Samantha Nicole Burns was 19 when she disappeared on the evening of November 11, 2002. A student at Marshall University’s Community and Technical College, she was last seen at her part-time shift at the Huntington Mall in Barboursville about 6:30 p.m., and phoned her mother at roughly 9:45 p.m. saying she was at the Marshall Court Yard Apartments and heading home to East Hamlin. Her cell phone was later found turned off and she never returned home.

In the early morning of November 12 her 1999 burgundy Chevrolet Cavalier was discovered burning in a secluded area on German Ridge and Haneys Branch Roads near the Cabell–Wayne county line; Samantha was not at the scene. West Virginia State Police led the investigation, and attention soon focused on two escapees from a Hopkins County, Kentucky jail, Chadwick E. Fulks and Branden L. Basham, who were linked to a multi-state crime spree. Prosecutors say the men carjacked and abducted Samantha, used her bank cards at ATMs while holding her at gunpoint, and killed her; both later pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to the carjacking that resulted in her death. Her body has not been recovered despite repeated searches, including one in 2013 prompted by a lead.

If anyone knew Samantha, saw her car after November 11, 2002, or has information about her disappearance or possible burial sites, please come forward.