Lost Girls

On May 27, 2005, 19-year-old Asia Nicole Martin, known to her loved ones as “Nikkie,” disappeared from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. According to her roommate, Asia left their home at Robinson Place Apartments to take a walk and never returned. Just three days earlier, she had purchased a bus ticket to visit her mother in Denver, Colorado, but she never boarded the bus. Her disappearance remains unsolved. The Charley Project In this episode of The Lost Girls Podcast, hosts Amy Smith and LaDonna Humphrey examine Asia’s life, her family connections, and the unanswered questions surrounding her last known evening in Hattiesburg. They discuss her ties to Slidell, Louisiana, and Petal, Mississippi, her college plans, and her decision to take time away from school to help her ill mother. The conversation also addresses differences in public accounts of her disappearance and why distinguishing established information from uncertain details matters. Asia was a young woman with relationships, responsibilities, and plans for her future. More than two decades later, this episode asks listeners to remember the person behind the missing-person listing and consider whether they have information that could help clarify her final known movements. Asia is a Black woman with black hair and brown eyes, born November 5, 1985. Identifying characteristics include an inability to bend her left pinky finger, double-pierced ears, a pierced navel, and crooked lower teeth. Her case is listed as open in the Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons. Anyone with information about Asia’s disappearance or whereabouts should contact the Hattiesburg Police Department at 601-544-7900 and reference agency case number 2005-06-62-79 or NamUs case MP438. Please provide firsthand information directly to investigators, including anything you remember about Asia’s activities, plans, or contacts around May 27, 2005. Case and reporting information Please share this episode, particularly with people who lived in Hattiesburg, Petal, or Slidell in 2005. Help keep Asia’s name and story visible, because the passage of time does not diminish her importance or her family’s need for answers.

On September 13, 1982, 17-year-old Pamela Ann Pedro was dropped off at school in Atwater, California. She was a gifted student, a classical pianist, a black belt in karate, and a high school senior preparing to graduate early. By that afternoon, she had vanished. In this episode of The Lost Girls Podcast, hosts LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith examine the disappearance of Pamela Ann Pedro, a case that has remained unresolved for more than four decades. Pamela was last seen on the morning of September 13 outside Atwater High School, where she was reportedly talking to an unidentified person on a pay phone. When Pamela's mother arrived to pick her up at approximately 1:30 p.m., her daughter wasn't there. She waited, asked the school to page Pamela, and eventually contacted Pamela's father when Pamela still failed to appear. According to accounts of the case, Pamela's parents contacted law enforcement at approximately 4:30 that afternoon but were told that a missing-person report could not be taken until 24 hours had passed. Pamela has never been heard from again. At the time she disappeared, Pamela was just 11 days past her seventeenth birthday. She was 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighed approximately 110 pounds. She had black hair, dark brown eyes, a dimple on her left cheek, and a small mole beneath her right eye. Pamela wore braces and large-framed eyeglasses and was of Filipino descent. She was last known to be wearing a light blue and pink checkered long-sleeved shirt, blue corduroy pants, and blue Nike sneakers. There have been conflicting classifications and details associated with Pamela's case over the years. Some agencies have classified her as a runaway, while other records describe her as endangered missing. Even basic information has sometimes differed between sources, including her date of birth, disappearance date, and hometown. What has remained constant is the most important fact: Pamela disappeared as a 17-year-old girl in September 1982, and her family has spent decades without an answer. There are also significant reasons to continue asking what happened to her. Pamela reportedly never obtained a driver's license after her disappearance, and there has been no known activity associated with her Social Security number. Her father died in 1986 without learning what happened to his daughter. Her mother later remarried and moved to Oregon, but she has continued searching for Pamela. More than forty years later, one detail from that September morning remains especially important: the unidentified person Pamela was reportedly speaking with on the pay phone outside her school. Who was on the other end of that call? Did Pamela leave voluntarily to meet someone she trusted, or was that conversation connected to something far more dangerous? And does someone still know what happened after Pamela arrived at school that morning? LaDonna and Amy discuss the circumstances surrounding Pamela's disappearance, the early response to her case, the conflicting information that has followed it through the decades, and why missing teenagers—particularly those initially considered possible runaways—deserve thorough investigations from the very beginning. Pamela Ann Pedro would be 60 years old today. Age-progressed images have been created to show what she might look like as an older woman. Regardless of how much time has passed, Pamela is still missing, her case is still unresolved, and her family still deserves answers. If you have information about the disappearance of Pamela Ann Pedro, even if it seems insignificant or you believe investigators may already know it, please contact the Merced County Sheriff's Department at 209-385-7444. Someone may remember Pamela. Someone may remember who she was talking to that morning. Someone may remember something they dismissed as unimportant in 1982. After more than four decades, that memory could be the piece that finally helps bring Pamela home. Case: Pamela Ann Pedro Missing Since: September 13, 1982 Missing From: Atwater, California Age When Missing: 17 Classification: Endangered Missing Investigating Agency: Merced County Sheriff's Department Tips: 209-385-7444 The Lost Girls Podcast is hosted by LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith and is dedicated to telling the stories of missing and murdered women and girls while keeping the focus where it belongs: on the women, their families, and the search for answers.

