The Disappearance of Mercedes Toliver

18 year old Mercedes Toliver made this selfie her Facebook cover photo on December 12th, 2016. This is her last known Facebook activity. Five days later, she vanished.

During the earlier morning hours of December 17th, 2016, Mercedes left her home in Prescott, Arkansas on foot and never returned. Since then, she has not been seen or heard from by family or friends and there has been no activity on her social media or bank accounts. 

Earlier on into the investigation, the Prescott Police Department apparently had leads that Mercedes was in Clark or Lafayette counties, but those leads did not pan out. Ever since, there have been very few leads and very little information available about Mercedes’ case. There is currently a $2000 reward in place for information about Mercedes’ whereabouts. If you have any information about Mercedes’ case, please contact the Prescott Police Department at 870-887-2676.

The Disappearance of Jennifer Pautenis

Jennifer 'Jenn' Pautenis has been missing since October 20th, 2019. The 29 year-old woman was reportedly last seen leaving her home in Granbury, Texas, where she lives with her husband, Ed Pautenis, and their two young children. Jenn and Ed had moved to Texas two years prior, during 2017, so they could be closer to Ed's family. Previously, the couple lived in Florida, where many of Jenn's family members still live. Due to the distance, it took a few days for Jenn's family members to realize she was missing. According to Jenn's sister, Daisy Thornton-Newhouse, they learned about Jenn's disappearance when her employer notified them that she had not shown up for her job as an EMS dispatcher. When Jenn's family members questioned Ed, he explained that he was putting their children to bed on the evening of October 20th when he heard his wife leave the house and drive away. He stated he did not file a missing persons report because he believed Jenn had left the house voluntarily--for another man.

Jenn's family members were skeptical of Ed's story, and they reported Jenn missing on October 25th, 2019. Jenn's sister told reporters that Jenn would not voluntarily abandon her children or stop showing up for work. Additionally, Jenn was very active on social media, but has not had any activity since the night of her disappearance. Investigators have stated that the case is active and leads are being followed. Ed Pautenis has not been publicly named as a person of interest at this time, and investigators have stated that he is currently cooperating with the investigation.

Jenn's family members fear that Jenn is deceased and they are desperately seeking answers. The Hood County Sheriff's Office is investigating her disappearance. If you have any information that could help the investigation, please call (817) 579-3307.

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UPDATE: On December 6th, 2019, the Hood County Sheriff's Office announced that they have found the remains of Jenn Pautenis. 59 year-old Ed Pautenis has been arrested and charged with her murder. In a jailhouse interview, Ed stated that he killed his wife after she attacked him during an argument. He explained that he shot her multiple times and had to tell his children that they were pulling a Halloween prank. Prosecutors have described Ed as a cold-blooded killer. He remains behind bars as his case is pending. 

The Disappearance of Nicholle Torrez

Nicholle Torrez has been missing since December 14th, 2006.

Prior to vanishing, 27-year-old Nicholle and her three children lived at Nicholle’s mother’s home in Denver, Colorado. She shared custody of her children with their father, who lived just a few blocks away. 

On the evening of December 14th, Nicholle was asked to bring medicine to her four-year-old son, who was staying with his father at the time. She left her other two children at home with her mother and said she would return later that night. Unfortunately, Nicholle never returned home and has never been seen or heard from again. She was reported missing the following day, after she failed to show up at work.

Nicholle’s disappearance has baffled both her family and investigators. Denver police interviewed Nicholle’s friends and family members but were unable to identify any suspects or clues about her whereabouts. Finally, over six months later in July 2007, investigators appeared to find a clue: Nicholle’s car was found abandoned in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Aurora. 

The car was processed by the Denver crime lab, but no indication of a crime or foul play was found. Still, Nicholle’s mother does not believe that Nicholle parked the car there herself. Her mother told reporters, “We don’t live on that side of town, so I can’t see Nicholle going there. So we feel like somebody took it there and dropped it off.” While everyone was hopeful that Nicholle’s car would provide clues, it appeared to bring about more questions than answers in her disappearance.

Years have passed, and Nicholle still remains missing today. Both investigators and Nicholle’s family members believe that foul play was involved in her disappearance. Nicholle’s family does not think she would abandon her children, nor would she lose contact with her loved ones. 

Investigators are hoping to receive knew leads that may lead to Nicholle’s whereabouts. If you have any information that could help, please contact Denver CrimeStoppers at 720-913-7867.

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Sources:
Blair Miller
Charley Project
Denver 7
Uncovered

The Disappearance of Danielle Stislicki

Danielle Stislicki and her artwork she posted to her Instagram account the morning before she disappeared.

