The Disappearance of Niija Council

Source: Facebook

Niija Council has been missing since September 2013. The then-20-year-old was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the time of her disappearance. Reports state that Niija was last seen at her home in the 6200 block of Lindbergh Boulevard. According to her boyfriend, Niija left the residence and never returned. She has never been seen or heard from again.

Sources state that Niija had two children, one of whom was an infant at the time of her disappearance. Per her boyfriend’s account, Niija left the infant son behind when she left home. This particular detail is noted on several sources about Niija’s case, including her NamUs profile. Although these sources provide very little additional information about Niija’s disappearance, it seems that the detail that her infant son was left behind was, at the very least, eye-catching to investigators. There does not appear to be any evidence that Niija planned to leave her baby, or her life, behind.

There are many other odd details surrounding Niija’s disappearance as well. Most sources list September 1st, 2013, as the date she went missing. However, Niija’s Facebook page remained active until September 23rd. Around mid-to-late September, a few people began commenting on her posts, inquiring about her whereabouts and expressing concern for her safety. The comments indicate that several people in her circle had not seen or heard from her for an unusually long period of time.

The media seemingly did not pick up on Niija’s case; there are very few accessible news reports about her disappearance. Detectives have not disclosed any information about their investigation, which leaves the public with very little confirmed information. A lack of information about a missing persons’ case, combined with a lack of media attention, can often indicate that the police do not believe the person came to harm. In Niija’s disappearance, however, various rumors indicate that the opposite may be true. 

Many questions arise regarding Niija’s disappearance. When exactly did she vanish? Why the discrepancy about the date she was last heard from? Why the lack of information from police? Who has information about her disappearance? Perhaps the most important question that remains is: Where is Niija Council?

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More about Niija.

Niija was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated from a high school in the city. Prior to her disappearance, Niija worked as an Alternative Dispute Resolution Professional. As previously mentioned, Niija also had two children, one of whom was just an infant at the time she vanished. Various people who know Niija have posted that she would have never voluntarily left her children behind.

September 2013: Niija's disappearance.

As noted above, many sources list the date of Niija's disappearance as September 1st, 2013 - even though her Facebook page remained active until September 23rd, 2013. She made four status update posts on September 11th, 2013:

None of these posts seem to indicate any danger or that anything was seriously wrong at the time these updates were posted to her page. She later went on to change her profile picture four times during September 2013; the last change occurring on September 23rd, 2013. 

One of her profile picture updates occurred on September 16th, 2013. Days after that was posted, people began commenting on the picture, inquiring about Niija's whereabouts and safety.

It appears that, at some point after all this Facebook activity, Niija was reported missing. After that, it was determined that she was last seen at her home on Lindbergh Boulevard. Various sources say that Niija's boyfriend was the last person to see her before she disappeared. The boyfriend reportedly told police that she left the home and never returned. 

When did Niija vanish?

There could potentially be a few different reasons for the discrepancy about Niija's date of disappearance. It's possible that, whomever reported Niija missing noted that they had not seen or heard from her since September 1st, 2013. It's also possible that detectives do not know that exact date of her disappearance, so they've listed September 1st to indicate that she vanished sometime during the month of September. 

Or, possibly Niija did, in fact, vanish on September 1st, and that the Facebook posts made after that were made by someone else; maybe someone trying to indicate that Niija was alive and well. However, this seems less likely, as the posts seemed to abruptly stop. The most likely scenario seems to be that she vanished at some point in September 2013, but investigators have not been able to pinpoint an exact date. 

Speculation about the boyfriend.

Niija's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance has never been publicly identified. However, various online posts indicate that he was an older man. He was also reportedly not the father of either of Niija's children. 

In May 2024, a woman identifying herself as Niija's aunt made a post on a Missing Children Facebook group about Niija's disappearance. The post provides a bit more info about Niija's background and more info about her boyfriend.

Source: Facebook

It's worth noting that detectives have not confirmed that they believe Niija's boyfriend is responsible for her disappearance. However, detectives have also not made any public announcements about Niija's case - so it's entirely possible that the boyfriend is, in fact, the prime suspect. The aunt mentions that she found out that the boyfriend was physically abusive after Niija's disappearance - which casts even more suspicion on him. Still, this man has never been publicly identified or publicly labeled as a person of interest. 

Where is Niija?

Over a decade has passed, and Niija remains missing. There have not been any updates in her case. Many people have posted that they believe the boyfriend is responsible for her disappearance. If it's true that the investigators, too, believe that the boyfriend is responsible, it's possible that they have not publicly mentioned this due to the status of an ongoing investigation. However, since investigators have not shared anything about the case, it's hard to determine if the case is actually active.

