, possibly a Ford Taurus or Chevrolet Caprice. The driver took her approximately three miles to her mother’s home, where LaQuanta went inside to get a jacket. Her younger brother did not recognize the vehicle and asked who was driving. LaQuanta told him it was a friend she had met around the neighborhood.

Her brother watched her return to the car. She never came back.

In a 2026 interview with WSFA, Pam said LaQuanta’s purse and personal belongings were left behind, and dinner remained on the stove. She believes those details show her daughter was expected to return home.

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A Voicemail And A Possible Georgia Lead

After LaQuanta disappeared, Pam received a voicemail from a crying woman she believes was her daughter. She told the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that the caller appeared to say either “leave me alone” or “I wanna go home.” Pam then heard a man say LaQuanta’s name before the call disconnected.

Another lead surfaced in Stone Mountain when LaQuanta’s name was reportedly used to rent an apartment. Pam traveled to the complex and showed a resident her daughter’s photograph. According to The Charley Project, the man said LaQuanta had lived down the hall and once came to his apartment asking to use the phone after an argument. He said she had moved out only days before Pam arrived.

The years since have also brought new images of what LaQuanta might look like today. In 2023, NCMEC released an age progression showing her at 39. Her current NCMEC missing person poster shows an age progression to 40.

Pam founded the Riley Relief Foundation in 2016 to support other families searching for missing children, and NCMEC reports that she has held annual candlelight vigils for LaQuanta since 2005.

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LaQuanta Riley: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, LaQuanta Riley stood at 5 feet 8 inches and weighed 200 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes. Her ears and tongue were pierced, and she wore a silver barbell in her tongue. She has a scar on her nose, “Rest in Peace Mesha” tattooed on her left arm, and “LaQuanta” tattooed on her right arm.

She was also reportedly wearing a yellow-and-green Ecko shirt, stonewashed blue jeans, green-and-yellow Reebok sneakers, and a silver chain bracelet. Her nicknames include Quanna and Quanta.

LaQuanta’s Montgomery Police Department case number is 03-031950, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Her NCMEC record is 1083814. NCMEC also lists NamUs #5277 and NCIC #M983710810.

Anyone with information can contact Montgomery Police Department Homicide at (334) 241-2651 or NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

The current CrimeStoppers 215-STOP listing shows $15,000 in combined rewards from the City of Montgomery, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, and Central Alabama CrimeStoppers. However, WSFA reported in April 2026 that another $5,000 had been added, bringing the total reward to $20,000.

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• Case Number: 031950

• Agency: Montgomery Police Department

• Phone: (334) 625-2810

• Email:

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A version of this article was first published in 2019.

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A face can now be placed with a missing person case that spent decades without a publicly available photograph. In March 2026, a contributor following Katrina Ashford’s disappearance reported that school photograph researchers had previously located photos and added them to her NamUs profile. The images appear to show Katrina as a student years before she disappeared from Northern California in 1972.

The development does not answer what happened to her. Katrina remains missing, and the publicly available record surrounding her disappearance is still limited.

She was last seen by her parents in San Rafael, California, on July 11, 1972. Her vehicle was recovered in Marin County three days later, on July 14.

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School Photos Put A Face To Katrina’s Case

When Our Black Girls first covered Katrina’s disappearance in 2019, no publicly available photograph of her could be located. That changed after researchers searching historical records found school images associated with Katrina.

Acalanes High School alumni records list a Katrina among the school’s Class of 1969 in Lafayette, California. Researchers have also cited yearbook material from West Campus Junior High School.

The Doe Network added Katrina to its missing person database in October 2025. Its listing currently identifies the status of her dental records, fingerprints, and DNA as unknown.

No further publicly released information explains where Katrina may have gone after she was last seen or how her vehicle was recovered.

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Katrina Ashford: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Katrina Ashford was either 5 feet 0 inches or 5 feet 7 inches tall, depending on the public record, and weighed about 130 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes. Current public listings identify Katrina as 18 years old when she disappeared, although older records listed her as 19.

Anyone with information about Katrina’s disappearance can contact the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division at (415) 473-7265. The Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number is (415) 479-2311.

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• Case Number: 72-6389

• Agency: Marin County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division

• Phone: (415) 473-7265

• Email:

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A version of this article was first published in 2021.

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A white mob abducted a Black woman from her home near Columbus, Mississippi, after authorities failed to find the son they had accused of burning a local man’s barn. Cordella Stevenson had already spent days in custody over the accusation before the violence reached her doorstep.

The barn belonged to a white man identified in historical accounts as Gabe Frank or G.C. Franks. After it burned in 1915, suspicion fell on Cordella and Arch Stevenson’s son despite Cordella insisting that he had left the area months earlier. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, there was no evidence tying him to the fire. Nevertheless, authorities detained his parents and questioned them about where he might be. The couple was eventually released when police concluded their son was not responsible.

