Dateline Missing in America - Ep. 17: The Night Shy Shy Disappeared

Summary

Dateline Missing in America - Ep. 17: The Night Shy Shy Disappeared

Released on October 1, 2024 by Dateline Originals, NBC News

---

Introduction

In this gripping episode of Dateline Missing in America, NBC News delves deep into the mysterious disappearance of Shy Shy Pate, an eight-year-old girl from Unadilla, Georgia, who vanished on September 4, 1998. Host Josh Mankiewicz guides listeners through the harrowing journey of Shy Shy's family, the exhaustive search efforts, and the lingering questions that have remained unresolved for over a quarter-century.

---

Background: Shy Shy Pate and Her Family

Shy Shy Pate was a vibrant eight-year-old girl, full of life and loved by her community. She lived in the small town of Unadilla, Georgia, with her mother, Veronica Pate, and her siblings. Shy Shy was known for her bright smile and lively spirit, despite battling chronic asthma and kidney disease which often kept her out of school. Veronica describes her daughter as "a happy child who had a lot of fans and she loved them back" (00:56).

Notable Quote:

"Everybody loved her. She loved the school. She loved her pediatrician because she took good care of her."
— Veronica Pate (03:38)

---

The Night of Disappearance

On a hot and muggy Friday night, Shy Shy was set to attend a local high school football game with her sister, Laswanda Hickey. Laswanda, a 17-year-old involved in junior ROTC and the color guard, had planned to bring Shy Shy to the game. However, Laswanda decided to take a nap before the event. Before dozing off, she jokingly told Shy Shy she wouldn't be accompanying her to the game, unaware of the impending tragedy.

At approximately 6:00 PM, as Laswanda was refueling the car, she noticed Shy Shy on a neighbor's front porch. Attempting to flag her down, Laswanda continued driving without stopping. Upon returning to pick her up, she was informed that Shy Shy had walked away up the street. Despite searching the vicinity, Laswanda couldn't locate her sister, prompting immediate concern.

Notable Quote:

"I had to be at the game by 7:30. And so she said, well, it's fine, you know, she's probably at somebody's house, a friend's house, and we'll get her when we come back."
— Laswanda Hickey (06:12)

---

Initial Search and Police Response

Veronica Pate arrived home around 7:45 PM, only to find Shy Shy missing. Initially believing her daughter was at a friend's house, Veronica began making frantic phone calls. When Shy Shy failed to appear after Laswanda returned from the game, the severity of the situation became apparent.

Unfortunately, Veronica recounts a troubling encounter with the police:

"They said we have to wait 24 hours."
— Veronica Pate (07:27)

Despite Shy Shy being a young child, the local police department delayed entering her name into the missing person's database, significantly hindering the chances of a timely rescue.

Investigator Randy Lamberth highlights the critical delay:

"So you lost a lot of time right there."
— Randy Lamberth (10:02)

---

Exhaustive Search Efforts and Leading Suspects

With limited initial police involvement, Shy Shy's family and neighbors took it upon themselves to search the dark streets of Unadilla. The community came together, canvassing homes and scouring the neighborhood, but Shy Shy remained missing as day turned to dawn.

Investigations revealed that Shy Shy was last seen near the intersection of Proper Avenue and West Street, a notoriously dangerous area adjacent to a local nightclub known as Roxy's. Despite extensive aerial and ground searches spanning a ten-mile radius, no trace was found.

One significant suspect emerged in Quentin Kendrick, a neighbor with a dark past. In 2002, Kendrick pleaded guilty to multiple counts of rape and kidnapping, unrelated to Shy Shy's case. Although he was among the last to see Shy Shy, DNA tests from an abandoned well near his property did not link him to her disappearance.

Notable Quote:

"I think Veronica does feel some guilt about this, which I think she absolutely should not feel."
— Randy Lamberth (30:15)

---

The Family's Ordeal and Community Impact

The disappearance had a profound impact on Shy Shy's family. Veronica moved out of the neighborhood in 2008, seeking a fresh start away from the haunting memories. Her sister, Laswanda, carried the weight of guilt, feeling responsible for not stopping to take Shy Shy with her that night.

