Alisha Smiley, 3: Last Seen In Atlanta In 1995 Sitting On A Bench

Her aunt went to make a purchase nearby & when she returned, Alisha was gone.

Some parents and guardians can share testimony about taking their eyes off their children for but a brief moment. Then, when they look back, the child is gone. These stories often result in a frantic adult finding the missing child, whether wandering in a department store or straying beyond the playground boundary. However, the family of Alisha Smiley continues to seek answers to this decades-old mystery.

It was reportedly about 1:45 p.m. on June 6, 1985, when three-year-old Alisha Smiley was shopping with her aunt, Estella Evans, and Alisha's four-year-old cousin, Andrew. Estella and her husband had often cared for Alisha since the little girl was born in Birmingham, Alabama. They took her in, on and off, because Alisha's parents weren't able to provide for her as college students. By this time, Alisha had lived with Estella for about seven or eight months.