On June 21, 2007, eleven-year-old Haleigh Culwell and her mother, 36-year-old Kimberly Whitton, vanished from their secluded log cabin on a 40-acre property in Section, Alabama. The home was reached by a long driveway with two locked gates. Kimberly had gone to Cloverdale Manor Nursing Home earlier that day to pick up papers and made a brief phone call on her way home, promising to call back in five minutes; that call was never made and the pair were reported missing by coworkers on June 28 when they failed to show up for work.

Investigators quickly focused on Kimberly’s husband and Haleigh’s stepfather, Barry Whitton. He told authorities Kimberly and Haleigh had left in a white Ford van or truck after Kimberly returned and that he had given her $20,000 in cash; people who knew mother and daughter said such a departure would have been out of character. Searches of the property turned up illegal firearms, and Whitton was later convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to ten years. He had a criminal history, and his first wife, Michelle Townsend Whitton, disappeared in late 1997 and was later found beaten and stabbed to death.

Foul play is strongly suspected in Kimberly and Haleigh’s disappearance, but no charges have been filed in their case. Does anyone who knew Kimberly, Haleigh, or the family have information that could help resolve what happened?