Investigating agency.

The Philadelphia Police Department has investigative agency over Niija's case. If you have any information that could help solve the disappearance of Niija Council, please contact authorities at 215-686-3183.

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Sources:
Charley Project
Charley Project blog
The Doe Network
Facebook

NamUs
Underground Mysteries
Uncovered

Twenty Years Later: Still Unsolved (2026)

Several cases featured on True Case Files have remained unsolved for 20 years as the we embark on the year 2026. Below is an extensive list of all the unsolved missing persons and unsolved death/homicide cases on TCF that occurred in 2006. Here's to hoping these cases are closer to finding justice this year!

Listed by date of occurrence. Links to case details are provided.

Jump to: Missing since 2006 | Unsolved Since 2006: 

MISSING SINCE 2006:

Risha Aleena Lewis.

Name: Risha Lewis

Missing since: January 21st, 2006

Age at disappearance: 26

Last seen in: New Castle, DE/Elkton, MD

Case details.

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Brandee Hope Canipe.

Name: Brandee Canipe

Missing since: May 6th, 2006

Age at disappearance: 29

Last seen in: Mocksville, NC

Case details.

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Yesenia Castillo.

Name: Yesenia Castillo

Missing since: July 30th, 2006

Age at disappearance: 27

Last seen in: Chicago, IL

Case details.

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Caleta Sade White.

Name: Caleta White

Missing since: August 22nd, 2006

Age at disappearance: 18

Last seen in: Tukwila, WA

Case details.

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Devin Janelle Brown-Boussetta.

Name: Devin Brown-Boussetta

Missing since: September 5th, 2006

Age at disappearance: 25

Last seen in: Pittsburgh, PA

Case details.

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Soon Chon Hwang.

Name: Soon Hwang

Missing since: September 5th, 2006

Age at disappearance: 44

Last seen in: Memphis, TN

Case details.

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Kristen Lee Anderson.

Name: Kristen Anderson

Missing since: October 1st, 2006

Age at disappearance: 24

Last seen in: Martins Ferry, Ohio

Case details.

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Jennifer Apreciado.

Name: Jennifer Apreciado

Missing since: October 26th, 2006

Age at disappearance: 17

Last seen in: San Antonio, TX

Case details.

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Nicholle Rae Torrez.

Name: Nicholle Torrez

Missing since: December 14th, 2006

Age at disappearance: 27

Last seen in: Denver, CO

Case details.

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UNSOLVED SINCE 2006

The Murder of Catrina Hinton.

Name: Catrina Hinton (18)

Case type: Disappearance and murder

Missing: January 14th, 2006

Remains found: February 6th, 2006

Location: Jersey City, NJ

Teen moves from Virginia to New Jersey for college; is murdered before she could begin attending school.

Case details: The Disappearance and Murder of Catrina Hinton.

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The Disappearance and Death of Taalibah Islam.

Name: Taalibah Islam (20)

Case type: Disappearance; unsolved death.

Missing: January 16th, 2006

Remains found: March 2023

Location: Fort Worth, TX

Texas woman vanished after an argument with her boyfriend. Her remains were found 17 years later; cause of death unable to be determined. The boyfriend has since been convicted of kidnapping another girlfriend. 

Case details: The Disappearance and Death of Taalibah Islam.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Jewel King.

Name: Jewel King (48)

Case type: Unsolved murder; shot to death.

Missing: April 7th, 2006

Remains found: April 2018

Location: Washington, DC.

A DC woman vanished in April 2006. In April 2018, her remains were found in a crawl space, along with the remains of 2 other DC women who also went missing in 2006. The 3 women did not know each other prior to their respective disappearances, but it's believed they were killed by the same person. 

Case details: The Disappearances & Murders of Jewel King, Verdell Jefferson, and Dorothy Butts.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Verdell Jefferson.

Name: Verdell Jefferson (41)

Case type: Unsolved murder; blunt force trauma.

Missing: May 1st, 2006

Remains found: April 2018

Location: Washington, DC.

A DC woman vanished in May 2006. In April 2018, her remains were found in a crawl space in Congress Heights, along with the remains of 2 other DC women who also went missing in 2006. The 3 women did not know each other prior to their respective disappearances, but it's believed they were killed by the same person. 

Case details: The Disappearances & Murders of Jewel King, Verdell Jefferson, and Dorothy Butts.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Terri Reyes.