Veronica shared her relentless hope:

"I believe in my heart that I will [see Shy again]."
— Veronica Pate (32:07)

Community events, such as a 5k walk organized by Veronica's sister Rotondo Freeman in 2016, aimed to keep Shy Shy's story in the public eye and support other missing children cases.

---

Recent Developments: A Mysterious Phone Call

In January 2012, a breakthrough seemingly appeared when a tipster pointed investigators to photos of a young woman on Facebook believed to be Shy Shy. However, upon investigation, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, reinforcing the family's enduring hope amidst ongoing uncertainty.

The most startling development occurred in 2022 when Veronica received a phone call from a woman in Missouri claiming to be Shy Shy. The caller stated that Shy Shy had been abducted, forced to use another name, and had suffered abuse from her abductor's family. Despite the emotional impact this had on Veronica, DNA tests confirmed the woman's identity was not Shy Shy.

Notable Quote:

"She said, if we never see each other again, I just want you to know that I ain't dead. And she said, and I just want to ease the pain that's in your heart."
— Veronica Pate (26:51)

---

Ongoing Hope and Community Awareness

Despite the setbacks, Veronica and Laswanda continue to hold onto hope. They participate in community events, maintain an active presence on social media to keep Shy Shy's image in public view, and advocate for greater awareness and resources for missing children cases.

Natalie Wilson from the Black and Missing Foundation emphasizes the prevalence of scams targeting missing persons families:

"We are seeing an increase or an uptick in individuals or, I'm assuming organizations that are taking advantage of families, you know, reaching out to them, saying, I know where your loved one is."
— Natalie Wilson (29:15)

Wilson urges families to remain vigilant and rely on official channels when seeking information.

---

Conclusion

Shy Shy Pate's disappearance remains one of Unadilla's most haunting mysteries. Over 25 years have passed, and while investigative efforts have intensified, the truth about that fateful night remains elusive. Veronica Pate's unwavering hope serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring pain families endure when a loved one goes missing.

Listeners are encouraged to view age-progressed photos of Shy Shy and provide any information that could aid in solving this decades-old case.

Call to Action: If you have any information about Shy Shy Pate’s disappearance, please contact the Dooley County Sheriff's Office at 229-645-0920 or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at 478-987-4545. Visit datelinemissinginamerica.com for more details and to submit cases for future episodes.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Veronica Pate:
  "It's a storm that never stopped storming in your life." (01:32)
  "I believe in my heart that I will [see Shy again]." (32:07)

• Randy Lamberth:
  "Because even they cooperated with deputies looking for shy shy." (12:00)
  "That to me says, do you think maybe this is close enough for you to either make an arrest or maybe learn where she is?" (17:53)

• Laswanda Hickey:
  "Shy, if she's listening or if she hears this story, I would want her to know and understand that we have. We had no idea where to go. And we still don't. We still love her. We miss her tremendously. And we never gave up hope." (32:29)

---

Credits

Produced by Kate Vidic with audio editing by Brian Drew, associate production by Keanu Reed, and senior production by Bradley Davis. Executive production by Paul Ryan and Liz Cole from NBC News. Special thanks to Bob Mallory for audio sound mixing and Bryson Barnes, head of audio production.

---

This summary is intended for informational purposes and reflects the content of the podcast episode "The Night Shy Shy Disappeared" from Dateline Originals.

Transcript

[Keith Morrison]

Friday night on an all new Dateline, a rich businessman killed in his own bed.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

This is unbelievable.

[Keith Morrison]

Can police untangle a web of possible suspects?

[Natalie Wilson]

Lance had a secret life.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Multiple secret lives.

[Randy Lamberth]

Yes.

[Keith Morrison]

An all new dateline Friday at 9, 8 Central, only on NBC.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

She was shy shy to everyone who knew her full shykeemia pate. The day was September 4, 1998. Shai Shy was only eight. She had just started third grade. The little town she lived in was Unadilla, Georgia. And that Friday, a Southern summer wasn't close to ending. It would be 90 degrees and muggy. That morning, shy shy's mom, Veronica, walked her to school. Unadilla elementary was just a couple of blocks away. And when they got there, Veronica says she told her youngest daughter what she always had.

