Today in True Crime: August 6, 2022

Today's true crime anniversaries include two unsolved disappearances.

It's been 10 years since Tamala Wells vanished in Detroit, Michigan. Then then-33-year-old mother was last seen leaving her residence. Tamala never returned home and has never been seen or heard from again. A few days later, Tamala's car was found abandoned just a few blocks from her home. The vehicle did not provide any clues about her whereabouts.

Over the years, suspicions have built against Rickey Tennant, who was Tamala's live-in boyfriend at the time of her disappearance. In 2015, Rickey spoke to reporters about Tamala's disappearance and said that Tamala gave him a headache - despite the fact that he had not seen her in 3 years. Many people, including Tamala's family members, found that to be an odd comment. However, police stated that Rickey has cooperated with the investigation and is not considered a suspect at this time.

Tamala's case remains unsolved.

[more info on this case] To submit a tip in Tamala's case, please call 1 (800) 773-2587.

It has now been 11 years since Bilial Hammette vanished in Beloit, Wisconsin. The then-19-year-old left his home after telling his mother he was going fishing. An unidentified person in a black vehicle picked Bilial up at his home, and that was the last time he was ever seen. His mother thought it was his parole officer that picked him up, which is why she did not worry when Bilial did not return home that night. However, after days passed without any word from him, Bilial’s mother reported him missing on August 12th.

Bilial did not have a cell phone or a bank account at the time of his disappearance, which gave police very little to work with. It's unclear if the person who picked Bilial up on the day of his disappearance has been identified or not. Bilial remains missing today.

[more info on this case] [submit a tip]

My thoughts on these cases..

There isn't a whole lot out there on either case, unfortunately. The article about Tamala's case in which her boyfriend calls her a "headache" is from 2015. It's definitely an insensitive thing to say about a missing person, especially someone who had been missing for years at that point. If he isn't involved in Tamala's disappearance, he seems to be fine with the fact that she's missing - which is just sad all around. 

There's even less out there about Bilial's case. My *hope* is that this is one of those cases where police have not revealed a lot of details about the investigation, but they are still getting things done behind closed doors. Not sure if that's the case or not, but that's what I hope. 

Let's not let Tamala or Bilial be forgotten! They both still have loved ones who want to learn the truth.

The Disappearance of Bilial Hammette

Pictured left: Bilial Hammette after getting his GED in Beloit, Wisconsin, circa 2011.

The above image was taken during an exciting time in 18 year-old Bilial's life. After a rough couple of years, Bilial finally finished his GED program and was accepted into the Madison Media Institute, a college that offers degrees focused on music, entertainment, and media. Bilial was an aspiring rapper, and he planned to pursue a degree in music. But Bilial’s future was not always looking so bright—in fact, he was previously involved in many illegal endeavors which left him with criminal convictions for burglary, drug possession, and theft. Bilial was on parole during the summer of 2011, but both his friends and his family members stated that he was clean during this time and had finally turned his life around. Based on the fact that he had finished his GED and gotten accepted into college, it appeared that Bilial truly had taken on a different path. Due to this, Bilial’s loved ones were shocked when he seemingly vanished into thin air on August 6th, 2011.

On that day, Bilial’s mother last saw him at their home in Beloit. He told his family members that he was going fishing. An unidentified person in a black vehicle picked Bilial up at the home, and that was the last time he was ever seen. His mother thought it was his parole officer that picked him up, which is why she did not worry when Bilial did not return home that night. However, after days passed without any word from him, Bilial’s mother reported him missing on August 12th.

Bilial did not have a bank account or a cell phone at the time of his disappearance. This left police with very little to work with, and it is unclear if the person who picked Bilial up has ever been identified. Bilial’s family and friends maintain that he would not be out of touch for this long, and they are concerned for his safety. The Beloit Police Department is still investigating his case. If you have any information that could lead to Bilial’s whereabouts, please contact 608-364-6807.

-

[Unsolved Mysteries with Suspicious Vehicles/Unidentified Drivers]