The Vanishing of Jacqueline Davis: A Case With No Trail

Most missing persons cases start with something—a scene, a time, a witness, a clue. Jacqueline Davis didn’t even get that.

She was 13 years old. A kid from Cherokee, North Carolina. A member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. On April 12, 1969, she was reportedly walking to a friend’s house. That’s it. That’s the entire lead. No name. No address. No distance. No one’s ever said who the friend was, if she got there, or what time she left. There are even some sources that state the date she was last seen was January—a four month discrepancy.

You could scream into a canyon and get more echo than what’s in this case file.

No crime scene. No suspects. No official timeline. For over 50 years, her case has sat there—labeled “endangered missing,” but starved of detail, buried under dust and half-facts. The trail isn’t just cold; it’s nonexistent.

We don’t even know if anyone went looking for her right away. Did her family call the police? Did the police care? Did the friend ever say she never showed up? Did anyone?

The lack of answers isn’t just frustrating—it’s chilling. Because when a child disappears, the silence around it shouldn’t be this loud. You’d expect someone to remember something. But with Jacqueline, the details never made it to paper. Or if they did, they were lost—like she was.

If you know anything—no matter how small—contact the BIA Missing & Murdered Unit at 1-833-560-2065 or email OJS_MMU@bia.gov.

Let’s make sure Jacqueline Davis is more than a name on a list. Even if they left her behind, we won’t.