[Veronica Pate]

I love her and have a good day and I'll see her when I got home.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

For Veronica, that moment remains the dividing line between life before and after. Because when she got home that night, shy shy wasn't there. And that's when the world as Veronica had known it changed. And it still hasn't changed back.

[Veronica Pate]

It's a storm that never stopped storming in your life.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

What Veronica calls the storm has been raging for more than 25 years.

[Randy Lamberth]

Has there been a day when you didn't wake up and think about where your daughter might be?

[Veronica Pate]

I think about that every day and every night.

[Randy Lamberth]

It's about the worst thing a parent can go through.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

It is 26 birthdays have gone by since shy shy vanished. Today she would be 34. And Veronica hasn't given up on finding her.

[Randy Lamberth]

Do you think she's still alive?

[Veronica Pate]

I feel in my heart that she's still alive.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In fact, Veronica believes she may have already found shy shy Josh. I'm Josh Mankiewicz, and this is Dateline Missing in America. This episode is the night shy shy disappeared. We first covered her story in November 2023, when Natalie Wilson, co founder of the Black and Missing foundation, drew our attention to it. Natalie has a lot to say about this case.

[Hoda Kotb]

We just need one person to come forward with information that could help find her. We have seen miracles happen.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Veronica has hoped for that miracle every day.

[Veronica Pate]

And you just pray and ask God to teach you how to put one foot in front of the other, hold your head up and smile. Even when you can't smile, you still smile.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Please listen closely because you or someone you know might have information that could help Shaishai's family find the answers they've been searching for. In Shishai's third grade school photo, her Long braids are pulled to one side and tied with a bow. She beams at the camera with bright eyes and a wide smile. She is the picture of eight year old adorableness. Her mom, Veronica, says Shaishai was a happy child who had a lot of fans and she loved them back.

[Veronica Pate]

Everybody loved her. She loved the school. She loved her pediatrician because she took good care of her.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Shashai's pediatrician had an outsized role in her young life because chronic asthma and kidney disease often kept her out of school.

[Randy Lamberth]

That's a lot for a little girl to have to go through.

[Veronica Pate]

It is.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Veronica says her daughter never fell behind in her schoolwork.

[Veronica Pate]

She was very smart.

[Randy Lamberth]

You must have been very proud of her.

[Veronica Pate]

I am, and I was.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

For Shy Chai and her classmates, Labor Day weekend 1998 kicked off that Friday at 3:30. When school got out, shy shy had big plans that night. She was going to a football game at the high school in nearby Vienna, Georgia.

[Laswanda Hickey]

The plan was for. For me to bring her with me to the game. So yeah, she was excited about going.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That's Laswanda Hickey, Shishai's sister. She was 17 at the time, with three younger siblings, including shy shy the baby. Through the eyes of teenage Laswanda, shy was a typical little sister.

[Laswanda Hickey]

Pesty, aggravating, you know, and then there's also the side that, you know, looks up to you and wants to be like you and want to go where you go and do what you do.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Laswanda was in junior ROTC then and part of the color guard that brought out the flags at football games that afternoon. She decided to take a nap to rest up before the game. Before she dozed off, she pulled a big sister move.

[Laswanda Hickey]

I may have said to her, you know, that I wasn't going to take her. I'm pretty sure I said, you know, you ain't going and you know, but it was jokes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Shaishai went outside to play and when Law Swanda Woke up around 6:00, she went to put gas in the car. As she drove, she saw shy shy on a neighbor's front porch.

[Laswanda Hickey]

And I want to say she tried to flag me down. I'm not 100% sure if she tried to stop me or not, but I know I didn't stop. I kept going and I got gassed. And when I came back around to the house where I saw her on the porch to pick her up, they said she had left walking up the street.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Laswanda drove up the street looking for Shishai, but Didn't see her. So she called her mom, Veronica, who wasn't home yet.

[Laswanda Hickey]

And I had to be at the game by 7:30. And so she said, well, it's fine, you know, she's probably at somebody's house, a friend's house, and you know, we'll get her, you know, when we come back.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In 1998, Unadilla's population barely topped 1600. And Crumpler Avenue, where Shashai lived, was the kind of neighborhood where everyone knew everyone. Veronica and Laswanda say it wasn't unusual for kids to end up at a neighbor's house playing with friends or even cousins.

