Transcript
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The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.
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All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.
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Listener discretion is advised.
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I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.
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And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.
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And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases.
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And missing person cases.
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Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing.
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I'm your host, Ali.
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And I'm your co-host, Eli.
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Welcome back everyone.
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Thank you so much for hanging with us.
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Last week it was the 4th of July here in the U.S. of A. And every time we sat down to record,
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fireworks would start going off in our neighborhood.
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But we're back this week and we are, I still can't believe it, being in the 90s like numbers
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wise for episodes.
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But we are on episode 94.
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Yep, episode 94 and this is a missing person case.
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Alrighty, let's get into it.
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So just as a quick content warning at the top, this case does involve a young person.
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Today we are talking about the missing person case of Shy’Kemmia Pate.
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And this takes place in Unidilla, Georgia in September of 1998.
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But first, a little bit about Shy’Kemmia.
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Shy’Kemmia, or ShyShy as she was known to her family and friends, so you'll hear
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me call her both throughout the podcast.
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She's only 8 years old in 1998.
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She had just started 3rd grade at Unidilla Elementary School.
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ShyShy is a tough little girl.
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She has severe asthma at this time that required her to have at home breathing treatments.
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She had an underdeveloped kidney and a weak bladder.
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At this time in 1998 she had to wear pull up diapers due to the weak bladder, otherwise
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she would have had to use the bathroom every 10 to 15 minutes.
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ShyShy also wore a brace on her leg due to a displaced kneecap.
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Her little body was working hard, which often left her feeling tired.
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Despite all of this, she is a joyful, happy, and outgoing child.
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She loves skating and fashion.
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Her family was involved in their local church and ShyShy sang in the choir.
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The family live in a close community.
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The neighborhood is often buzzing with people, folks sitting outside playing card games,
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kids running around playing.
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The family lived across the street from the Roxy Club.
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A nightclub where people often spent time out on the porch drinking and playing games.
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The Roxy Club tended to bring a rougher crowd.
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Down the line, the Roxy Club will be shut down when the owners are shot and killed in
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a robbery.
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In 1998, Shy’Kemmia is 4 foot, 4 inches, 59 pounds, and wore her hair in long braids with
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curls in the front.
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She had about 12 golden beads in her hair at this time.
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She also has a surgical scar along her waist.
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And now, a timeline of events.
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During the last week of August in 1998, ShyShy suffers a severe asthma attack that actually
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ends up putting her in the hospital.
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However, by Friday, September 4th, she is back to her usual playful self.
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From my research, it seems that ShyShy spends the late afternoon and early evening
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hours playing outside.
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She is wearing a neon green Braves jersey where the word Braves is written in red letters,
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black or blue jeans, and white K-Swiss tennis shoes.
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That evening, there was a plan to attend the high school football game in a neighboring
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town.
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Her older 17-year-old sister was on the drill team and needed to be there.
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ShyShy's older sister also needed to put gas in the car before heading out.
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She decided to go fill up her car with gas and then swing back by and grab her little
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sister.
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When she gets in her car, Shy’Kemmia is sitting on the family's front porch.
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The sisters wave at each other.
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Years later, her sister will recall, quote, I was just going to get the gas and come back
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and get her.
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I wish I would have stopped, end quote.
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When her sister returns a few minutes later, Shy’Kemmia is gone.
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The last time that ShyShy is seen varies from report to report.
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It seems like she was last seen around 730, although a few newspapers say that a neighbor
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saw her around 820 p.m.
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So sometime between 730 and 820 seems to be the time where ShyShy is last seen.
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By all accounts, though, ShyShy was last seen very close to her home, just a few yards
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away.
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When Shy’Kemmia‘s older sister comes back and sees that ShyShy is gone, panic doesn't
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set in right away.
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This was a small town, and it would have been normal for ShyShy to decide to ride with
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a friend's family over to the game.
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However, as the sister arrives at the game and no one has seen ShyShy, panic starts
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to set in.
