The Walk She Never Returned From: The Disappearance of Asia “Nikkie” Martin

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.