I can’t imagine not knowing where one of my loved ones was, and not knowing for years would be heartbreaking and devastating, but that is the reality for many people every day. They just want to know where their family or friend went. I am always looking at missing persons cases; they are always a mystery. I hope that sharing these cases in hope it will reach someone who can help these families get the closure they need and deserve.

Trigger Warning, the details in the case are very disturbing. There are mentions of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and possible murder. I do detail what happened with the abuse, so if this is a trigger, please be warned, I will not go into too many details, but it still needs to be mentioned.

Randi was a three-year-old when he disappeared; he was last seen between 11:30pm on February 15, 1992, and 12:30am on February 16, 1992. He was wrapped in a blanket on the floor, asleep of his home at the 300 Block of East Rochelle Avenue in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was an adult guest passed out on the couch. Other sources say he passed out when they returned home. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants with a blue diamond pattern on the knees, with no shoes. He was left by this father and stepmother who went to a local casino with a group of friends as they were celebrating as it was the father’s birthday party. The family believes he was kidnapped, but Law enforcement believed that the family had something to do with Randi’s disappearance until a few years ago.

When the stepmother returned at 3:00am, it was discovered that Randi was missing. When the father was told, he had to be dragged out of bed. This seems to be a point for many people, but he did just get done partying, and it is hard for some people to get out of bed. I am one of those people. There was an extensive search of the surrounding area but turned up nothing. It was said that the parents (when I refer to parents, I do mean the father and stepmother) did not participate. Still, it could be because they I believe had just got done partying and might not been able to search. So, I think a lot of people use these two things to point out guilt; it’s not evidence and doesn’t mean much.

The investigation seemed to immediately focus on the parents. Randi’s mom, who had custody at the time of his disappearance, said in 2017 criticized law enforcement for that and that their investigation was trying to indict the parents. It was noted that the parent was cooperative until law enforcement seemed to only focus on them like they were involved. That is when they stopped cooperating, as they should. They did fail a polygraph after at first refusing one, but polygraphs aren’t relatable, and they are junk science; that’s why they don’t allow them in court.

There was a grand jury where the parents did not testify, but there were no charges. There never seemed to be any evidence, and it seemed like law enforcement just didn’t want to be wrong. The parents had another son and then divorced in 1997. The father passed away in 2014 before finding out what happened to his son. The mom and stepmother keep some contact on Facebook, and law enforcement now believes that the family was not involved. Randi would be 32 today. He had a scar near his left eye and had tubes inserted in his ears due to his inner ear inflections and equilibrium.
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Relisha was eight years old; the last time she was seen alive was on March 01, 2014, with Khalil walking to a room in a Days Inn on New York Avenue in D.C. In late February, Relisha’s mom asked Khalil to take care of Relisha. The shelter they were staying in was horrible, and Relisha didn’t like being there. Khalil was a janitor who worked at the shelter who gave Relisha gifts, which included a tablet, Disney on ice tickets, manicures, and spent time with her. He also gave gifts to other young girls in the shelter.

At that time, she did not attend school, so after too many unexcused absences, the school reported it to Children and Family Services Agency (CFSA) for educational neglect. On March 19, a social worker, after being put off a lot by Relisha’s mom and “Dr. Tatum,” scheduled a meeting with Khalil at the shelter, but he never showed up. When the social worker was told that he was a janitor and not a doctor and immediately contacted law enforcement.

When law enforcement asked Relisha’s mother where she was, she told them that she was with “Dr. Tatum” at a medical conference in Atlanta, Georgia and that she had just spoken with her as recently as March 17. While Relisha’s grandmother and aunt said, they had spoken with her twice that morning. This was when law enforcement started a missing persons investigation. This is when law enforcement found out that he was unreachable by phone; as he turned it off as it was never turned back on. Relisha’s relatives found out that no one was at his apartment on Hayes Street.

The next day Khalil’s wife was found with a gunshot to the head in a hotel room in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Investigators believe that she was killed the night before or early that morning. While those close to them said they had a happy marriage, but his wife filed for divorce. On March 02, 2014, Khalil was last seen on video purchasing a shovel, lime, and 42lb trash bags. This was when law enforcement started to believe that he had killed her. On March 31, 2014, at Kenilworth and Aquatic Gardens in DC, they found Khalil with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. It was the same gun he used to kill his wife. Relisha was nowhere to be found.

