Jhessye Shockley was five when she disappeared from a Glendale, Arizona, apartment in the fall of 2011. On October 11 her mother, Jerice Hunter, reported Jhessye had wandered away while left at home with older siblings; Hunter returned to find the front door open and the child missing. An Amber Alert was issued and searches followed; Jhessye was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jean shorts, and pink sandals.

Investigators uncovered troubling allegations of long-term abuse. Police learned Jhessye had missed kindergarten for weeks, and an older sister told investigators Hunter had kept the child in a closet and that Jhessye had cuts, bruises, and black eyes. Hunter was arrested on felony child abuse six weeks after the disappearance; authorities concluded Jhessye likely had been killed days or weeks before the 911 call. A months-long search of the Butterfield Station Landfill in Tempe produced no remains.

Jerice Hunter was later charged with first-degree murder and child abuse, and ultimately convicted and sentenced, but Jhessye’s body has never been found.