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Her sister years later will say, quote, I got home from the game and when I didn't
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see ShyShy, I asked my mom where she was and she said she wasn't home, end quote.
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The family begins searching for ShyShy, still assuming that she had just skipped the
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game and was with a friend.
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But as more and more people haven't seen her in hours, the panic starts to reach a
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threshold.
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Her sister says, quote, around 10 o'clock we still hadn't found her.
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Nobody had heard from her, end quote.
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Now it's reported online that when the family first attempts to report her missing, they're
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told incorrectly that they needed to wait 24 hours before the police can start an investigation.
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However, within hours, the family pushes and gets the report made.
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Once police are taking it seriously, a massive search is launched starting at the family
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home and spanning outward through the neighborhood.
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But police are already hours behind ShyShy and her abductor.
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Police first zero in on the Roxy Club during their canvas.
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They assumed that one of the many patrons who routinely sat out on the porch would have
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seen little ShyShy in her neon green shirt.
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But nobody had seen anything.
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Police are able to rule her father out quickly as he was serving time.
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Her dad, Chris Foster, still tried to help investigators in any way that he could, answering
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any questions and giving any information that he had.
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Quote, that's my baby.
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That's my heart.
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We were a lot more than father and daughter.
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We were the best of friends.
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End quote.
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Over the next week, police will launch helicopters, deploy ATVs, and send out every available
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officer to search the neighborhood.
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Neighbors will willingly let police search their homes, anything that can be done to
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help bring ShyShy home.
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The FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation get involved pretty quickly in her case.
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And quickly, the search for ShyShy becomes the largest search in Dooley County history.
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Neighbors and her elementary school tie pink ribbons to their trees and doors to show support
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for her and her family.
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To this day, Veronica, ShyShy's mother, has a pink ribbon hanging on her door.
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By September 11, 1998, ShyShy has been missing for a week at this point.
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A $15,000 reward is offered for information leading to her safe return home.
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Police continue to work the case, following up on any lead they get.
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But by October 11, so it's been over a month now since Shy’Kemmia disappeared, and police
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are still baffled.
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Investigators are still searching all over Dooley County for her.
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The last few days, police have been searching land, air, and water.
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Dooley County Sheriff Van Peevee says, quote, We've been down every field road, down every
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dirt road.
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We've walked back into the woods off each road as far as we thought anyone could carry
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her.
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We've never seen anything like this.
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End quote.
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Investigators next move is to bring in cadaver dogs to see if they're able to find any sign
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of the little girl.
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Another detective on the case, Detective Lamberth says, quote, We feel someone picked her up.
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We think somebody might have seen something.
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Nobody's spoken up at this time.
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I really believe that girl is out there alive somewhere.
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This is something you just can't drop.
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End quote.
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Later that month, on October 29, what should have been a day filled with celebration for
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ShyShy's ninth birthday is another painful reminder that time is moving and each day
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is another day without their precious daughter and sister.
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After those first few weeks of investigation, leads begin to dry up in the case and investigators
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are pulled off until only a few remain.
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In September of 1999, so it's been one year since Shy’Kemmia‘s abduction.
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Her mother, Veronica says, quote, I don't know what I'm going to do.
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I just feel like she's out there trying to call me, trying to make her way back.
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End quote.
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Most days, Veronica doesn't want to leave the house for fear that ShyShy will turn
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up and she won't be there to greet her.
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She says, quote, I don't want her to have to look for me.
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I want to be home when she comes back.
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End quote.
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Investigators also seem to be frustrated by what little progress has been made on the
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case.
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Detective Lamberth says, quote, we haven't been able to get a hand on it from the beginning.
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It's been frustrating for everybody, mentally and even physically.
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End quote.
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The GBI are still involved in the case and one of their agents said, quote, I have worked
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30 years in the protection of children, going on 16 years with the GBI.
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And this is one of the most frustrating cases I've worked.
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You lie awake at night and wonder, what else can I do?
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What have I missed?
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End quote.
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Police and her family are holding on to the belief that she is still alive.
