Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos

Demakia Ann Phinizee





Demakia, date, approximate 2007; Robert Phinizee in 2020; Demakia's 2005 Pontiac Grand Am
Date Missing 10/12/2007
Missing From
Tupelo, Mississippi
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Black
Age 26 years old
Height and Weight 5'1 - 5'3, 122 - 160 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description Blue denim capri pants with pockets in the sides, a tan shirt with red around the sleeves and neck, and red flip-flop sandals.
Associated Vehicle(s) Red two-door 2005 Pontiac Grand Am (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Demakia's ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance Demakia was last seen dropping someone else off at the Fillmore Center, the alternative school where she worked as a security guard in the 900 block of Fillmore Drive in Tupelo, Mississippi, at noon on October 12, 2007. She has never been heard from again.
Her red two-door 2005 Pontiac Grand Am, which she was driving when she was last seen, was recovered that evening at Warfield Apartments in the 2600 block of Jackson Street in Tupelo. A photograph of it is posted with this summary.
Witnesses saw the vehicle enter the apartment complex at a high rate of speed. An African-American male wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans was driving. He exited the car and ran behind the apartments, where there was a field and a small storage unit.
When Demakia didn't pick up her children from her sister's house after school, her sister reported her missing. When police went to her home, they noted the sheets in the master bedroom were gone.
Demakia's husband, Robert Delawrence "Tre" Phinizee, said he hadn't seen her since 6:00 a.m. on the day of her disappearance, and suggested she had simply run off with a boyfriend. He said he'd removed the sheets because their children had wet the bed. The sheets were never recovered.
Demakia spent five years in the United States Army and was earning a degree in criminal justice at the time of her disappearance. She and Robert were separated and she was seeing another man. Her loved ones stated it is uncharacteristic of her to abandon her children. There had been at least two domestic violence incidents in the couple's relationship.
A photo of Robert is posted with this summary. He took the children and moved out of Tupelo the day after Demakia's disappearance. He later remarried. In February 2020, he was charged with attempted murder in the shooting of his estranged wife; they were in the process of a divorce.
In the wake of Robert's arrest, police are looking into Demakia's disappearance again. He has always been the main person of interest in her , but he has never been charged in connection with it.
Demakia is a U.S. Army veteran and was getting a degree in criminal justice at the time of her disappearance. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Mississippi Department of Public Safety
662-563-6400
Other
Crimestoppers of Northeast Mississippi
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
WCBI News
NamUs
WREG 3 Memphis
Mississippi Arrests
The Lee County Courier

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos