AL MELINDA MCGHEE: Missing from Atmore, AL - 24 March 2003 - Age 31

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Melinda McGhee disappeared from Atmore Alabama on March 24, 2003

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Melinda was last seen on March 24, 2003 at her residence on Kent Road in Atmore, Alabama. She had arrived home from work where she was a nurse on the night shift at a Bay Minette nursing home, at 8:00 a.m. that day. Her husband, Troy McGhee, was at that time at work at Masland Carpets. Their two children were with a baby-sitter, and Troy's son from a previous relationship was at the dentist's. Melinda spoke to Troy and to her mother on the phone at approximately 8:30 a.m. She has never been heard from again. Troy came home at close to 4:00 p.m. that afternoon and found his wife missing. There was blood and other evidence of a violent struggle in their house.

http://blog.al.com/live/2013/03/10_year ... ounty.html

By Theresa Seiger | tseiger@al.com

on March 25, 2013 at 4:41 PM, updated March 25, 2013 at 5:12 PM

ATMORE, Alabama -- More than a decade after Melinda Wall McGhee was last seen at her home in Atmore, authorities are still trying to piece together what could have happened to the mother of two.

McGhee was 31 years old when she last heard from around 8:00 a.m. on March 24, 2003. Although officials found a bloody scene at her home, authorities have not find her body or definitively confirmed she has, in fact, died.

In 2010, authorities issued a death certificate for McGhee after numerous leads over the years led to dead ends.

In 2009, officials from Escambia and Baldwin counties teamed up with the FBI in hopes of finding signs of McGhee in an Escambia County gravel pit. However, as with many leads before, the search yielded no clues to McGhee's fate.

In 2003, authorities speculated McGhee could have been the victim Derrick Todd Lee, who was convicted in 2004 of murdering seven women in south Louisiana. However, investigators have not linked Lee to McGhee's disappearance.

McGhee was a nursing student months away from graduation who worked as a licensed practical nurse at nearby prisons and a nursing home in Bay Minette, according to Press-Register archives.

She worked a night shift at the nursing home on March 23, 2003. She called to tell her husband and her mother she was home the morning of March 24, 2003, but when her husband came home around 4 p.m. that day, signs of a violent struggle were all that greeted him.

Her disappearance devastated and shocked friends, loved ones and the community.

According to WKRG, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office is offering a $10,000 reward for information on McGhee's disappearance. Her family has also posted an additional $5,000 reward.

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment.

Anyone with information on McGhee's disappearance or whereabouts can call the Escambia County Sheriff's Office at 251-867-0304
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http://www.northescambia.com/2012/03/se ... nine-years

Search Continues For Melinda Wall McGhee, Missing For Nine Years
March 26, 2012

Nine years ago the morning of March 24, something went terribly wrong at a home on Kent Road north of Atmore. Melinda Wall McGhee, then 31, returned to her home about 8 a.m. after working the night shift as a nurse at a Bay Minette nursing home.
Her husband, Troy McGhee, was at work at Masland Carpets in Atmore. Their two children were at a babysitter, and Troy’s son from a previous relationship was at a dentist’s office. At about 8:30 the morning of March 24, 2003, Melinda McGhee spoke to her mother on the phone. It was the last time anyone known to Melinda would ever hear from her.
At about 4:00 that afternoon, husband Troy came home to find Melinda missing. There was blood and evidence of a violent struggle inside the home. He reported his wife missing.
Melinda’s vehicle was found parked near the house with her keys locked inside. Her purse and cellular phone were inside the residence. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance.
Over the years, there have been several searches for Melinda’s body or clues into the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
In March 2009, authorities searched an area off Perry Lane in Wawbeek for clues in Melinda’s disappearance. Perry Lane is about a mile north of Highway 31 off Sardis Church Road near Old Atmore Road. The location is about three miles north of the Florida/Alabama line . On the last day of January 2009, authorities searched a water-filled gravel pit off Jack Springs Roads near the Judson Cemetery between Atmore and Poarch. All of the searches have turned up empty.
Anyone with information on McGhee’s disappearance is asked to call the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department at (251) 809-0741 or their local law enforcement agency.
Pictured above: Two photos of Melinda Wall McGhee who went missing in March 2003.
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Re: Atmore, Alabama.
« Reply #11 on: March 07, 2015, 09:29:55 AM »

