Elayjah Murray, an 18-year-old nursing student at Missouri State University, disappeared from Independence, Missouri, on Friday, November 28, 2025, while home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Family reported her missing the morning of November 28 after she failed to return as expected. A tip to investigators suggested she may have been shot in Independence, which led detectives to search into neighboring Kansas City.

On Saturday, November 29, 2025, officers located Elayjah’s body in a wooded area near 87th Street and Blue River Road in South Kansas City. Law enforcement classified the death as a homicide. Elayjah was remembered as a scholar and athlete from William Chrisman High School who had plans to buy a home and travel.

By early December 2025 investigators had identified 28-year-old Eric Phillips II as a suspect and released descriptions seeking the public’s help in locating him; no arrests were reported in the initial accounts. If anyone knew Elayjah, her movements that weekend, or information about Eric Phillips II, please share what you know with investigators.