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That did not end the retaliation. Reporting later examined by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and AFRO shows that The Chicago Defender covered the case within days, describing how suspicion had shifted toward the Stevenson family after efforts to identify the person who burned the barn failed.

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A White Mob Took Cordella From Her Home

On the night of December 8, 1915, a group of white men forced their way into the Stevenson home in the New Hope area near Columbus. The mob threatened Arch with rifles before taking Cordella away. Arch managed to escape while shots were fired toward him and made his way into Columbus. Contemporary reporting said he told others what had happened before leaving for an unknown destination. What became of him afterward is unclear.

Cordella was sexually assaulted and lynched. Her unclothed body was found hanging from a tree near the Mobile and Ohio Railroad on December 9, visible to passengers traveling through the area. The Equal Justice Initiative identifies her killing as one of at least 20 documented racial-terror lynchings in Lowndes County.

Even after Cordella was found, there was no immediate removal of her body. Historical reporting states that the justice of the peace responsible for conducting the inquest was out of town, leaving her hanging until he returned. The eventual jury verdict said Cordella had died at the hands of “persons unknown.” No one was arrested or prosecuted for her murder.

More than a century later, Cordella remains among the documented victims of racial-terror lynching in Mississippi. Her name is included in the Mississippi Lynching Victims Memorial maintained by America’s Black Holocaust Museum.

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A version of this article was first published in 2020.

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Afro.com

Nearly nine years have passed without an arrest in the hit-and-run that killed Akeera Shanks. The 29-year-old was walking along 40th Street Southwest in Lehigh Acres sometime between the late hours of October 21 and the early morning of October 22, 2017, when an unknown driver struck her and continued without stopping. Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers still lists the case as open.

Akeera had been with her ex-boyfriend earlier that night, then decided to walk home after an argument. Her older sister, Tiana Anda, later said Akeera called their mother that evening. When the family could no longer reach her, her mother drove through the area looking for her and repeatedly called her phone. She did not yet know that Akeera was already lying along the road.

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Around noon on October 22, a bicyclist discovered Akeera facedown near 40th Street Southwest and Rena Avenue South. Investigators determined that she had been struck hours earlier and left there for at least half a day. Authorities said the vehicle likely sustained front-end damage, but no description specific enough to identify the driver was released.

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Investigators Still Need The Driver’s Identity

Detectives received several leads in the early stages of the investigation, but none resulted in an arrest. Crime Stoppers later said investigators had reached a holding pattern and believed someone in the community likely knew who was responsible. Coordinator Trish Routte said there was a “strong likelihood” the driver lived, or had lived, in the Lehigh Acres area.

Akeera’s family continued trying to keep her case visible as the years passed. They worked toward placing a pink memorial bench near the intersection where she was killed, with the hope that children waiting for the school bus there would have a safer place to stand. The tribute also kept Akeera’s name connected to the stretch of road where her life ended.

The reward for information in Akeera’s case has since increased. Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers now offers up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest. Tips can be submitted anonymously, and the organization continues to list Akeera as one of its unsolved homicide cases.

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Akeera Shanks: What To Know

Anyone with information about the driver who struck Akeera should contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477). Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office can also be reached at 239-477-1000.

Please share this story about Akeera Shanks to continue bringing attention to her unsolved case. She is our sister, and her life matters.

• Case Number:

• Agency: Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers

• Phone: 1-800-780-TIPS (8477)

• Email:

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A version of this article was first published in 2020.

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Project Cold Case
Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers
Cape Coral Breeze

A life sentence answered who was responsible for abducting Typhenie Kae Johnson, but it did not answer where she was taken. The 25-year-old disappeared from the Post Oak East Apartments in Euless, Texas, on October 10, 2016, after stepping outside to speak with her former boyfriend, Christopher Revill. The Texas Department of Public Safety still classifies Typhenie’s disappearance as involuntary.

Typhenie and Revill had dated for several months before breaking up that August. According to testimony later summarized by the Texas Second Court of Appeals, relatives described Revill as jealous and controlling during the relationship. Typhenie’s mother testified that her daughter had complained about him grabbing her during arguments and said he once threatened that if he could not have Typhenie, no one could.

On the night she vanished, Typhenie planned to cook dinner for a man she had recently begun talking to. Revill was already at the apartment visiting her twin brother, Asher, and later followed Typhenie downstairs after she discovered a problem with her car. Asher eventually heard the former couple talking near the side of the building. Revill later returned upstairs alone and claimed Typhenie had left with a man who was going to help repair her vehicle.

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When Typhenie failed to return, Asher went looking for her. Her car keys were sitting on the roof of her vehicle. Near a grassy area behind the building, he saw Revill’s car backed over a curb with its trunk open. Revill drove away before Asher could determine what he was doing. Typhenie’s cellphone and one of her black socks were found where Revill had been parked.