In August 2015, 48-year-old Sheila St. Clair disappeared from Duluth, Minnesota. Nearly eleven years later, her family is once again facing the uncertainty of a missing loved one after Sheila’s daughter, 35-year-old Stephanie St. Clair, was reported missing from Moorhead, Minnesota. In this episode of The Lost Girls Podcast, Amy Smith and LaDonna Humphrey examine the circumstances surrounding Sheila’s long-unsolved disappearance while also discussing the more recent search for Stephanie. Although the cases involve a mother and daughter, authorities have not publicly established any connection between the two disappearances, and the circumstances surrounding each case are different. Sheila was last seen on August 20, 2015, at the Cascade Apartments in the 100 block of West Third Street in Duluth. She reportedly planned to visit family on the White Earth Reservation and may also have intended to travel to Red Cliff, Wisconsin. Sheila did not own a vehicle, leaving an important unanswered question: Who, if anyone, was supposed to give her a ride? Another critical complication is that Sheila was not reported missing until September 10, approximately three weeks after she was last seen. By the time investigators began reconstructing her movements, memories may have faded, surveillance footage could have been lost, and potential witnesses may not have realized that something they saw was important. Sheila is Native American, and her disappearance has become part of the broader effort to bring attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives. For more than a decade, her family and community have continued sharing her story and searching for answers. Now the St. Clair family is waiting for news about Stephanie. Stephanie was last seen June 6 at her residence in the 800 block of Second Avenue in Moorhead. Authorities have indicated that they do not currently have reason to believe she is in danger and believe she may have left the area voluntarily. The Lost Girls Podcast emphasizes that Stephanie’s disappearance should not be sensationalized because her mother is also missing, nor should Sheila’s unresolved case become merely a footnote to the newer search. This episode asks listeners to focus on the questions that have remained unanswered since 2015: Who was Sheila expecting to see on August 20? Who knew about her plans to travel? Was someone supposed to pick her up from the Cascade Apartments? Did anyone see her leave in a vehicle? Nearly eleven years have passed, but information does not become meaningless simply because it is old. Someone may still remember a conversation, a vehicle, a person, or a seemingly insignificant detail that investigators have never heard. If you have information about Stephanie St. Clair’s current whereabouts: Contact the Red River Regional Dispatch Center at 701-451-7660. If you have information concerning Sheila St. Clair’s 2015 disappearance: Contact the Duluth Police Department Violent Crime Unit at 218-730-5050. Two women from the same family. Two separate missing-person investigations. Both deserve to be treated responsibly, and neither deserves to be forgotten. The Lost Girls Podcast Hosted by Amy Smith and LaDonna Humphrey Because every girl deserves justice.

At first, everyone believed fourteen-year-old Jessie Kay Peters had simply run away. But as the years passed, the evidence told a different story. In this episode of The Lost Girls Podcast, hosts Amy Smith and LaDonna Humphrey examine the heartbreaking disappearance of Jessie Kay Peters, who vanished from her Glendora, California home on March 29, 1996. What began as a runaway investigation would later become linked to two convicted killers already serving death sentences for another young girl's murder. Amy and LaDonna explore the timeline of Jessie's disappearance, the investigative missteps that delayed progress, the shocking connection to Michael Forrest Thornton and Janeen Marie Snyder, and why law enforcement now believes Jessie was one of their earliest victims—even though her body has never been found and no one has ever been charged in her case. This episode is a powerful reminder of how quickly assumptions can derail a missing child's investigation and why every missing person deserves to be taken seriously from the very beginning. If you have information about the disappearance of Jessie Kay Peters, please contact the Glendora Police Department at (626) 914-8250. Every missing girl has a story. Every family deserves answers. Every case deserves to be remembered.

On the morning of February 14, 2000, nine-year-old Asha Degree disappeared from her family’s home near Shelby, North Carolina. Despite cold temperatures, heavy rain, darkness, and strong winds, several motorists reported seeing a young girl walking alone along North Carolina Highway 18 before sunrise. Asha was known as a shy, responsible child who was close to her family, active in church, and involved in basketball. She had no known history of running away. Yet sometime after going to bed, she apparently packed a backpack and quietly left her home. Why she left—and whether she believed she was meeting someone she trusted—remains one of the central mysteries of the case. In this episode of The Lost Girls Podcast, LaDonna Humphrey and Amy Smith examine the reported highway sightings, the personal items found near an equipment shed, and the discovery of Asha’s backpack more than a year later. The backpack had been wrapped in two plastic trash bags and buried approximately twenty-six miles from where Asha was last seen. Inside were belongings connected to Asha, as well as a New Kids on the Block T-shirt and a library copy of McElligot’s Pool that her family did not recognize. LaDonna and Amy also discuss the significant developments that emerged in September 2024, when investigators executed search warrants at properties connected to members of the Dedmon family. Court documents indicated that authorities believed Asha had been the victim of a homicide and that her body had been concealed. Investigators also seized a green 1964 AMC Rambler while examining a possible connection to an older green vehicle previously sought in the case. A search warrant is not proof of guilt, and no one has been convicted in connection with Asha’s disappearance. More than twenty-five years later, investigators continue working to determine why Asha left home, what happened after she walked away from the highway, and where she can be found. Important Case Questions Why did Asha leave her home during such dangerous weather? Was she expecting to meet someone? Did someone groom, manipulate, or lure her? What happened after she ran from the roadside into the wooded area? Who buried her backpack, and what is the significance of the unfamiliar book and T-shirt found inside? How to Help Anyone with credible information about Asha Degree’s disappearance should contact the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office or the FBI. Information that once seemed insignificant—including memories of a vehicle, an overheard conversation, unusual behavior, or knowledge of the recovered items—could help investigators move the case forward. Please do not contact people identified in court documents, interfere with the investigation, or circulate unverified accusations. Tips should be submitted directly to law enforcement. Asha was not simply the subject of a mystery. She was a daughter, a sister, a student, and a child whose life and future mattered. Because every girl deserves justice. Content Advisory This episode discusses the disappearance and suspected homicide of a child.