Name: Terri Reyes (38)

Case type: Disappearance; unsolved murder

Missing: May 21st, 2006

Remains found: June 2007

Location: San Augustine County, TX

Texas woman vanishes before she is supposed to testify against a cop. Her remains are found a little over a year later in San Augustine County.

Case details: The Murders of Terri Reyes and Shunte Coleman.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Jorden Sopher.

Name: Jorden Sopher (18)

Case type: Disappearance and murder

Missing: May 23rd, 2006

Remains found: May 2009

Location: Wabash/Peru, IN

Teen from Wabash vanishes in 2006; her remains are found 3 years later in Peru. An autopsy was unable to confirm a cause of death, but the manner of death is homicide.

Case details: The Disappearance and Murder of Jorden Sopher.

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The Murder of Nishan Bonit Huff.

Name: Nishan Huff

Age: 23

Case type: Murder; shooting.

Date: June 7th, 2006

Location: Greenville County, SC

A young woman is shot to death inside her apartment. Two people were charged with murder in 2022, but the charges were later dropped. The case is still classified as unsolved.

Case details: The Murder of Nishan Huff.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Shunte Coleman.

Name: Shunte Coleman (26)

Case type: Disappearance and murder

Missing: July 2nd, 2006

Remains found: March 2014

Location: San Augustine County, TX

Texas woman vanished before she was supposed to testify against a cop. Her remains were found several years later in San Augustine County. The police officer remains the main suspect in this murder and the murder of Terri Reyes, but charges have never been filed.

Case details: The Murders of Terri Reyes and Shunte Coleman.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Victoria Eagleman.

Name: Victoria Eagleman (33)

Case type: Unsolved murder; blunt force trauma.

Missing: July 28th, 2006

Remains found: August 22nd, 2006

Location: Lower Brule, SD

A mother-of-five vanished after a day of swimming at the Missouri River. Her nude body was found weeks later; her death was caused by blunt force trauma. 

Case details: The Disappearance and Murder of Victoria Eagleman.

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The Murder of Jeana Lynn Burrus.

Name: Jeana Burrus 

Age: 39

Case type: Murder; never reported missing.

Date: Approx. Aug/Sept. 2006

Location: Sarasota, FL

The remains of an adult woman were found in February 2007; it's believed she'd been dead for about 5-6 months at that point. The woman is unidentified for 15 years until 2022, when DNA finally confirms she is Jeana Burrus. It's then learned that, despite living with a husband and 2 young sons, Jeana was never reported missing.

Case details: Never Reported Missing: The Murder of Jeana Burrus.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Amy Drake.

Name: Amy Drake (18)

Case type: Disappearance and murder

Missing: September 20th, 2006

Remains found: November 24th, 2006

Location: Norridgewock, ME

Maine teenager vanished near Skowhegan in September 2006; her remains were found two months later. Her death has been ruled a murder, but the cause of death has never been revealed.

Case details: The Disappearance and Murder of Amy Drake.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Tracy Jones.

Name: Tracy Onawa Jones (19)

Case type: Murder; blunt force trauma.

Missing: November 15th, 2006

Remains found: November 26th, 2006

Location: Little Rock, AR

Arkansas teenager vanishes from a truck stop; her remains are found 11 days later.

Case details: The Disappearance and Murder of Tracy Onawa Jones.

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The Murder of Priscilla Pimentel.

Name: Priscilla Pimentel

Age: 24

Case type: Murder; stabbing

Date: November 24th, 2006

Location: Queens, NY

A young woman and her dog found brutally murdered inside her Queens apartment.

Case details: The Murder of Priscilla Pimentel.

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The Murders of Heather and Kira Radcliffe.

Names: Heather and Kira Radcliffe

Age: 28 and 6

Case type: Murder; shooting and arson.

Date: December 9th, 2006

Location: Gainesville, FL

A young mother and her daughter are found deceased inside their burned down home. 

Case details: The Murders of Heather and Kira Radcliffe.

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The Disappearance and Murder of Dorothy Butts.

Name: Dorothy Butts (43)

Case type: Murder; shot to death.

Missing: December 25th, 2006

Remains found: April 2018

Location: Washington, DC.

A DC woman vanished in May 2006. In April 2018, her remains were found in a crawl space in Congress Heights, along with the remains of 2 other DC women who also went missing in 2006. The 3 women did not know each other prior to their respective disappearances, but it's believed they were killed by the same person. 

Case details: The Disappearances & Murders of Jewel King, Verdell Jefferson, and Dorothy Butts.