Police told Revill to return to the apartment complex, but the trip took far longer than expected. Asher estimated Revill was gone for about 90 minutes. When he returned, officers described him as sweaty and out of breath despite the cool October night. Investigators later determined that his phone had traveled toward his mother’s home during the period he was gone.

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Christopher Revill Was Convicted Without Typhenie Being Found

Evidence recovered the next morning strengthened the case against Revill. At his mother’s home, investigators found clothing that could be tied to Typhenie, including a camisole and a damaged bra. DNA recovered from both was consistent with hers. Shoe impressions in the yard were also consistent with the distinctive soles of Revill’s shoes.

Investigators never recovered Typhenie’s body, but prosecutors moved forward with an aggravated kidnapping case. In August 2019, a Tarrant County jury found Revill guilty of abducting Typhenie with the intent to terrorize her. Because of his criminal history, the court sentenced him to life in prison. In 2021, the Texas Second Court of Appeals upheld the conviction, finding that the accumulated circumstantial evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict.

Revill’s name had surfaced years earlier in another disappearance. Taalibah Fatin Bint Islam, with whom he shared a child, vanished from Fort Worth in 2006. Her remains were discovered in March 2023 and identified that June. Fort Worth Police previously said they had found no evidence linking Revill to Islam’s disappearance, and he has not been charged in her case.

Typhenie’s case has remained active even with Revill behind bars. In 2025, CBS Texas revisited the unexplained 90-minute window after he left her apartment complex. Searchers were still combing North Texas for Typhenie in 2026, and the Fort Worth Police Department continues to list her among its unresolved missing person cases.

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Typhenie Johnson: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Typhenie Johnson stood at 5 feet 4 inches and weighed approximately 135 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She also has scars on her chin and forehead. The Texas DPS bulletin notes tattoos on her shoulder, foot, and wrist. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt with black-and-white pants. Her missing-person case number is M1611001.

Anyone with information about Typhenie’s whereabouts can contact the Fort Worth Police Department at 817-392-4442 or the Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-3243.

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• Case Number: M1611001

• Agency: Fort Worth Police Department

• Phone: 817-392-4442

• Email:

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A version of this article was first published in 2020.

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A case that spent years without a body finally reached a major legal turning point in 2025. Marvin Bailey, who had been charged with killing 43-year-old Chaunti Bryla after she disappeared from Chicago in March 2019, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. His original first-degree murder charge was amended as part of the plea. Chaunti’s remains have still never been recovered.

Chaunti had been staying with her aunt before returning to her home near 85th Street and Bennett Avenue. Prosecutors said her regular cab driver picked her up on March 15, 2019, took her to a liquor store, then dropped her back at home. Surveillance showed Chaunti using her own ATM card that afternoon. Later that same day, Bailey was recorded withdrawing money from her account.

Bailey was the half-brother of Chaunti’s 10-year-old son and had recently been living in her apartment after being paroled. Prosecutors said Chaunti told him to leave following a dispute involving his girlfriend. Within weeks, she was gone. Bailey had previously served prison time for aggravated battery after attacking a girlfriend with a hammer and setting her on fire.

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Investigators Traced A Blue Bin Across Chicago

Surveillance footage, rideshare records, and financial trail allowed investigators to follow Bailey’s movements after Chaunti disappeared. He and another person were recorded buying items, including bungee cords and a dolly, using money withdrawn from Chaunti’s account. On March 16, the pair were seen removing a large blue container from her apartment and eventually placing it inside Bailey’s van.

Police briefly stopped Bailey and the other person the following day after finding the van in a vacant lot. According to prosecutors, the men said they were headed to Home Depot to buy a chainsaw. They were released without the vehicle being searched. Bailey later took the blue bin to the King’s Inn in Calumet Park, where a Lyft driver said he described its contents as “his meats.” Surveillance eventually captured Bailey leaving the container behind a nearby strip mall.

When investigators recovered the bin, testing found DNA matching Chaunti inside. Authorities also reported finding blood evidence in her apartment, Bailey’s van, and the motel room he had occupied. A cadaver dog alerted to the alley where the container had been discarded. Police searched an Indiana landfill where trash from the area had been taken, but Chaunti was not found.

Bailey was arrested in November 2019 and initially charged with first-degree murder. Nearly six years later, his guilty plea gave the case a legal resolution that Chaunti’s family had waited years to see, but it did not answer the question of where her remains were taken.

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Chaunti Bryla: What To Know

At the time of her disappearance, Chaunti Bryla stood at 5 feet 2 inches and weighed approximately 200 to 210 pounds. She had brown hair and brown eyes and suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office still lists her under missing-person case no. MP56743.

Anyone with information that could help locate Chaunti’s remains can contact the Chicago Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 312-747-5789 or the Cook County Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit at 773-674-9490.

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• Case Number: MP56743

• Agency: Cook County Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit

• Phone: 773-674-9490

• Email:

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A version of this article was first published in 2020.

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