[Randy Lamberth]

Did you ever worry about her going outside in that neighborhood?

[Veronica Pate]

No, I didn't.

[Randy Lamberth]

People knew her. She knew them, she knew them.

[Veronica Pate]

Everybody knew everybody. And our kids be out riding their bicycles, skating and everything.

[Randy Lamberth]

And you thought she was safe?

[Veronica Pate]

Yes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Veronica recalls getting home around 7:45 or so, and when Shishai wasn't there, she says at first she wasn't that worried. She figured her daughter was at a friend's house, so she started making calls. But Shashai didn't turn up. And then when lawanda came home after the game and there was still no sign of her little sister, that's when it became clear something was seriously wrong.

[Randy Lamberth]

You call the police, which is what any parent would do in that situation. And the police say we have to wait 24 hours?

[Veronica Pate]

Yes.

[Randy Lamberth]

She's, I'm, I'm guessing you said to them, she's 8 years old. Why do we have to wait 24 hours?

[Veronica Pate]

Yes.

[Randy Lamberth]

What'd they say?

[Veronica Pate]

He, he didn't, he didn't ever say anything.

[Randy Lamberth]

How can they not jump to attention when an 8 year old kid is missing?

[Veronica Pate]

They did.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Veronica says it fell to Shy shy's family and their neighbors to search in the dark up and down the street for their little girl.

[Veronica Pate]

We was up all night and it were people sleeping out on my porch that night. I had a lot of people show up. But police never show up till the next day. And it was probably after night time by the time he came.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

You may already know what I'm about to tell you because it's mentioned so often in news stories. After 24 hours, the odds of finding an abducted child alive are slim and dropping. As night turned to dawn in Unadilla, those critical hours were slipping away.

[Keith Morrison]

MSNBC Films presents the Sing Sing Chronicles, a new four part series NBC News Studios featuring decades of investigative reporting from Dateline producer Dan Sleipian that exposes the injustices of wrongful convictions.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

I spent half my life in prison.

[Laswanda Hickey]

And that's time we can't get back.

[Keith Morrison]

The Sing sing chronicles first two episodes premiere tomorrow at 9:00pm Eastern on MSNBC. Hello, I'm Keith Morrison from Dateline. If you're a fan of true crime, then you need to know DATELINE is back with an all new season and that means all new mysteries in our Dateline NBC podcast. Great storytelling with a twist and more. Much more new episodes available every Tuesday on the Dateline NBC podcast follow now.

[Hoda Kotb]

Hey everybody, it's Hoda Kotme from the Today show reminding you to check out my podcast Making Space.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In this week's episode, I sit down with Hollywood legend Goldie Hawn to talk about her accidental rise to fame, her.

[Hoda Kotb]

Famous family, and where she finds her purpose. You can listen to the full conversation right now by searching Making Space wherever.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

You get your podcasts. When investigator Randy Lamberth walked into the Dooley County Sheriff's Office on Saturday morning, Shai shy Pate had already been missing nearly 14 hours.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

Our dispatch actually asked me if we found the little girl up in Unadella, and when I said, what little girl? That's when we found out about it. This was roughly mid morning the next day.

[Randy Lamberth]

So you lost a lot of time right there.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

Yes, sir.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In 1998, the Dooley County Sheriff's Office was one of two law enforcement agencies serving Unadilla, Georgia. Veronica had called the Unadilla Police Department the night before. It was one of their officers who told her he had to wait 24 hours before entering Shaishai's name into the missing person's database. Now the sheriff's office was playing catch up. They brought in state, local and federal agencies to help. The search for shy shy started at Veronica's house and continued up and down Crumpler Avenue.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

They went from house to house doing consent searches, buildings in anywhere that a child could possibly be. These neighbors opened their houses to the officers and let them come through.

[Randy Lamberth]

And nobody found her?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

No sir, they did not.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Several people told investigators they'd seen Shishai on Friday evening. One neighbor said she'd eaten a hot dog at her house. Others saw Shai Shy alone outside.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

We had pinpointed the location. She was last seen at the intersection of Proper Avenue and West Street. She was last seen roughly 8:30, 8:35.

[Randy Lamberth]

And this is right in front of.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Her house, right where she lived.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

It's about a half a block from where she lives at.