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Sheriff Peevee says, quote, nobody has come up with any information that she's dead or
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alive.
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And by now, usually for a criminal act, something would have probably surfaced.
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That's why it makes me feel like she's still alive.
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You might just call it a gut feeling.
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End quote.
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The family and investigators also believe that someone in the neighborhood saw more
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than what they've told police.
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Someone has information about that night.
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Veronica also believes that it was someone who shy shy knew that abducted her.
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Quote, I feel somebody saw and somebody knows what happened to my daughter.
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And I feel whoever got her knows her because I don't think no stranger got my baby.
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She knew what to do when strangers came around.
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She learned from that McGruff the crime dog in school, she isn't going to ride with
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no stranger.
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End quote.
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Police also mentioned that they do have a suspect in the case that lives in the area.
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But at this point, they do not have enough evidence to bring a case against him.
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Detective Lamberth says, quote, just nothing has panned out enough that we can put the
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nail in the coffin.
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It is somebody from the area and it would be a neighbor.
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End quote.
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In September of 2001, so it's been three years since Shy’Kemmia vanished.
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Police arrest a man in the neighborhood on multiple rape charges.
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Investigators decide to excavate an abandoned well on his property in relation to Shy’Kemmia‘s
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case.
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Police dig for hours but didn't find anything except trash, pine needles and mud.
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Police say that they don't have any direct link between this ban and Shy’Kemmia's abduction,
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but investigators want to be thorough.
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In 2007, so it's been nine years since Shy’Kemmia was abducted.
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And her mother starts each day with a prayer of gratitude.
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Quote, I think the Lord every morning that we haven't got a phone call telling us that
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she's been found dead.
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I feel in my heart that she's still alive.
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End quote.
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Investigators reveal that they have gotten very few tips over the years and Shy’Kemmia's
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case.
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An anonymous caller in Las Vegas called to tell police that a man had moved into a nearby
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apartment with a girl that looked like shy shy.
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Please look into this and it fizzles out.
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A few years later, a farmer called police saying that he found a suspicious mound at
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the edge of one of his fields and he thought it could be a grave, that it could be shy
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shy.
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When police started to dig, all they found was hard red clay.
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That was the last tip that police had gotten at this point.
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In 2023, so it's been 25 years since shy shy's abduction and the National Center for
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Missing and Exploited Children release a new age progress photo of Shy’Kemmia and what she
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would have looked like in her mid thirties.
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In 2024, Veronica sits down with local and national news outlets to talk about shy shy
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and try to bring more awareness to her daughter's case.
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She still believes firmly that shy shy is still alive.
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She says, quote, even if she's fine and she don't want to come back here, I just want
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that stamp saying she's located and I never gave up looking for her.
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And no matter how long it takes, I'm not going to stop searching for my daughter.
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End quote.
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Detective Lamberth is still working any tip that comes into this case.
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He's worked it since the beginning.
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He says, quote, I kindly feel it may be one person who was involved in this.
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End quote.
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One thing investigators feel sure of is that if is still alive, she would have
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needed to seek medical attention at some point and would have likely needed to seek it well
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into adulthood due to her medical conditions.
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But that is all we know about the disappearance of Shy’Kemmia Pate.
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So if you know anything about the abduction of Shy’Kemmia Pate or shy shy's whereabouts
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today, please call the Dooley County Sheriff at 229-645-0920.
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So that is the case of Shy’Kemmia Pate.
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Something about her nickname being shy shy and knowing that she wasn't, I don't know,
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was I thought that was just very sweet.
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When you described like her community, I immediately could like hear her nickname being echoed in
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that space.
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My heart is really broken for her family and in particular her mother.
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She loves her so fiercely and to know that right now she could be our age, it's just
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I would want people to be looking for me if I was still out there.
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So I'm very happy to know that she has loved ones, especially her mother, just dedicated
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to never stopping looking for her.
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Yeah, her family have been fierce advocates for her and for keeping her name out there
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and her case active.
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Her sister was giving interviews just a few years ago about what happened that night and
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that's actually where I was able to piece together a lot of information.