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The Disappearance of Zoe J. Ross

 

Zoe J. Ross has been missing since May 7th, 2019. The then-17-year-old was last seen in Morristown, New Jersey. On the day she vanished, Zoe went to school as usual. She reportedly left the building without telling any school staff members around 1:00 PM. Zoe never returned and has never been seen or heard from again.

Zoe's disappearance from the school was quickly noticed by the staff, as she was reported missing by 1:30 PM - just 30 minutes after she was last seen. Despite this quick action, police were not able to track Zoe down. Now, several years have passed since her disappearance, and Zoe has still not been located.

There are very few details available about Zoe's life around the time she went missing. It's known that she was living at a group home in Freehold at the time of her disappearance. It's also known that Zoe was adopted from Ukraine at some point during her childhood. She lived with adoptive parents prior to moving into the group home. Details about why or how Zoe ended up at the group home have not been publicly shared.

Although there has been very little news reporting on Zoe's disappearance, there has been some online chatter from her former classmates and friends. In spring 2025, a Reddit user made a post about Zoe's disappearance. The poster stated that they went to the same alternative high school as Zoe and was there on the day she vanished. The former classmate said they heard rumors about Zoe getting into a car after exiting the building, but this rumor has never been confirmed. 

Other online discussions note that Zoe's adoptive family has seemingly never appealed to the public or posted anything about Zoe's disappearance. Another Reddit user commented on the aforementioned post and stated that they, too, knew Zoe and had heard that she did not have a good relationship with her adoptive parents. Unfortunately, it appears that Zoe did not have a very big support system at the time she vanished.

Zoe still remains missing today. The Morristown Police Department has investigative agency over her case. If you have any information that could help solve the disappearance of Zoe Ross, please contact authorities at 973-538-2200.

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Sources:
Ash Mysteries
Charley Project
NCMEC
Reddit

The Murder of Vanessa Romero

 

Vanessa Romero had big aspirations for her life during June 2010. 

The 18-year-old was living in Tucson, Arizona and was raising an infant daughter. Vanessa had plans to finish both her GED and a teen parenting class she had been taking. Her long-term plan was to eventually join the Army to make a living for herself and her child. However, before doing that, Vanessa also hoped to donate a kidney to her mother, who needed a transplant and was on full dialysis. 

Unfortunately, none of these aspirations would come to fruition, as Vanessa was found deceased at Lakeside Park on the morning of June 16th, 2010. Reports state that Vanessa was found with "obvious signs of trauma" to her body. Although her exact cause of death has never been released to the public, investigators quickly revealed that her manner of death was homicide. 

According to her mother, Vanessa received a phone call around 7:00 PM on June 15th, during which she reportedly argued with the person on the other end of the line. Vanessa's mother said she does not know who Vanessa was speaking with, but believes it was a man she had met a few weeks prior and had just began dating. About an hour and a half later, Vanessa told her mother she was going to go to Dairy Queen to get ice cream and then go to the park.

The following morning, Vanessa's mother was notified that Vanessa's body had been found at Lakeside Park. Vanessa's loved ones were immediately filled with both devastation and questions. Her mother stated that she does not know why Vanessa decided to go to Lakeside Park, located over 10 miles away from her home, when there are other parks much closer to the residence. 

Investigators soon learned that a man had seen Vanessa at the park on the evening June 15th. Said man shared this information with a clerk at a convenience store located less than a mile away from Lakeside Park. The man told the clerk that Vanessa was "having an argument with somebody in the park." The clerk later shared this information with investigators; they subsequently made a public appeal for this customer to come forward. Investigators have never actually revealed if this man ever spoke with them and/or provided any information that brought them any closer to finding Vanessa's killer(s). 

Two years after Vanessa's murder, it was reported that police had questioned the man Vanessa was dating at the time of her death, but reportedly "nothing resulted from that." This man has never been publicly identified, nor has he ever been labeled a suspect. Since that 2012 report, there has been minimal reporting on Vanessa's case.

The murder of Vanessa Romero is classified as an unsolved cold case. There is a monetary reward available in exchange for information that could lead to the arrest/conviction of Vanessa's killer(s). If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the Pima County Sheriff's Office at (520) 351-4600 or submit a tip online.

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Sources:
13 News (2), (3)
88-Crime
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson Weekly

The Murders of Maria Sanchez and Destiny Banuelos

Maria Sanchez (left), Destiny Banuelos (right)

Maria Sanchez (36) and Destiny Banuelos (16) were found deceased inside a Pine Hills, Florida home on February 15th, 2016. The mother and daughter were both shot to death. Their deaths were quickly ruled a homicide - and their case still unfortunately remains unsolved today.