[Randy Lamberth]

This is a dangerous area, scary area.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

There was a club across the street from where she lived at. So a dangerous area. You could classify it as that with the drug traffic and other crimes that took place at the club area.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The club he's talking about was called roxy's, A family owned business that wore a lot of hats. Nightclub, pool parlor, and mom and pop store. Locals of all backgrounds and ages hung out there or just stopped by for a snack. Shisha and her siblings were regular customers.

[Laswanda Hickey]

We would always go to the store part, Even when we were little kids. And they sold, you know, things, Kids, candy, chips, pickles, pig feet, you know, that kind of stuff.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Deputy lamberth and other investigators suspected shaishai would not have left with just anyone, that she was taken by someone she knew and probably trusted. Strangers stood out in unadella, and lamberth says the drug dealers outside Roxy's Were always on the lookout for anyone they didn't know who might be an undercover cop. He also says even they cooperated with deputies looking for shy shy.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

They told us that there was an older white male Came into the area, Gave us a vehicle description. From there, we located him, identified him, and he was actually looking for a female who lived in the area there that has cling to his house before. That's the only stranger that we was able to identify.

[Randy Lamberth]

And you kind of ruled him out.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

That is correct, sir.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Aerial and ground searches that weekend covered a five mile radius around crumpler avenue, and roxy's dogs and four wheelers scoured fields and woods. The search area was later expanded by another five miles, but there was still no trace of shi chai. If investigators were right and shashai was taken by a familiar face, that also meant her abductor might be hiding in plain sight. Who that was, of course, remained a mystery. Investigators had persons of interest on their radar, but as weeks stretched into months, they seemed no closer to finding the little girl.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

Beam me up, scotty. Oh, it's basically, that's almost like what happened.

[Randy Lamberth]

One second she's there, One second she's gone.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

Correct.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

At the paint house on crumpler avenue, There was no escaping shy shy's absence. Laswanda, Shishai's big sister, says their mom, Veronica, could barely function.

[Laswanda Hickey]

I remember my mom crying a lot, Sitting, you know, by the door, like, sleeping by the door, not locking the door, Waiting for her to come back.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Laswanda had just started her senior year of high school. Her brother was a freshman, her sister in middle school. Neighbors stepped in to keep the household running.

[Laswanda Hickey]

You know, help out at the house, Cook for us, because she was kind of, in a way, debilitated. You know, she really kind of wasn't herself for a long time.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Veronica told me she slept by that unlocked front door for two years.

[Randy Lamberth]

Because you thought maybe your daughter was.

[Veronica Pate]

Going to walk back in, Walk back in the door.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

All that time, Lawanda couldn't help but blame herself for Shashai's disappearance.

[Laswanda Hickey]

I felt like had I just stopped when I saw her on the porch, then she would have been with me instead of going back after I got gassed, you know? So had I stopped when I saw her, then maybe none of this would have ever happened.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Investigator Lamberth says in the year after shy chai went missing, dozens of tips came in from across the country. The FBI checked the out of state leads, but with each passing year, there were fewer tips to chase. Then, three years after shai shy's disappearance, the town of unadilla was in the headlines when a string of sexual assaults rattled the community. The victims were young girls, three of them raped, including a 12 year old. In July 2002, 20 year old Quentin kendrick, one of Shashai's neighbors, pleaded guilty to 16 criminal charges, including multiple counts of rape and kidnapping in those attacks. He was sentenced to life in prison. Quentin kendrick's name was already in Randy Lamberth's files. He was one of the people who told police he'd seen shy shy shortly before her disappearance.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

In fact, he was one of the ones that last saw her.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Kendrick and Shoshy's family lived about 200 yards apart. In the months after Shashai disappeared, investigators searched an abandoned well next to Kendrick's property. After his arrest on the rape charges, they went back and did a more thorough search of that. Well, they did not find any human remains.

[Randy Lamberth]

I mean, he. He's somebody that's gonna. That's gonna get on police radar, Somebody with that.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

With that situation.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

That's true. We have another person of interest in the case as well. Who was the first person of interest? Quentin was not at the time. This other person, he. He was really hitting the radar heavy and still does so. And nothing has actually been ruled out on either one of them.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Investigator Lambert won't say who the other person of interest is or when Quentin kendrick became a person of interest. What's good about that is that it suggests some real progress.