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There were some details really missing in the initial reports about what really happened
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when Shy’Kemmia went missing, like what exactly was the breakdown of events, but that interview
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that her sister gave was able to like paint a clear picture of those kind of last moments
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of her going to get the gas and then coming back and Shy’Kemmia being gone and her thinking,
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well, she'll probably be at the game and then she's not and the mom thinks she's at the
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game.
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Like it's so heartbreaking that the miscommunication created that delay in getting reported, but
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her family from the moment they realized what was happening have been looking for her.
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Yeah, to kind of get into it here, the timeline wise, that was something that I immediately
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wrote down, not just to advocate for her sister and put my mindset and what hers must be like
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and the guilt she must feel and to just, you know, if she does happen to listen to remind
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her that it is not her fault, but to comment on that moment, I immediately understood it's
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something like that.
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Not necessarily a child going missing or being abducted by waiting and older sibling going
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for gas.
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That was would have been very, very normal in my neighborhood at that time as well, especially
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I'm from a very big family, lots of shuffling around, a lot of kids, busy kids down to the
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miscommunication around the football game and who went with where I just really feel
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for that moment in time because it would have been totally normal for her to wait a few
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minutes on the porch of her own home while her sister runs to go get gas.
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Children get to be safe, period.
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Children should be safe, period.
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Yeah, I think it's one of those things that it's hard to imagine in this day and age of
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like cell phones and kids with cell phones or Apple watches or, you know, parents with
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cell phones, all of that.
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Like it's hard to imagine the freedom, but I kind of remember the summer of 1998 and
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it being like one of the freest summers of my life.
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Like I would write a note to my mom saying like I was going for a bike ride in the morning
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and then I would just be gone until lunch, you know, like there were rules about where
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I should go and shouldn't go in the neighborhood, but you know, my parents couldn't pinpoint
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me exactly.
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They'd have to kind of come look for me if they needed me.
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So it's so normal for that time and it's just good to remind people because it does seem
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so strange even just 20-ish years later to think about being that way, but that's really
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how it was.
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To circle back to shy kemia, yes, her body was in so many ways facing multiple uphill
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climbs, but those battles are also markers of how strong she was.
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And even, you know, after she was hospitalized with her asthma attack and bounced back, what
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I just want to admire her strength in that like little body that was like doing everything
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it could to thrive and it seemed like she was part of a community and a family that
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was also encouraging her to thrive even in the midst of facing these battles that are
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so heartbreaking to hear about, but like that she didn't let them stop her.
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Yeah, her health issues that she had as a child that, you know, doctors and investigators
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believe would have continued on into adulthood.
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It actually brings up a question for me that I couldn't quite find an answer to, but investigators
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feel strongly that shy shy would have needed to see doctors, you know, well into adulthood.
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So that made me wonder if like a nurse or a doctor is treating a patient under a name
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like you know Jane Doe, but it's really Shy’Kemmia Pate, are they able to go to police to say like,
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hey, I think this matches based off of X, Y, and Z ailments or is that like a HIPAA
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violation because they don't know any better that it's not them.
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So that's something that I was trying to kind of dig into.
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I don't work in the medical field at all, never have, so I don't quite know the ins
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and outs of HIPAA laws.
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Maybe if one of our listeners does know, feel free to send us an email, we do check them.
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So if one of you does maybe know the answer to that question, I know I would love to know.
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Yeah, it's just something that struck me because I was like, well, these are pretty specific
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ailments and you know, a scar across her abdomen, like these are things that if she has been
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able to see a doctor that you know, a doctor might recognize, but if she's going in under
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a different name, then would they be able to report that to police under that suspicion?
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I don't know, maybe they are and you know, investigators keep it private, but I also
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don't know if they are able to do that because of the United States privacy laws around,
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you know, your healthcare and your privacy in doctor settings.
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So yeah, if you know, if that's something that you're familiar with, I would love to
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know the answer.
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I couldn't really find it in my research.
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It's such a kind of nuanced question.
