GA SHY'KEMMIA PATE: Missing from Unadilla, GA - 4 September 1998 - Age 8

[Kimster]

“I am not going to give up or stop believing that she will come back one day,” Veronica said.


The family's heartbreaking experience began on September 4, 1998, in their hometown of Unadilla, Georgia. That evening, around 5 p.m., the community was eagerly preparing for a Friday night high school football game. Crumpler Avenue, the very street where Shy Shy lived, buzzed with activity as neighbors congregated, engaging in conversations and partaking in card games and dominos.


LaSwanda, Shy Shy’s sister, was just 17 years old at the time. She had her own group of friends and was old enough to drive. On that fateful evening, she was supposed to take Shy Shy to the game.


“I drove by the house and saw her sitting on the porch,” LaSwanda said. “She waved to me. I went up the street to get gas for the car, and when I returned, Shy Shy was not on the front porch.”


LaSwanda thought her sister had gotten a ride with a friend – Unadilla was the kind of place where everyone knew each other, and kids often hung out with different families. But as night fell, panic started creeping in. Shy Shy was nowhere to be found, and worry grew with each passing moment.


“I got home from the game and when I didn’t see Shy Shy, I asked my mom where she was and she said she wasn’t home,” explained LaSwanda. “Around 10 o’clock we still hadn’t found her. Nobody’d heard from her.”


The Dooly County Sheriff’s Office was called and they began searching for the 8-year-old. Sheriff Craig Peavy remembers that day all too well.


“We started searching for the little girl, everybody was involved,” said Peavy. “State agencies, federal agencies...it was probably one of the most massive searches I've ever been a part of or ever even seen.”


The search for Shy Shy continued for months. Law enforcement went door to door, looking for any sign of the little girl.


“We were just out searching fields, dirt roads, anything...anything that might give us a lead,” said Peavy.


More than two decades later, there are still no answers as to what happened to the little girl.

New Image Released: 8 Year-Old Still Missing

On October 29, 2023, Shy’Kemmia Pate should be celebrating her 34th birthday. Instead, her family...

www.missingkids.org

Shy Shy was there one minute, and gone the next! Where is Shy'Kemmia Pate? Missing from Unadilla, #GEORGIA since September of 1998!

• Kimster
• Jul 29, 2024
• 1

More than two decades later, there are still no answers as to what happened to the little girl.

 

[Kimster]

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Missing in South Ga: 26 years later, Dooly Co. investigators still asking ‘Where’s Shy Shy?’

Many years have passed by with no answers, but the missing girl’s family and investigators are still holding onto hope.

www.walb.com

Missing in South Ga: 26 years later, Dooly Co. investigators still asking ‘Where’s Shy Shy?’​

Wednesday marked 26 years since 8-year-old Shy’Kemmia Pate disappeared from her own neighborhood in Unadilla. Many years have passed by with no answers, but the missing girl’s family and investigators are still holding onto hope.

On Sept. 4, 1998, Shy’Kemmia was supposed to go to a football game with her older sister but instead, she left her home to go down the street and play with a neighbor. No one thought that would be the last time the then 8-year-old would be seen.

“This is the last picture that I have of her,” said Shy’kemmia’s mom Veronica Pate as she glanced down at her daughter’s elementary school photo.

Veronica has seen the picture go from a school yearbook to the back of milk cartons. The last words the mother of four told to her youngest was, “I love you.”

“I have to overlive that same date from September 4, 1998, to now 2024. I feel in my heart that she is. That she’s still alive,” she said.

While Shy’Kemmia also fondly known as “Shy Shy” was reported missing on September 4, police didn’t start looking for her until 24 hours later—a mistake investigators wish they could take back.

“Would it have made a difference? I mean that would be hard to say but we wouldn’t be so far behind in what would be the 8 ball. We’d had a better chance,” said Major Randy Lamberth, a Dooly County Sheriff’s Office Investigator who has been on the case from the start.

What started as a 5-mile radius search for Shy Shy extended to a 10-mile search involving several local and state resources from cadaver dogs to even helicopter searches. Investigators said the most recent search for Shy Shy was done on foot a couple of weeks ago, but still nothing was found. To this day, investigators don’t have any evidence that points to what happened to Shy Shy.

“Beam me up, Scotty. That’s almost like what’s transpired here. I mean it’s like she just vanished in thin air,” Lamberth said.

Right now, with the help of the GBI, investigators are re-interviewing people regarding Shy Shy’s whereabouts. There are also persons of interest in the case. Investigators believe Shy Shy was taken by someone the family knows.

“We’re actively running leads and we haven’t given up,” Logan Holland, GBI Special Agent.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Missing in South Georgia: Hope for Shy’Kemmia Pate return 27 years later

Every year, Shy Shy’s family celebrates her birthday in October. For Veronica, her 3 children and 10 grandchildren are what keep her going.

www.walb.com

Missing in South Georgia: Hope for Shy’Kemmia Pate return 27 years later​

Many years have passed with no answers as to what happened to 8-year-old Shy’Kemmia Pate, who disappeared from her neighborhood in Unadilla.

On Sept. 4, 1998, Shy’Kemmia Pate, known as “Shy Shy,” was supposed to go to a football game with her older sister. Instead, she left home to play with a neighbor down the street. That would be the last time her mother told her youngest daughter, “I love you.”

The Dooly County Sheriff’s Office began searching for Shy Shy 24 hours after she went missing. The search expanded from a 5-mile radius to a 10-mile area and involved several local and state resources, including cadaver dogs and helicopter searches.

In recent years, police have conducted searches in the area and re-interviewed people regarding Shy Shy’s disappearance. However, nothing has revealed what happened. Investigators told WALB they believe Shy Shy was taken by someone her family knows.

Every year, Shy Shy’s family celebrates her birthday in October. For Veronica, her three children and ten grandchildren are what keep her going.

If you have any information regarding Shy’Kemmia Pate’s disappearance, call the Dooly County Sheriff’s Office at (229) 645-0920.