Amanda McGhee on March 26th, 2012 9:59 am

Thank you for posting this. I am Melinda’s sister. Not one single day goes by that I don’t miss her. She was not only my sister, but my best friend. She is irreplaceable. I would like to thank everyone for their prayers. Having Faith that God will provide His closure is all that gets us through this sometimes.
I tried to get her on America’s Most Wanted, but was denied by letter. There is some Alabama law that prohibited it. I just have to believe just to get some peace that God will work this out.

http://www.northescambia.com/2012/03/se ... nine-years

Atmore Buzzing Over Missing Woman's Case

Melinda McGhee was last seen in her Atmore home almost five years ago. Today (Friday), the Escambia County Sheriff's Office followed up on a tip about the unsolved case.

Sheriff Grover Smith with the Escambia County Alabama Sheriff's Office says McGhee was 31 years old when she went missing. Authorities say the mother of two was asleep at her Atmore home on Gravel Lake Road when she was assaulted and then abducted on March 24th, 2003.

Authorities say McGhee hasn't been seen or heard from since.

http://wkrg.com/news/article/atmore_...ans_case/9835/
 
http://www.northescambia.com/?p=6285
Authorities Search Gravel Pit For Missing Woman’s Body
February 1, 2009

Authorities spent Saturday morning searching a gravel pit north of Atmore for the body of woman that went missing from her home almost five years ago. Searchers did not locate a body.

The search centered around a water-filled gravel pit off Jack Springs Roads near the Judson Cemetary between Atmore and Poarch. Authorities were searching for the body of Melinda Wall McGhee who was reported missing from her residence on Kent Road on March 24, 2003. She was 31 at the time.

Authorities said there was no strong evidence that there was a body buried on the property owned by the Poarch Creek Indians, but they were following up on a tip.

“We have no concrete evidence that Mrs. McGhee’s body is here,” Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith said. “But we are conducting a follow-up on an ongoing investigation.”

Cadaver dogs from Florida and Alabama were used in the search, along with sonar equipment from the North Baldwin Search and Rescue Squad. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and several Alabama agencies participated in the search.

Anyone with information on McGhee’s disappearance is asked to call the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department at (251) 809-0741.




A Six-Year Old Missing Person Mystery

Six years ago this morning, something went terribly wrong at a home on Kent Road north of Atmore. Melinda Wall McGhee, then 31, returned to her home about 8 a.m. after working the night shift as a nurse at a Bay Minette nursing home.
Her husband, Troy McGhee, was at work at Masland Carpets in Atmore. Their two children were at a babysitter, and Troy’s son from a previous relationship was at a dentist’s office. At about 8:30 the morning of March 24, 2003, Melinda McGhee spoke to her mother on the phone. It was the last time anyone known to Melinda would ever hear from her.

http://www.northescambia.com/?p=7132
 
http://www.northescambia.com/2012/07...E2%80%99s-body

Authorities Search Septic Tank For Body Of Woman Missing For 9 Years

Alabama authorities continued their search Wednesday for Melinda Wall McGhee, an Atmore area woman that has been missing for over nine years.

The Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department used cadaver dogs to search a septic tank on Ewing Farm Road about five miles northwest of Atmore and just a short distance from the Kent Road home at which McGhee was last seen in 2003.

“We searched at an old home place that we had never searched before after getting a tip,” Escambia County (Ala.) Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said.