Relisha’s mother, grandmother, and many of their relatives grew up in foster care and lived in poverty and not in good conditions. Many articles and people you see discussing this case see a lot of classism and racism. I do believe that Relisha’s mother and family loved her, but they just didn’t know how to take care of her and her siblings. Khalil took advantage of their situation; he knew they weren’t in the best position and took advantage of that. Relisha’s mother believed him to be a friend she could trust, and that was what he wanted. There was a lot of neglect due to poverty. Due to the disappearance of Relisha, her mother and stepfather lost custody of her brothers. Before her disappearance, her father did try to get custody of her and her brother (the two younger brothers were half brothers) but was only allowed visitation. I can only assume it is because he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 1992 of his 17-month-old daughter.

There was a grand jury for Relisha’s mother on possible obstruction charges, but no indictment was issued. She was cleared of any involvement in her daughter’s disappearance. Relisha’s mother, grandmother, and stepfather were on the Steve Wilkos show. The grandmother and stepfather did a polygraph, but her mother did not. She got mocked and booed by both the audience and Steve. Still, they never should have allowed her on the show, knowing she had an intellectual disability and other disorders. So, again I don’t think any stock in polygraphs, and understanding her situation, it was not ethical.

The shelter failed the family and many others. The place was not livable, there was no hot water, roaches everywhere, raccoon infestation, the infrastructure was falling apart, not clean, etc. The shelter was also set up to have up to 270 families but had over 1000 people. Khalil should have never been hired due to his felonies, and a simple background check should have cleared that up. Then knowing he was fraternizing with the residents, he should have been fired as there was a no-fraternization policy. The staff was also supposed to do bed checks daily to account for everyone. Yet, it never accounted for when Relisha or her brothers weren’t there.

There has been no new evidence in Relisha’s case, despite many searches for her. Law enforcement who worked her case believed that she had been murdered, her family believed she is alive. She would be 15 today.
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Courtney was 26 years old on her last known sighting on July 01, 2018. The neighbors remember seeing her during July (no date specified), trying to leave the home of her adopted mother Judy and adopted brother Joshua in Spokane, Washington. This is the only time I will refer to them as mother/brother/family because it is clear they weren’t that for her. Courtney was carrying a duffle bag as Judy ran after her. The neighbors heard her saying, “I’m not staying here anymore.” That was when Joshua picked her up and forced her back inside the house.

During the same month, in the middle of the night, Joshua was seen by neighbors setting up a spotlight and building a swing set.

It wasn’t until October 08, 2019, that Courtney was reported missing. Not by Judy or Joshua, though, but by her son’s father’s girlfriend, when she hadn’t been seen for over a year and a half. When the police did a welfare check, Joshua would tell them that she had run away with a boyfriend and her child. Courtney had full custody of her son. His father had been dealing with substance abuse and some type of emergency about another one of his children. So, this isn’t a typical situation where the father or girl would see them regularly.

The same day of the missing persons report, first Joshua and Judy took $600 out of Courtney’s bank account, second Courtney’s adopted sister (I don’t have a name for her) called the tip line where she impersonated Courtney. Then the next thing that was known to happen on that day was that Joshua and Judy were caught on security cameras shopping with Courtney’s foot stamps and her son. They also had a visit from investigators. Neither would cooperate and said that Courtney had left on foot with her son a few days before.

The next day the son’s father’s girlfriend told law enforcement that she would see the son every time she would go to Judy and Joshua’s home.

Two days after, Judy allowed detectives to come into the residence. Still, it was reported that she acted nervously and became alarmed and unsettled when she lost sight of them. The conditions of her home were said to be tremendously disheveled, sloppy, and untidy. While Courtney’s room seemed like no one was living in it, the bed was bare. Law enforcement was not allowed to enter Courtney’s nor her son’s room and was not there for very long.

When law enforcement executed a search warrant on the home on October 24, 2019, both Judy nor Joshua was found. Neither was Courtney’s son, their pets, or security footage. 82 pieces of evidence were collected during the search, including ID cards, computers, multiple cell phones, blackmail notes, and Courtney’s diary.

In November 2019, Joshua and Judy’s current cell phones were deactivated, and new ones were activated with Texas area codes. Which gave law enforcement a big clue where they would be found. During this time, the adopted sister and her husband came to check on the residence. When asked about Courtney’s son, they gave different stories.

About a month later, on December 19. 2019 the three of them were found at the adopted sister’s house in Plano, Texas, and Joshua and Judy were arrested. The son was reunited with his father, and both Judy and Joshua were charged with custodial interference and identity theft.

More facts about this case were that Courtney was not allowed to have her own cell phone, social media, or car. There were security cameras that were set up outside of the home. Keeping Courtney isolated. They would call her Cindy, short for Cinderella because they expected her to be their household servant.

