Bilial Hammette was 18 when he was last seen in Beloit, Wisconsin, on August 6, 2011. That morning and early afternoon he ran errands with his mother and they shared a heartfelt conversation outside their home; he mentioned plans to go fishing and tried to arrange friends to join him. Later that afternoon a black vehicle of unknown make and model picked him up outside the house. Friends did not recognize the vehicle, and Bilial did not have a phone or his own transportation, so he had used a friend’s phone earlier to call for a ride.

Days passed without contact and his mother reported him missing on August 12. By then investigators faced few electronic leads — no phone, no bank account — and the lack of records has made the investigation difficult. Bilial had recently earned his GED and been accepted into the Madison Media Institute to pursue music, making his disappearance out of character according to family and friends. His family continues to seek answers and asks anyone with information to come forward.