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I wanted to touch base just on the very major hiccup in the beginning of it needing to be
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24 hours.
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I start, I became my, my body energy like just became frantic when you said it because
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I knew that that wasn't supposed to be true.
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Yeah, so there is no waiting period at all.
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So if you ever, heaven forbid, need to report a child as missing, if someone pushes back
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and says you need to wait, you push right back and say, no, I do not because there's
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no waiting period for children.
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And there is no waiting period for reporting adults either, but how serious the police
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will take that right away can vary from department to department as we've seen in so many of
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these cases.
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But the family definitely pushed back pretty quickly and got her reported before the 24
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hours, but it is really frustrating that that was happening.
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Yeah, the fact that they had to push back in the middle of looking for their loved one,
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their child, what I wrote down was bananas because I knew, you know, there was something
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going off in me that knew the rule, knew the law.
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Again, I feel like it's just a, such a testament to who the family is that they pushed back
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immediately and were firm and their no and said, look for her.
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And they did.
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It was, it's sad and unfair and wrong that they had to, but their love is so unconditional
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and forever committed to shykemia that they got it done.
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This is something else just commenting on again, just the mother daughter relationship
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there.
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She knew her daughter, she knew her so well to the point where, you know, she talked about
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what she learned in school about stranger danger.
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She knew her own daughter and knew that she wouldn't get into a car of someone that she
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didn't know, which also brings me to the question of, well, if it was someone that she did know,
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who the hell was it or is it?
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And it's also terrifying to think that that person is still out there or that people know
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and aren't coming forward with any information.
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Yeah.
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The investigation does seem to have somebody in mind or a suspect at least that's kind
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of been mentioned again and again over the years.
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Now I don't know if the suspect that police had in mind for years is the same person who
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was later convicted of rape and they dug the well up in the yard.
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I'm not sure if that is the same person.
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It didn't seem like it based off of some of the comments that investigators made that
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they just wanted to be very thorough because of where he lived to shy shy.
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But I do wonder who that suspect is in the neighborhood.
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And yeah, it just, I really agree with shy shy's family that it feels like somebody must
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have seen something that night because it was a beautiful Friday evening.
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People were out.
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She was wearing a neon green Jersey.
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Like there were so many things that would make you think she would be seen.
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So I hope that somebody does come forward with what they know.
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I hope for the future of this case, just like with all the cases we cover that the families
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get answers.
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I would love to see shy shy come home and be reunited with her family.
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Her mom is still living in the same place just because she wants to be there when shy
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shy comes home.
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And I really hope they get that reunion and the answers that they're looking for.
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Again, if you know anything about the abduction of Shy’Kemmia Pate or shy shy's whereabouts
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today, please call the Dooley County Sheriff at 229-645-0920.
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We'll have pictures of shy shy on our Instagram at cold and missing.
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And we'll also have the recently created age progress photo that was just from 2023, I
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believe.
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So definitely check it out there.
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Please share it.
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Share the podcast.
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Get, let's get shy shy's name out there and her picture out there.
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So if somebody recognizes her, we can get those answers.
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We also would really appreciate it if you're not driving.
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If you could take a minute to review us, you can go to our website, www.coldandmissing.com
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or if you're an Apple podcast, leaving us a written review is really helpful in getting
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this case and this podcast into people's feed.
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So thank you if you've already done it.
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Thank you.
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00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:32,200
Thank you.
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Thank you.
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If you've already done it.
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But if you haven't, today's a today's a new day and you can you can do it today.
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On our website, we have transcripts.
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We have our back catalog.
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If you're searching for a specific case to see if we've covered it, you can search there
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really easily or if you just want to look your state up and see the cases we've covered,
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that's also doable on our website and you can review us there too.
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So lots of chances to review us today.
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It's a good day for a review.
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So that is all I have.
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Thank you so much for listening to Cold and Missing.
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I hope you're having a safe summer.
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I'm your host, Ali.
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And I'm your cohost, Eli.
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Have a good week and stay safe, y'all.
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Stay safe, y'all.
