Missing
Debora Gail DeLoach Moody
Moody, approximately 2007; Kenneth Lumpkin
Date and time person was reported missing : 12/04/2007
Missing location (approx) :
Ludowici, Georgia
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 04/22/1965 (56)
Age at the time of disappearance: 42 years old
Height / Weight : 5'6, 110 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Dark blonde to brown hair, brown eyes. Many accounts spell Moody's first name "Deborah" or hypenate her name, as in "DeLoach-Moody." She may go by her middle name, Gail. Moody has a scar on her right leg extending from her ankle to her knee, and a surgical scar on her neck; she had neck surgery in September 2007.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Moody was last seen in Ludowici, Georgia on December 4, 2007. That day, she left her job at C&S Construction and visited a friend. at Fort Stewart near Hinesville, Georgia at 4:00 p.m.
Afterwards, she visited another friend in Liberty County, Georgia, then the two women drove to Moody's mobile home at the end of on Smiley Road, a dirt road off Highway 196. Moody's friend helped her unload a dog pen she had just purchased at Anderson's Feed and Seed. She says Moody was behaving normally at the time. The friend left her between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.
Moody has never been heard from again. Her uncle reported her missing on December 10. Nothing appeared to be amiss inside her home when police checked it. Her purse was inside the residence, and her car was parked undisturbed outside it, and her dogs were in the front yard. There was no indication of foul play at the scene. An extensive search of the local area turned up no indication of her whereabouts.
In June 2019, convicted murderer Kenneth William Lumpkin confessed to Moody's murder. He had been arrested for the murder of another woman in 2010, Lori Arrowood. In 2011, he later pleaded guilty to felony murder and kidnapping in Arrowood's death in order to avoid the death penalty; he was sentenced to life in prison instead. A photo of Lumpkin is posted with this case summary.
After his murder arrest, police began investigating him as a possible suspect in Moody's disappearance; he had known her. They interviewed him in prison several times, and each time he denied any involvement in her case. In 2019, he agreed to confess to her murder and lead police to her body in exchange for immunity from prosecution in her case.
According to Lumpkin, he strangled Moody while attempting to rape her. He provided an approximate location as to where he'd put her body. Multiple searches of this area have turned up nothing of interest, but police stated his confession had been corroborated and they believe it is true. They stated they don't think anyone else was involved in Moody's death.
Moody's mother, stepfather and son lived in Florida at the time of her disappearance, but they came to Georgia to assist with the investigation. She was in the process of a divorce in 2007, and is described as an independent, self-reliant woman who enjoys country living.
Investigators stated her case would remain open until her remains are located.
Other information and links : ncy
Long County Sheriff's Office
912-545-2118
September 2021 updates and sources
WTOC 11
The Savannah Morning News
The Coastal Courier
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
America's Most Wanted
Project Jason
Fox 28 Media
WTOC 11
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
