GA DETREZ GREEN: Missing from Albany, GA - January 2017 - Age 2 (1 Viewer)

Missing in South Ga: Detrez Green case still a mystery 7 years later

Seven years after a two-year-old boy was reported missing following a tornado in Albany and investigators still don’t know what happened to Detrez Green.

www.walb.com

Missing in South Ga: Detrez Green case still a mystery 7 years later​

Seven years after a two-year-old boy was reported missing following a tornado in Albany and investigators still don’t know what happened to Detrez Green.

“I honestly believe he was missing before the storm,” said Willie Rainey, Detrez’s great-grandfather. “There will never be no closure until we find out what happened to my grandbaby.”

For seven years the question in Detrez’s missing persons case hasn’t just been what happened to the toddler but also what he even looks like — which has caused investigations into his disappearance to stay at a standstill.

On Jan. 22, 2017, Detrez’s mom Adaijah Rainey reported him missing five hours after a devastating tornado hit the Piney Wood Estates in Albany where the family lived. But even today, no picture of Detrez has been provided to the police. Some of his family even said they’d never seen what he looked like.

Days following the day Detrez went missing, over $100,000 worth of search efforts exploded across Albany. Those search efforts even going as far as to drain a nearby lake — still nothing.

Investigators previously said they believed that if the storm had taken the boy, there would have been clear evidence in or near the home.

The search also expanded out in Ashburn to a home where Detrez used to live. Still, investigators said they found no answers in the missing person’s case.

Willie said he believes law enforcement dropped the ball in his great-grandson’s case considering a clear pattern of domestic incidents between Detrez’s parents. Back in 2020, WALB uncovered that pattern from Ashburn Police and Turner County Sherriff’s records that show Detrez’s dad, Kevian Green’s history with law enforcement. WALB even found one incident that happened in 2014 where the couple was involved in a stand-off with Ashburn Police ending in the Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS) placing a protective order over Adaijah and her kids. The family says along with Detrez she had two other kids.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

First photo released of missing Albany toddler who vanished after 2017 tornado

Detrez was 2 years old when he disappeared Jan. 22, 2017, after an EF-3 tornado tore through the Albany area. For the first time ever, a family member has released a photo of the toddler.

www.walb.com

First photo released of missing Albany toddler who vanished after 2017 tornado​

For the first time since Albany toddler Detrez Green was reported missing in the aftermath of a deadly 2017 tornado, a family member is publicly sharing a photo of the child, giving the community a face to match a case that has haunted Southwest Georgia for years.

According to the family member, they recently came across the photo and decided to hand it over to the news.

Detrez was 2 years old when he disappeared Jan. 22, 2017, after an EF-3 tornado tore through the Albany area, damaging homes and scattering debris, according to previous reporting by WALB. His mother reported him missing about five hours after the storm hit, WALB reported.

Search crews and volunteers spent days combing through rubble and nearby areas, and authorities expanded the search beyond Albany, but Detrez was never found. Investigators said they would have expected clear evidence if the storm had carried the child away, WALB reported.

For years, one of the most unusual aspects of the case has been the absence of a publicly available photo. WALB previously reported that investigators were not provided an image of Detrez, and some relatives said they did not know what he looked like.

The newly released photo is intended to change that — and to generate renewed attention and tips in a case that remains active.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has previously said it continues to seek information about Detrez’s whereabouts.

In a 2024 WALB report, a supervising GBI agent said the agency wants to resolve the case but needs “a starting line.”