Family members also commented that it was normal for Courtney’s son to call Judy mom and Joshua daddy. They both called him Forest, which was not his name. Which shows a very disturbing family dynamic. A former foster youth of the family stayed that Judy and her husband took in children for money and abused those in their care. He said that his brother was treated like a dog, and the mental trauma of what happened still haunts him. Neighbors also said that Courtney had told them how afraid she was of Joshua many times. One noticed signs of physical abuse.

Friends and family all said that Joshua was known to be violent, angry, unpredictable, and for showing volatile behavior. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had an extensive history with police, including unlawful imprisonment, domestic violence, burglary, and was accused of rape twice. In the second rape case, law enforcement was in the middle of getting the DNA evidence, both the victim stopped cooperating. Family also said that he told them that it would be easy for him to kill someone and hide the body.

Courtney’s biological brother’s girlfriend shared a first name with her, so Joshua would call her by a different name when they were in the home, claiming that the two Courtney’s sharing a name would upset the son. Which shouldn’t be a problem at all if Courtney’s son wasn’t forced to call the wrong woman mom. Anytime that anyone would ask about where Courtney was, both Judy and Joshua would give many different stories. Her brother said that the last time he saw his sister, she had a black eye.

Police have not been able to find any evidence that would help them locate Courtney and believe her to be deceased. The father of her son also thinks this. They also are not charging any of the other families besides Judy and Joshua. Courtney was described as a loving mother who would have never left her child. As of April 27, 2021, both Judy and Joshua are no longer in prison and have not been charged with murder. Judy plead guilty to second-degree custodial interference. Joshua also had the same charge plus criminal mischief and plead guilty. She would be 30 today.
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Alexis was 29 when she was last seen by her boyfriend/the father of her youngest child on January 30, 2022, at the 7-Eleven gas convenience store in Anderson, South Carolina. She dropped both of her children off with him and, according to him, had planned on following him back to his mother’s house before going to her mother’s home. However, after the exchange, she got into her vehicle and shot around him at a high speed, and made a quick right at the red. Security cameras seems to confirm this. The boyfriend tried to reach her, but when he was unable to, he called her mother, who also tried to reach her but only got her voicemail.

Early that day, she spoke to her mother around three, and because the call was on video, her mother saw her lying on her bed and taking a nap. Then I’m not sure if this happened before or after the three o’clock phone call. Still, Alexis called her mother and the police about a black truck that had been sitting outside of her apartment.

During the weekend before her disappearance, her mother said that Alexis was not acting as she usually would. She told her mother that she didn’t think that she would make it to her next birthday. She had not done anything to get ready for her birthday when she would have had everything down to her shoes already planned out in past years. She told her mother that she was being followed and cried a lot. So, her mother knew something was going on.

A few days after her last sighting, Alexis’s red honda accord was found 30 miles south of Anderson, in McCormick, on a rural road covered with mud. Her belongings, from her cell phone to her oldest child’s cell phone, purse, and ID, were found in the car. There was also a bag of clothes found in the truck, and her black bonnet was found on the ground. She had no friends, family, or ties to the area. There was a 200-acre grid search done, but that came up with nothing. There had been many more searches, interviews with family and friends, and search warrants obtained, but interviews checked out, and so far, nothing was found. There were also searches done with TSA, hospitals, and coroner’s office, but that came up with nothing.

The family has done their own searches. Alexis’s brothers have been using his own platform and got a PI to help. Law enforcement said that Alexis’s car had traveled well before ending up in McCormick. It was seen at an apartment in Anderson, but they couldn’t tell from the outgoing camera if she was driving or not. The car also made its way to Augusta, Georgia.

Alexis had a large client base who would travel to have her do their hair and a large social media following as she wanted to be an Instagram model. She loved fashion and makeup and would have never left her children for this long. Her mother never went two days without talking to her. One of her brothers called her supportive and encouraging. She was last seen wearing a black bonnet, black jacket, purple shirt, blue jeans, and black crocs. Anderson County requests FBI assistance as of March 02. Her thirtieth birthday came and passed on the eleventh.
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The first two cases received decent coverage when they happened, but the last two have not, and I always try to make it a point to bring awareness to missing BIPOC because they don’t get enough coverage. While Randi, was the only non-BIPOC there is something about this case that reminds me of something personal to me that is hard to share, and we would be close to the same age. Let know if you have any cases that you think about also.

I don’t normally do this but I really want to share two friend’s websites because I think they are amazing. In no order, the first is Kayla at Love Blush and Prism at Prism Snow. I hope everyone loves them as much as I do, and I also hope you didn’t cry for hours over a cartoon like I just did. 😀