[Randy Lamberth]

That to me says, do you think maybe this is close enough for you to either make an arrest or maybe learn where she is?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

That's what we hoping. We hoping that we can continue to develop enough that we can push and maybe define where Shashai it may be located.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

After his arrest on those rape charges, Quentin Kendrick told the Macon Telegraph he had nothing to do with Shai Shy's disappearance. Veronica grew up with his mother, his aunts and his uncles, and she says Quentin played basketball in the street with her son.

[Randy Lamberth]

You never worried about him being around Shy?

[Veronica Pate]

No. I mean her brother and him was friends. Well, you know, but that was it.

[Randy Lamberth]

You never saw him show any interest in Chai?

[Veronica Pate]

No. Not even her sister? She was 12 and other sisters were 17.

[Randy Lamberth]

Sounds like you think he's not involved.

[Veronica Pate]

No, I don't think he's involved.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In 2008, Veronica moved away from Crumpler Avenue to another city 16 miles away. In the math of the missing, she'd survived a decade of missed school pictures. Instead, she watched her daughter grow up in age progressed photos created by the national center for Missing and Exploited Children in an image showing what Shashai might have looked like as a 16 year old. The braids she wore in third grade are gone. Her hair is straightened. She still flashes that big smile. There were also some other photos, ones that popped up on Facebook, and they were about to send investigators racing across three states on a stealth mission.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

The young lady, once we introduced ourself, she was shocked.

[Keith Morrison]

MSNBC Films presents the Sing Sing Chronicles, a new four part series from NBC News Studios featuring decades of investigative reporting from Dateline producer Dan Slepian that exposes the injustices of wrongful convictions.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

I spent half my life in prison.

[Laswanda Hickey]

And that's time we can't get back.

[Keith Morrison]

The SING Sing first two episodes premiere tomorrow at 9:00pm Eastern on MSNBC.

[Natalie Wilson]

Hey everyone, it's Jenna Bush Hager from Today with Hoda and Jenna reminding you to check out my podcast Open Book with Jenna. Each episode I get to have inspiring conversations with celebrities, authors, fellow book lovers and more. In this week's episode, I sit down with Emmy award winning actress and singer Keke Palmer to talk about how she navigated fame at a young age and how she's embraced who she truly is. You can listen to this conversation now by searching Open Book with Jenna Wherever you get your podcasts, Black Friday is almost here and our Shop Today experts have you covered. I'm Adriana Brock, Shop Today Editorial director. My team curates standout savings from the biggest shopping day of the year all in one convenient place. Find great deals on gifts they'll love for home, tech, beauty and more so you can save money and time and kick off your holiday season. Right. Head to today.com blackfriday to start shopping early deals now.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In January 2012, deputies at the Dooley county sheriff's office got a call. One that looked like it could be their lucky break. A tipster pointed them to photos of a young woman that had been posted on Facebook. The tipster believed the woman, who lived in Michigan, was shy shy pate. Investigator Randy Lamberth looked at the photos and saw enough of a resemblance to pursue that lead.

[Randy Lamberth]

So you get in the car and off you go to Detroit?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

That is correct.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

How long a drive is that?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

It was about 12, 12 and a half hours.

[Randy Lamberth]

So that says to me that you're taking this pretty seriously. You think there's at least a good chance that maybe you're finally going to find shy shy?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

That is correct.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In the 13 plus years he'd been working Shy Shy's case, Lamberth had checked out dozens of tips without success. He hadn't told Veronica about this one because he didn't want to raise any false hopes. Plus, the three law enforcement officers wanted to protect the element of surprise. And they did pull off the surprise. Rotondo Freeman was at work when she received a call she didn't expect, asking her to come to a police department just outside Detroit. Rotondo is Veronica's sister and thus shy shy's aunt. She was the one who'd posted those photos on Facebook. And she told the road weary cops it wasn't shy shy in those photos. It was another member of the family.

[Rotondo Freeman]

She's my little cousin. Me and her mother's first cousins.

[Randy Lamberth]

So she does look kind of like shy.

