Gwendolyn at 18 years of age; 16 years of age; 15 years of age
Gwendolyn at 18 years of age; 16 years of age; 15 years of age
Name: Gwendolyn Mae Clemons
Case Classification: Missing
Missing Since: November 24, 1982
Location Last Seen: Kansas City, Missouri
Date of Birth: circa 1960
Age: 23 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'2" to 5'8"
Weight: 105 to 135 lbs.
Hair Color: Strawberry blonde
Eye Color: Hazel
Nickname/Alias: Gwen
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Gwendolyn and her 18 month-old daughter, Alisha, were last seen around Thanksgiving 1982, leaving their home in Kansas City, Missouri with Gwendolyn's boyfriend. They were headed to Florida to start a new life. The boyfriend, now deceased, eventually returned to Missouri without them.
On December 3, 1982, witnesses reported seeing a woman between midnight and 1 a.m. carrying a child on Highway 63 in Mississippi. A woman matching the same description was also reportedly seen shortly after on I-10 close to the Alabama border, walking west near the exit for the truck scales. One of the witnesses who came forward told investigators she was monitoring the CB radio on the night of Dec. 3, 1982, when there was a lot of chatter about a woman with a child walking down the interstate and being in distress but refusing to let anyone help her. Two days later, on the morning of December 5, 1982, a passing truck driver reported seeing a woman's body floating in the Escatawpa River near the I-10 bridge. Responding deputies found Alisha's body instead.
The body of 18 month-old Alisha Ann Heinrich was found partially submerged and face up in the weeds close to the bridge. Authorities believe the child was thrown from the bridge into the general area where her body was subsequently found. An autopsy revealed that someone attempted to smother her before she was put in the river. However, she was still alive when she landed in the water and her official cause of death was determined to be caused by drowning. Alisha, formerly known as "Delta Dawn", remained unidentified until December 4, 2020. Because of the heavy brush and weeds where Alisha was found, detectives do not believe it was her body that the trucker saw. Over the next few days, a large search effort was launched to try and find the woman. Despite an exhaustive search with helicopters, boats, and divers, a woman’s body was never found.
Gwendolyn has not been seen or heard from since 1982. She was not reported missing until her daughter's remains were identified.
Agency Name: Jackson County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Captain Randy Muffley
Agency Phone Number: 228-769-3024
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Original Case #82-21094 & PTS Case 2020020249
NamUs Case Number: 73713
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs
WLBT 3-Jackson, MS - December 4, 2020
FOX 13-Memphis, TN - December 7, 2020
Added: 6/8/21; Last Updated: 05-18-2022 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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