After pumping the septic tank, Lambert said nothing suspicious was found.
 
http://www.atmorenews.com/2013/03/27/10 ... da-mcghee/

10 years later – still missing. Press conference held for Melinda McGhee

By Sherry Digmon / March 27, 2013

Sheriff Grover Smith, at the podium, talks about the case. Seated are Melinda’s mother and sister, Ouida Wall, left, and Melissa Wall Wooten.

The tenth anniversary of the disappearance of Melinda Wall McGhee was marked Monday, March 20, at a press conference held at the Poarch Creek Family Life Center. “It was ten years ago yesterday, the first day of Spring break,” Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith said. “We wanted to call this conference to draw attention to the fact that Melinda is still not with us and there is still no one in prison for taking her away.”
At the request of Sheriff Smith, the Reverend Don Davis with Atmore First Assembly of God prayed before Smith updated everyone on the status of the investigation. Rev. Davis prayed for the family and for those still conducting the investigation.
Smith renewed law enforcement’s commitment to bringing closure for the family and bringing the guilty party to justice.
“We will never stop until we locate Melinda and bring her home,” he said. “We will never stop until we find the person responsible and successfully prosecute the one who took her away from us.”
Melinda’s mother Ouida Wall and sister Melissa Wall Wooten were present but chose not to speak. Instead a prepared statement was read by Smith.
“The family wishes to express our appreciation to those in law enforcement who continue to search for justice for Melinda. It is a daily battle that is more acute at the holidays, birthdays and this anniversary. If you have information, please call law enforcement. Pray for our family.”
Mrs. Wall and Mrs. Wooten wiped tears as the statement was read.
“Melinda was last seen at 7 a.m. on that fateful Monday, March 24, 2003, ten years ago, when she stopped at a local convenience store after having worked the night shift at Oakwood Nursing Home in Bay Minette,” Smith said. “It was the first day of spring break, just as we have today.
“Since that time until this very day, Escambia County deputies and investigators have continued working this incident. Let me say without question, this is not a cold case. It is an active investigation. Investigators have pursued literally hundreds of leads since this occurrence and we are committed to our pursuit of justice not only for the victim, but for the family members. This horrific event impacted not only the immediate and extended family of Melinda Wall McGhee, but has affected our entire community since the day it occurred.”
Smith introduced Tommy Calhoun, lead investigator on the case and former Mobile cold case detective.
“It is all about Melinda,” Calhoun said. “This is a team effort. No one individual can do this alone. We are going to keep on keeping on.
“We have several individuals we are highly interested in. One is in the penitentiary and others are out in the world. We are reviewing the whole case. We have entered Melinda’s dental records in a national data base. We are using the latest technology.”
Smith said that the state is offering a $10,000 reward and the family is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the individual responsible.
“To whoever is responsible, we will never rest. Every time you hear a footstep behind you or a noise in the night, it might be us,” Smith said. “We will never forget. Nothing will stop us from doing what we have to do to find out what happened and bring Melinda home.”
Law enforcement personnel stood with Sheriff Smith on the stage – Atmore Public Safety Director Glenn Carlee, Atmore Police Chief Jason Dean, Escambia County Sheriff’s Investigator Matt Hammon, PCI Police Chief Larry Hammonds, Escambia County Deputy Janet Richburg, PCI Officer and Task Force Office Dale Lisenby, ECSO Deputy Greg Forbes, Lead Investigator Tommy Calhoun, Tribal Council Secretary David Gehman, PCI officers Steve Griffis and Lucas Gibson.
 
Melinda McGhee disappeared from her home at 1038 Kent Road, north of Atmore on March 24, 2003. Melinda Wall McGhee, returned to her home about 8 AM after working the night shift as a nurse at Oakwood Nursing Home in Bay Minette. Her husband, Troy McGhee, was at work at Masland Carpets, in Atmore. Their two children were at a babysitter, and Troy’s son from a previous relationship was at a dentist’s office. At about 8:30 AM, Melinda McGhee spoke to her mother on the phone. It was the last contact anyone had with her. At about 4:00 that afternoon, Troy came home to find Melinda missing. There was blood and evidence of a violent struggle inside the home. He reported his wife missing. Melinda’s vehicle was found parked near the house with her keys locked inside. Her purse and cellular phone were inside the residence.


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http://blog.al.com/live/2013/03/10_year ... ounty.html

By Theresa Seiger | tseiger@al.com

on March 25, 2013 at 4:41 PM, updated March 25, 2013 at 5:12 PM


ATMORE, Alabama -- More than a decade after Melinda Wall McGhee was last seen at her home in Atmore, authorities are still trying to piece together what could have happened to the mother of two.

McGhee was 31 years old when she last heard from around 8:00 a.m. on March 24, 2003. Although officials found a bloody scene at her home, authorities have not find her body or definitively confirmed she has, in fact, died.

In 2010, authorities issued a death certificate for McGhee after numerous leads over the years led to dead ends.

In 2009, officials from Escambia and Baldwin counties teamed up with the FBI in hopes of finding signs of McGhee in an Escambia County gravel pit. However, as with many leads before, the search yielded no clues to McGhee's fate.

In 2003, authorities speculated McGhee could have been the victim Derrick Todd Lee, who was convicted in 2004 of murdering seven women in south Louisiana. However, investigators have not linked Lee to McGhee's disappearance.

McGhee was a nursing student months away from graduation who worked as a licensed practical nurse at nearby prisons and a nursing home in Bay Minette, according to Press-Register archives.

She worked a night shift at the nursing home on March 23, 2003. She called to tell her husband and her mother she was home the morning of March 24, 2003, but when her husband came home around 4 p.m. that day, signs of a violent struggle were all that greeted him.

Her disappearance devastated and shocked friends, loved ones and the community.

According to WKRG, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office is offering a $10,000 reward for information on McGhee's disappearance. Her family has also posted an additional $5,000 reward.

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment.

Anyone with information on McGhee's disappearance or whereabouts can call the Escambia County Sheriff's Office at 251-867-0304
 
https://app.alea.gov/Community/wfAlertF ... dab09e9e5b

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Category: Involuntary
Status: Active
Case Number: M963085190
Date Issued: 08/13/2003
Comments: The Escambia County Sheriffs Office is investigating the disappearance of MELINDA WALL MCGHEE. MELINDA has been missing since Monday, March 24th, 2003. Anyone who has seen MELINDA or knows her whereabouts is encouraged to call the Escambia County Sheriffs Office. Also, please report any suspicious person or vehicle observed on Monday, March 24, 2003 from 8am -4pm, in and around Kent Road in Atmore, Alabama.
 
Tonight on News 5, we are investigating a cold case murder from over a decade ago that law enforcement refuses to give up on. It was a case that had the entire Atmore community worried for their safety. Melinda McGhee, a young nurse and mother of two, was murdered inside her home, after working an overnight shift at a nursing home back in March of 2003. McGhee’s body was never found, despite hundreds of people and several law enforcement agencies searching for her. No one has ever been arrested, even though the killer left behind a bloody crime scene inside McGhee’s home. McGhee’s sister says the “coward” treated her body like it was “trash.” Melissa Wall Boatwright has so much anger that no one has been forced to pay for the crime. “I wish the cowards who know about this who have chosen for 14 years to live their lives and not tell the facts would actually tell authorities what could help these boys find their mother.”

Escambia County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy, Mike Lambert, says they refuse to let the McGhee case become cold, even though it happened fourteen years ago. “This case has been called a cold case, but in our minds, it is not, simply because we have not allowed it to be a cold case. This is still an active investigation.” The Sheriff’s Department brought in Special Investigator, Tommy Calhoun, to be devoted to this case. He insists that even today, there are suspects. “There are suspects. Today they call them persons of interest, but we definitely have people we have not been able to eliminate being involved.” Calhoun and Lambert say they have interviewed over 100 people through the years, and have even gone as far as to drain a swamp looking for her body.