[Rotondo Freeman]

Yes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Deputy Lamberth says they talked with the girl in the Facebook photos and confirmed she wasn't shy shy. It turned out to be all a big misunderstanding. But Rotando says she was glad the investigators came all that way.

[Rotondo Freeman]

When I seen them and when they told me why they was there, it gave me the strength to know that they still looking.

[Randy Lamberth]

It made you feel better to know that they were still looking, even though the reason that they were there turned out to be not legitimate.

[Rotondo Freeman]

Correct.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

By 2016, Rotondo had moved from Michigan back to Georgia, and she decided to organize a 5k walk to bring attention to Shai shy's case and other missing children in the state. The route started in front of Veronica's old house and ended near the intersection where Shishai was last seen. Rotondo even had T shirts made up with Shishai's third grade school photo on the front. Randy Lamberth came to the walk. By then, he'd been working the case. For nearly two decades, you talk about.

[Randy Lamberth]

Shai shy as being my little girl. In your words, you're right. Why is that? Why isn't this just another case?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

I mean, she's a child. Child's going to touch everybody. And it's something that I would like to one day to be able to, you know, bring her home.

[Randy Lamberth]

This long ago stopped being just another case to you, didn't it, Randy?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

That is correct. That is correct.

[Randy Lamberth]

You'd like to close this?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

Yes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

For shy shy's family, the searching never really stops.

[Rotondo Freeman]

It's like every time you go somewhere, you, like, constantly, like, looking for her because you don't end up. The fact that we don't know exactly what she would look like today, we don't know if we done passed her in the store, has she passed us? And not knowing who we were and just not knowing is the hardest thing.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

There's another unknown that still haunts them. Could shy shy's abductor be someone they might still see at the grocery store?

[Randy Lamberth]

If shy knew and trusted that person.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

You probably also knew and trusted that person.

[Rotondo Freeman]

Knew and trusted that person. Correct.

[Randy Lamberth]

What's it like to know that you.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Probably know the murderer or the abductor.

[Randy Lamberth]

Or the person that's had her all these years?

[Rotondo Freeman]

You can't even trust people these days because you don't. You don't know. You don't know if a person looking at your face, smiling at you, and they know where shy at or they know who took her or somebody in their family took her. We don't know. It's hard.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The endless search for answers would lead the family in all kinds of directions. In 2022, Shy Shy's mom, Veronica, got a Facebook friend request that she ignored at first. Her grandson did accept it. And that led to a phone call between Veronica and a woman in Missouri. And in that first phone call, the woman dropped a bombshell.

[Randy Lamberth]

She said she was shy.

[Veronica Pate]

Yeah, she said she was shy.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

There was more. The caller told Veronica she'd been abducted, forced to use another name, and had been abused by the people who raised her. Veronica says the woman didn't ask for money, but instead had a message for the family.

[Veronica Pate]

She said, if we never see each other again, I just want you to know that I ain't dead. And she said, and I just want to ease the pain that's in your heart.

[Randy Lamberth]

And you believed that. At least right then you did.

[Veronica Pate]

I did. I still believe it to the day. I don't have a way of proving it.

[Randy Lamberth]

You believe her because you Wanted to believe her because this is the phone call you always wanted to get.

[Veronica Pate]

I actually believed her because it was like when I heard the voice on the phone, it's like the pain. Like, my heart just got relieved.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

So who did the caller say had kidnapped her back in 1998? According to Veronica, the woman said she'd blocked out those traumatic details. Investigators spoke to local authorities in Missouri and interviewed the woman themselves.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

We ended up talking with the young lady as well, but she was not giving us answers that could confirm anything.

[Randy Lamberth]

You mean things you've held back to weed out imposters?

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

That is correct.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

They also had her submit to a.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

DNA test, and that basically came back negative.

[Randy Lamberth]

You're confident that was her DNA?

[Josh Mankiewicz]

I mean, she swabbed it in the.

[Randy Lamberth]

Presence of somebody else.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

The investigator there from Missouri at her home, is the one actually obtained a swabbing.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Right. So.

[Randy Lamberth]

So it's not her.

[Investigator Randy Lamberth]

That is correct.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Veronica says she doesn't trust the swab test and would like to see a blood test done. She also says that caller knew things that only shy shy would know because they're not public. At one point, she and other family members did a video call with the woman.