During the early morning hours of December 2nd, 2016, Danielle posted this self-portrait to Instagram with the caption, “November Danielle: Complete!” The 28-year-old had been very active on Instagram throughout 2016 and her artwork was often the subject of her posts. Just weeks earlier, Danielle had posted that she was going to draw and post a self-portrait each month—and November Danielle was her very first one. She posted the picture from her Farmington Hills, Michigan home around 2:30am before going to bed. 

Hours later, Danielle awoke to go to her job at MetLife in Southfield. While at work, she made plans to meet one of her close friends for dinner. Danielle left work around 5pm. She planned to stop by her apartment before meeting up with her friend. Unfortunately, Danielle never showed up to meet her friend, and all calls to her phone went straight to voicemail. 

Danielle’s friend was not too worried at first—she simply assumed that Danielle fell asleep after work. However, the next afternoon, Danielle’s friend learned that she had failed to show up for her 8am shift at MetLife. This prompted her to drive by Danielle’s apartment to check on her. Upon arriving, Danielle’s friend found her car parked in its usual spot. It was locked, and her purse, credit cards, identification and other personal items were inside. Danielle was also not inside her apartment. 

It is believed that Danielle left all of those items in her car on purpose on the evening of December 2nd—as she simply planned to change clothes then return to her car to go meet her friend. After searching both Danielle’s car and apartment, it was determined that the only things that Danielle had with her when she vanished were her keys, cell phone, and clothes on her back.

Just a few weeks after Danielle’s disappearance, on December 19th, 2016, Farmington Hills police announced that they believed Danielle was a victim of a crime. Three days later, police searched the residence of Floyd Galloway Jr. (30) in Berkley, Michigan. Floyd was previously a security guard at the MetLife building where Danielle worked.

Floyd was not employed there on December 2nd, 2016, but many witnesses have come forward claiming that they saw Danielle and Floyd together in the MetLife parking lot on that evening. The police ended up searching Floyd’s home numerous times in the months after Danielle’s disappearance, and they seized numerous items throughout those searches. Still, Danielle remained missing, and Floyd was not initially charged with anything related to her disappearance. 

On June 28th, 2017, Floyd was arrested for the attempted rape of another 28-year-old woman in Livonia. The woman says that she was jogging in Hines Park when Floyd grabbed her from behind by the neck and choked her, punched her in the face and began dragging her into the woods toward the Rouge River. Luckily, the woman was able to escape and call 911.

Meanwhile, Floyd continued to deny involvement in Danielle's case. However, in 2019, Floyd was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to the disappearance of Danielle Stislicki. He pleaded guilty to unrelated kidnapping and sexual assault charges back in 2017 and remains behind bars today. In September 2019, Floyd pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is expected to go to trial in 2022.

Danielle’s remains have still not been found.

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[List Series: Criminals Charged and/or Suspected in Multiple Cases]

The Disappearance of Lakira Goldsmith

Lakira Goldsmith has been missing since November 2018. The then 20-year-old was last seen on Narrow Lane Road located in Montgomery, Alabama. She has never been seen or heard from again. 

Lakira’s family members described her as a dedicated parent who would never voluntarily abandon her son - who was only 2 years old at the time of Lakira's disappearance. It was also out of character for her to fall out of touch with family members. In late November 2018, it was determined that none of Lakira's family or friends had heard from her at all since November 27th. Her family subsequently contacted Montgomery police to report Lakira's disappearance. 

Lakira was picked up by her boyfriend on the day of her disappearance. Reports state that the boyfriend later drove her back to her building. Lakira's grandmother reportedly saw Lakira get out of the car, but she never made it back into the apartment. 

A maintenance worker at the apartment building later told Lakira's family he saw her around 2:00 AM - hours after her disappearance. In fact, he said that Lakira asked to use his phone. The maintenance worker said that he granted her request and stepped away while she made her phone call. When he returned a few minutes later, Lakira was gone, and his phone was left on the steps. 

Unfortunately, there is very little information available about the investigation into Lakira’s disappearance. Lakira’s family is hoping that somebody from the public will come forward with answers. If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the Montgomery CrimeStoppers at 215-STOP.

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Sources:
Charley Project
Crime Online
IInvestigation Discovery

The Disappearance and Murder of Kelsey Berreth

29 year-old Kelsey Berreth vanished on November 22nd, 2018. It was Thanksgiving on the day the young mother disappeared, and early on she was seen at a Safeway grocery store near her home in Woodland Park, Colorado. Surveillance footage captured Kelsey at the store with her one year-old daughter. At some point later that day, Kelsey met with her fiancé/father of her child, Patrick Frazee, so he could pick up their daughter. Kelsey was seen never seen again by her family and friends.