Meanwhile, McGhee’s family has spent the last 14 years suffering the loss of Melinda. Boatwright says, “Our family has never been the same since that day.” She prays someone will come forward with information so that someone will go to prison. “We are suffering. Her children, her husband, and her parents still suffer ever day wondering where she is, and they (the killer) are living their life. It is hard.”

There is still a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
 
Missing in Alabama: After 15 years, Melinda Wall McGhee is still missing

It was back in 2003 when a 31 year old woman went missing from her Atmore home. This is an investigation deputies say has never gone cold, yet pieces to this puzzle are still missing.

For years now detectives have looked far and wide for Melinda Wall McGhee. Yet after 15 years of searching they're still not close to finding her.

When someone is missing. It's as if time stops.

"The circle is broken. There's a big missing piece," said Melissa Wall Boatright, McGhee's sister.

"This time capsule of her picture is so disheartening sometimes because we've aged. there's no new pictures. why can't we see her as she would be today?" added Melinda Wall McGhee's sister, Amanda McGhee.

For Melinda Wall McGhee's family, their puzzle broke in 2003.

"I've had 15 years of sorrow, insane hurt, pain from this, anger, sadness," said Boatright.

"I just want you to know she's a real person, we love her, we want her back. if you ever, ever see her please call somebody," said Amanda McGhee in 2003.



"What caused her to be a victim of this crime in her own home. What she did? How she did it? Where she went to church? Where she got her hair done? All the facts you can learn about somebody. Spending habits, what did you spend money on? Any known enemies? You just work from the center out and end up literally, as in this case, interviewing hundreds of people," Calhoun explained.

Days, turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, then months turned into years.

"We've used ground contract and radar. We've dug up old wells, just off leads. Numerous dollars have been spent. Where a lead takes us, we don't leave that rock un-turned, we turn it over and we look under. If we have to dive, we dive," said Captain Greg Forbes, Cold Case Investigator.

Toi: "Any chance, any chance in you guy's minds personally, do you think that she may be still alive?

Forbes: "No."


Calhoun: "We're absolutely convinced that she was killed and there are some things we've done from early on, because that's another thing you hear in a case like this. you have rumors, she made herself disappear, but we have run those type things into the ground with, i think more than a reasonable degree of certainty with the physical evidence."

Although they haven't found a body, Detective Tommy Calhoun and Captain Greg Forbes say this is a murder investigation.

"Who removes a body from the scene of a violent crime like that? Why would he remove it? What's the purpose in taking it? It leaves you to believe that the person was known to the victim, perhaps even close to the victim. In this violent of an encounter, there's going to be transfer of physical evidence. We don't have to wonder, it was. Well if you don't have a body, you don't have that evidence unless there was some evidence left at the house," said Calhoun.

15 years later they're still conducting interviews. Still working for this family, still hoping to find her.

Toi: "Is this a cold case?"

Forbes: "This is not a cold case. We're working it everyday. We actually today in our office, before we did this interview, we interviewed a guy. That's not a cold case."

https://www.fox10tv.com/news/missin...c ... 788e6.html
 
After 17 Years, The Search Continues For Melinda Wall McGhee

“The selfishness and meanness of the person that committed this crime haunts us daily. Our love for Melinda is as strong as it ever was and she is missed daily. Perseverance is our only weapon along with prayer. Our God’s vengeance will prevail one day this I believe,” Amanda McGhee said Tuesday as she visited her sister’s empty grave.

“We continue to be in prayer that Melinda’s body will be found and we can lay her to rest as she should have been years ago,” sister Melissa Wall said. “We are hopeful that the person responsible will be found out or come forward. We also pray that whoever knows something because someone does will come forward in hopes of some type of closure. Nothing will ever bring Sissy back but she deserves to be found and justice needs to be served.”
 

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