[Randy Lamberth]

When you see her on the video call, do you think that's her? You think that's shy?

[Veronica Pate]

I felt like it was. Yeah, I felt it, and I could.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Believe it was Shy shy's sister Laswanda is not convinced, not without solid proof.

[Laswanda Hickey]

And, you know, my mom was very excited about it. She wants it to be her. So I had to kind of, like, explain to my mom that she need to be careful, because you never know what people are up to.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Deputy Lamberth told us the woman later recanted some of her claims and stopped answering calls. Natalie Wilson from the black and missing foundation says her organization is familiar with scams targeting families of the missing.

[Hoda Kotb]

We are seeing an increase or an uptick in individuals or, I'm assuming organizations that are taking advantage of families, you know, reaching out to them, saying, I know where your loved one is. You know, you need to pay a ransom. They are also, you know, acting as though they are investigators, and they're telling these families, you know, I can hook you up with someone that can give you a loan for $10,000 and pay me that $10,000, and I'll help you find your missing loved ones.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Natalie drew our attention to Shai Chai's story after she met with Veronica in the summer of 2023.

[Hoda Kotb]

My heart bleeds for Veronica. She wants to just find her daughter and she's holding on to hope. That was her baby. I mean, Shai is the baby in the family. And when I talk to Veronica, she blames herself for what happened.

[Randy Lamberth]

I think that Veronica does feel some guilt about this, which I think she absolutely should not feel. I don't think she did anything wrong. But that is normal, isn't it, for families to feel that they should have been more vigilant, they should have paid more attention, when in fact, they really actually, this was done to them, not by them.

[Hoda Kotb]

Absolutely. You know, families, what do they call it? The Monday morning quarterback. And I should have done this differently, you know, to protect my loved one. But she needs to hold her head up high because she continues to pound a pavement to find her daughter and to keep her, you know, her disappearance in the forefront.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

More than 25 years have passed since Shy Shy Pate vanished in the dark. And Randy Lamberth caught her case 14 hours late.

[Randy Lamberth]

There's no way to know this for.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Sure, but I feel like if Shy.

[Randy Lamberth]

Had been from a rich family that maybe was a different color, this might have been all hands on deck a lot sooner.

[Hoda Kotb]

You know, I agree with you. And what we are finding as we work with families is that oftentimes, race, your zip code, your economic status, even your education, they are many times barriers to law enforcement resources, media coverage, and community engagement. And that is something that we are trying to change. The narrative that these are our missing mothers, our fathers, our children.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Today, Veronica has nine grandchildren. They call her Nana.

[Veronica Pate]

And the hardest part is when they turn 8 years old. I be praying to ask God to let them get past eight. Once they get past eight, look like a little weight lift out of my heart.

[Randy Lamberth]

Veronica, you think you're gonna see Shy again one day?

[Veronica Pate]

I believe in my heart that I will.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Laswanda is now a mom with three children of her own. She tells them about the aunt they have never met, her baby sister. And she told us she has a message for Shy.

[Laswanda Hickey]

Shy, if she's listening or if she hears this story, I would want her to know and understand that we have. We had no idea where to go. And we still don't. We still love her. We miss her tremendously. And we never gave up hope.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Here's where you can help. Shasha's full name is Shakeemia Shirez Pate. She would be 34 years old today. You can view age progressed photos of her on our website. On September 4, 1998, she was wearing a neon green Atlanta Braves jersey with red lettering. Levi's jeans. And she had a leg brace. She had several medical conditions, including asthma. Anyone with information about Shykemia's disappearance is asked to call the Dooley County Sheriff's office at 229-645-0920 or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at 478-987-4545. To learn more about other people we've covered in our Missing in America series, go to datelinemissinginamerica.com There you'll be able to submit cases you think we should cover in the future. Thanks for listening. See you Fridays on Dateline on NBC. Missing in America is a production of Dateline and NBC News. Kate Vidic is the producer of this episode, Brian Drew is the audio editor, Keanu Reed is associate producer, Bradley Davis is senior producer, Paul Ryan is executive producer and Liz Cole is senior executive producer from NBC News. Audio Sound mixing by Bob Mallory Bryson Barnes is head of audio production.