A period of months in 2016 remains unaccounted for in the disappearance of Ameera Deadrick, a Houston child whose family has been searching for answers for nearly a decade. Investigators know Ameera appeared in a Facebook video around April 1, 2016, apparently filmed at a Chuck E. Cheese in the Houston area.
What happened to her afterward has never been established. Her father later claimed that he left the little girl with a woman known as “Linda” or “Tootie” near Hubbard, Texas, months after that video was recorded, but authorities have never been able to verify the woman’s identity or even confirm that she existed.
Our Black Girls is an independent, reader-supported publication. If you believe in amplifying the stories of missing Black women and girls, please consider making a direct gift through PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee, or by subscribing here.
Custody Dispute
The uncertainty surrounding Ameera’s disappearance began years earlier with a custody dispute between her parents. Her mother, Tiara McWilliams, moved with Ameera to Wisconsin shortly after the child was born. In 2013, McWilliams allowed Ameera to spend the summer in Houston with her father, Anthony Deadrick, and his girlfriend.
According to accounts later provided by McWilliams, Anthony refused to return their daughter at the end of the visit. McWilliams traveled to Houston in the spring of 2014 hoping to bring Ameera home herself, but Anthony again refused. Because the parents did not have a formal custody agreement, law enforcement reportedly would not intervene.
McWilliams continued to have contact with her daughter for a time, but by the summer of 2016, communication with Ameera, Anthony, and his girlfriend had stopped. Months later, McWilliams learned that Anthony had been arrested on unrelated charges in November 2016 and had already been incarcerated for some time. That raised an immediate question that has never been satisfactorily answered. If Ameera was no longer with her father, where was she?
Questionable Timelines & Facts
Authorities eventually questioned Anthony about his daughter’s whereabouts. He said that on November 14, 2016, he left Ameera with a woman he knew as “Linda,” also known as “Tootie,” in the Hubbard area. Investigators were told the woman may have lived in Waco and possibly worked in healthcare. Another account placed her at the Bordeaux Apartments in Waco.
However, the address Anthony provided did not lead investigators to anyone matching the description, and authorities have never publicly confirmed that they found Linda or Tootie. Anthony has since been released from prison and, according to investigators, has continued to maintain that he gave Ameera to the woman.
That timeline explains why databases have carried different disappearance dates over the years. The FBI lists the April 1, 2016 Facebook video as Ameera’s last documented sighting, while other missing-person organizations have used dates later in 2016 to reflect when contact ceased or when she was allegedly transferred to another adult. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has described Ameera as eight years old when she vanished. The FBI lists her as seven at the time of the April video, consistent with her October 1, 2008 birth date. Rather than evidence that several different versions of the case exist, the conflicting dates reflect how little investigators can independently verify about Ameera’s final months.
The Search For Ameera Has Continued
The search has continued well beyond the initial missing-person report. In November 2021, the Texas Attorney General’s Office joined an operation in Hubbard involving approximately 60 investigators and a search of roughly 10 acres. The agency said investigators recovered evidence that could potentially provide additional information about Ameera’s disappearance, although no public announcement has established that the search determined what happened to her. Her case also remains listed in the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, and investigators continue to ask the public for information.
Ameera’s case has also received renewed public attention through billboards, television coverage and an age-progression image created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Her mother has continued searching for her daughter and pleading for someone with information to come forward. In 2023, Texas Attorney General investigator Sgt. Tony Carter said the investigation remained active and that authorities had followed every tip received.
Ameera Deadrick: What To Know
At the time she disappeared, Ameera was approximately 4 feet to 4 feet 3 inches tall, weighed about 50 pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes. Her clothing at the time of her disappearance is unknown.
Anyone with information about Ameera Deadrick, the circumstances of her disappearance, or a woman known as Linda or “Tootie” who may have lived in the Waco area is urged to contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.
NCMEC has also directed tips to the Texas Attorney General’s Office at 512-936-1673 (case No. CX6437932788). The Houston Police Department can be reached at 713-884-3131, the Waco Police Department at 254-750-7500, and the Janesville Police Department at (608) 755-3100 (case No. JV1921536).
Please share Ameera Deadrick’s story and help keep attention on her disappearance. She is our sister, and her life matters.
Case Number: CX6437932788, JV1921536
Agency: Texas Attorney General’s Office
Phone: 12-936-1673
Email:
Join the Our Black Girls conversations on Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok. Stay updated on the latest cases, developments, messages from survivors, and much more.