Patrick Frazee and Kelsey

Patrick told authorities that he heard from Kelsey one final time via text on November 25th. Her mother reported her missing that same day. Kelsey was supposed to return to her job as a flight instructor the following day, but her employer reportedly received a text from her phone as well, that stated she planned to take a few days off. Her phone pinged off of a tower in Gooding, Idaho that same day—a town located around 700 miles away from her home in Colorado.

Kelsey’s family was initially baffled by her disappearance. At first, it did not seem odd that she would go to Idaho, as she has family in that area. But, it was soon realized that none of said family members reporting seeing Kelsey that day. Kelsey’s mother described Kelsey as a dedicated mother who would not leave her daughter behind. Kelsey’s brother told reporters that he went to Kelsey’s house after he found out she was missing, and noticed that there were no signs that she ran away. Her vehicles were still there, none of her makeup or personal items were missing, and it did not appear that she had packed up any clothes. It is also unclear why Kelsey’s fiancé, Patrick, did not report her missing earlier. Despite being engaged and having a daughter together, the couple did not live together. 

It did not take long for the FBI to get involved in Kelsey's disappearance. Investigators searched Patrick's home and workplace on numerous occasions but did not initially disclose what was found. Then, just a few months after Kelsey's disappearance, Patrick was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and solicitation for first-degree murder in connection with the death of Kelsey Berreth.

By February 2019, it was publicly revealed that Patrick's mistress, Krystal Lee Kenney, was also involved in Kelsey's disappearance. In fact, on February 5th, 2019, Krystal was charged with one felony count of tampering with physical evidence in the case. Just three days later, Krystal pleaded guilty to the charge and also agreed to testify against Patrick Frazee at his trial.

Throughout the case, it was revealed that Krystal and Patrick were having an affair that began in late 2016/early 2017. The pair had actually known each other for more than a decade, and Krystal’s ex-husband said that Patrick has always had a “special hold” over her. Arrest affidavits containing text messages between Krystal and Patrick show that Patrick spent months trying to convince Krystal to be the one to kill Kelsey. After he ended up killing Kelsey himself, he sent a text to Krystal that said, “You need to get here now. You’ve got a mess to clean up.” Patrick then took the daughter he shared with Kelsey and Kelsey’s cell phone to Thanksgiving dinner. 

While he was gone, Krystal went to Kelsey’s apartment to clean up the murder scene. Krystal told police she was not there for the murder herself, but that Patrick described it in detail. Patrick reportedly told Krystal that he blindfolded Kelsey to have her smell different scented candles and guess their scent. When she was distracted, Patrick smashed Kelsey in the face with a baseball bat and subsequently beat her to death. Krystal told investigators that she later helped Patrick burn Kelsey’s body and other evidence taken from the apartment. Patrick then asked Krystal to dispose of Kelsey’s remains, but she refused. She reportedly does not know where Patrick ended up disposing of them, but believes he went to a dump or a river. 

Police believe that Patrick killed Kelsey because he wanted full custody of their daughter. Today, Kelsey’s parents have custody of her. 

On November 18th, 2019, a jury found Patrick Frazee guilty of the murder of Kelsey Berreth. Less than an hour later, Judge Scott Sells sentenced Patrick to a life term plus an additional 156 years. The judge addressed Patrick directly in court, stating, "Your actions were vicious, senseless, without reason or explanation."

Kelsey's remains have still not been found. 

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[List Series: No Body Convictions Vol. II]

The Disappearance of Taveta Hobbs

Taveta Hobbs has been missing since November 24th, 2008. The 43-year-old woman was a Navy veteran who lived with her husband Phil Hobbs in Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to her disappearance, Taveta was training to become a stenographer and working for a company in Cary. However, in late November 2008, Taveta’s boss received a text message from her phone that stated she was quitting. She never picked up her last paycheck, and she has never been seen or heard from again.

It was not unusual for Taveta to drop out of sight for a few weeks or months, so she was not immediately reported missing. Finally, in October 2009, Taveta’s brother filed a missing person's report. Once police began to investigate, they questioned Taveta’s husband Phil. He told police that Taveta abruptly left and never returned. She left behind her car and all of her other personal belongings.

Police found it odd that Phil never reported his wife missing. He explained that he thought Taveta was leaving him. Still, police found it suspicious that Phil never attempted to contact Taveta and that there has been no activity on her cell phone or bank account.

Numerous searches have been conducted for Taveta, but so far police have no trace of her. In 2018, police announced that they believe Taveta was murdered. So far, nobody has been charged with anything related to her case. Raleigh Police are still investigating. If you have any information that could help the case, please call 919-996-3555.

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Sources:
Charley Project
NBC News