Maria and Destiny are originally from Oregon. She had her first two children - a son and then Destiny - before marrying her husband Jerry Ledbetter Jr. and having three more children with him. The family moved from Oregon to Florida, but at some point, Ledbetter and their three children returned to Oregon. Destiny reportedly went back to Oregon as well but returned to Florida prior to the murders. 

According to WFTV 9, Maria and Destiny lived at the Coalition for the Homeless in Orlando before eventually moving into a Pine Hills residence owned by a man named Glenn Sylvester. It was in that residence where Maria and Destiny were brutally shot to death. Several questions remain about what exactly happened to them. Namely, who killed them? And why?

Reports state that Sylvester left his home on the morning of the murders, and when he returned that afternoon, he found both Maria and Destiny deceased. Sylvester said he then had neighbors call 911. Police arrived shortly thereafter and began investigating the scene.

There was reportedly no sign of forced entry at the residence, nor was anything missing from the home. Some neighbors were interviewed by reporters shortly after the crime; none mentioned seeing or hearing anything suspicious on the day of the murders. One neighbor stated that Maria and Sylvester were dating. Sylvester has never been named a suspect or person of interest in the case.

In the early stages of the investigation, police stated that they did not have any suspects, but nobody had been ruled out. Now that years have passed, it's unclear if that statement is still true. There has been very little reporting on the case over the years, so the status of the investigation is unknown. 

The Orange County Sheriff's Office has investigative agency of the murders of Maria and Destiny. If you have any information that could help solve the case, please contact authorities at (407) 254-7000. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call Crimeline at (800) 423-TIPS.

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Sources:
KGW 8
Oregon Live
Project: Cold Case
WESH 2

WFTV

The Suspicious Disappearance and Death of Meredith Rose Walker

 

Meredith Rose Walker was found deceased under suspicious circumstances on June 7th, 2025. The young woman's remains were stumbled upon in Emporia, Virginia near Market Drive and Commonwealth Boulevard. She was only 23 years-old at the time of her death.

The mystery began over a week prior to Meredith's body being found - in an area nearly 700 miles away. Meredith was actually a resident of Naples, Florida at the time of her death. On May 30th, 2025, she was released from a jail in Orlando. Surveillance cameras captured her that day; the image below shows Meredith in the clothes she was last seen wearing. This was the last known sighting of Meredith before her body was found several states away.

It is unknown how Meredith ended up in Virginia. Various reports state that her family believes she was headed north to visit family members after a recent death of a loved one. It is also believed that Meredith "may have intended to hitchhike due to a lack of transportation."

There are very few additional details available about Meredith's case. When it was first reported that her body had been found, her cause and manner of death were undetermined. It's unknown if those details have been determined now, as this information has not been released to the public. The FBI is involved in the investigation, and they have labeled Meredith's case as a "suspicious death". 

A public appeal has been made for anyone with information on Meredith's death to come forward. Additionally, authorities would like anyone who might have seen Meredith between May 30th and June 7th to contact the detectives. There is a monetary reward of at least $20,000 in exchange for information that could help solve the case.

If you have any information that could help solve the death of Meredith Rose Walker, please contact the FBI Richmond Field Office at (804) 261-1044 or submit a tip online.

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Sources:

ABC 8, (2)

CBS 19
FBI

WTVR

The Disappearance of Stephanie Lewis

 

Stephanie Lynn Lewis has been missing since October 12th, 2004. The then-21-year-old was in Lumberton, North Carolina at the time of her disappearance. She worked at a local Days Inn on Roberts Avenue.

Stephanie was working the day she vanished. She was last seen walking away from her job at the Days Inn. Before leaving, Stephanie reportedly told others that she was going to try and find a ride to Virginia. She never returned and has never been seen or heard from again.

There is very little information available on Stephanie's disappearance. Various online sources state that she was single at the time she vanished. She left behind a young daughter. There does not appear to be any information about why Stephanie wanted to travel to Virginia, if she intended to ask someone she knew for a ride, or if she intended to hitchhike. 

In 2017, the Lumberton PD made a public appeal for anyone with information about Stephanie's disappearance to come forward. Since then, it appears that there has not been any additional reporting on her case. Stephanie remains missing today, and her case has unfortunately gone cold.

If you have any information that could help solve the disappearance of Stephanie Lewis, please contact the Lumberton Police Department at 910-671-3845.

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Sources:
Charley Project
NamUs
WMBF News
WPDE