← SEQUESTERED Podcast
SEQUESTERED Podcast
Tonetta Carlisle: Abducted in 1989 (Chattanooga, TN)
00:26:21
EPISODE 01: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF TONETTA CARLISLE 15-year-old Tonetta Carlisle vanished in broad daylight on a spring afternoon in 1989, just minutes after leaving school in Chattanooga, TN. She was just minutes from her home. Witnesses saw her forced...
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- [00:00]
Zoe Saldana
Hi, Zoe Saldana. Welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us.
- [00:04]
Customer
Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in.
- [00:07]
Zoe Saldana
You don't need to trade in. When you switch to T Mobile, we'll give you a new iPhone 16 Pro. Plus we'll help you pay off your old phone. Up to 800 bucks and you still get to keep it.
- [00:15]
Customer
There's always a trade in.
- [00:17]
Zoe Saldana
Not right now. @ T Mobile.
- [00:18]
Customer
I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma.
- [00:20]
Zoe Saldana
That's okay.
- [00:21]
Customer
I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.
- [00:26]
Zoe Saldana
I'm good.
- [00:27]
T Mobile Representative
Seriously.
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Customer
Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.
- [00:30]
Zoe Saldana
Really, I'm fine.
- [00:31]
Customer
Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.
- [00:35]
T Mobile Representative
It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile. Get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple intelligence on us. No trade in needed. We'll even pay off your Phone up to 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line $100 plus a month on experience beyond Finance Agreement $999.99 and qualifying. Ported for well qualified plus tax and $10 connection charge pay off via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel.
- [01:00]
Customer
When the Moore family ditched cable Internet and switched to Zigly fiber, they got so much more. Mr. Moore got more upload speed for next level gaming and live streaming to the masses with reliable service. Mrs. Moore is no longer her family's IT guru, leaving her more time to stream games into overtime.
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Narrator
Let's go.
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Customer
And young Mason Moore got more done quickly, uploading HD product demos and video conferencing without freesight.
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Narrator
The numbers look good, Brad.
- [01:24]
Noni Sturtevent
You're on mute.
- [01:24]
Customer
Switch from cable Internet to Zibli fiber and get more of what you love for $65 less per month than cable at Ziply Fiver.
- [01:36]
Narrator
On a spring afternoon in 1989, 15 year old Tonetta Carlisle left City High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee with a smile on her face and a report card full of A's and B's in her backpack. She was just blocks from her home, the same route she always took. The afternoon sun was still shining high in the sky and the weekend was just one day away. Then, in an instant, she was gone. Two witnesses stopped at a nearby intersection saw everything. They watched as several men grabbed Taneda and forced her into a vehicle before speeding away with her. Inside the witnesses caught the license plate.
- [02:20]
Reporter
And reported it all to the police.
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Narrator
Two days later, the vehicle was found, but there was absolutely no sign of Taneda. Now, more than three decades later, her family is still waiting for answers, still hoping that someone out there will finally come forward. This isn't a story that made national headlines, but it should have. Instead, it shattered a family and left a community searching for answers that still have not arrived. This is season two of Sequestered Case one, the disappearance of Teneta Carlisle Sam Tucked between the rolling Appalachian foothills and the winding Tennessee River, Chattanooga in the.
- [03:39]
Reporter
Late 80s was a city with roots.
- [03:42]
Narrator
Neighbors waved as they drove by. Everyone knew each other's names. Downtown hadn't yet become the bustling, trendy hub that it is today. On our website, sequesteredpod.com, we've posted a photo of a fisherman sitting on the rocky banks of the Tennessee River. This photo was taken on March 7, 1989, just nine days before Toneta disappeared. According to the Chattanooga Free Times Press, that exact area would be completely transformed in the decades to come into a tourism business and park district anchored by the Tennessee Aquarium, which would open just three years later in 1992. In 1989, Chattanooga was quieter, the kind of place where people left their doors unlocked and kids walked to school without thinking twice. There was pride in its factories, its football teams and its churches. People worked hard, worshiped faithfully and trusted that the world around them was safe. It was a time before cell phones, before Amber Alert and before every teenager had a digital footprint. But this picture doesn't represent the experience of all Chattanoogans at the time. In 1989, while the Civil rights movement had brought about significant legal changes, by the 80s, black communities, including those in Chattanooga, were still navigating a complex web of systemic inequities. In 1989, the aftershocks of segregation were still being felt. Laws had changed, but the structures around them hadn't caught up. The city's election system at the time made it nearly impossible for black residents to gain meaningful representation in local government. Economic disparities were just as stark, with fewer job opportunities, chronically underfunded schools and neighborhoods that were consistently overlooked and under resourced. For many black families in Chattanooga, daily life meant navigating these barriers while still pushing for progress. That too often came slowly, if at all. This was the world that 15 year old Tonetta Carlisle moved through every day. She was a freshman at City High School, and from all accounts she was smart, outgoing and funny. She loved writing poetry and listening to.
- [06:10]
Reporter
80S hip hop artists like Keith Sweat.
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Narrator
Bobby Brown and Janet Jackson were some of her favorites. Taneta lived with her mom, Nonie, and her older brother Darrell, just about a mile from the school, and like a.
- [06:23]
Reporter
Lot of kids that age, she was.
- [06:24]
Narrator
Stepping into her own independence. You know, that sweet spot between childhood and the freedom of being a teenager. I also grew up in the 80s and it seemed like we were all free range back then. They were the days of roaming your neighborhood, hopping on your bike and staying out until the street lights buzzed on. Things felt simple, even if they weren't. It was a Thursday, March 16, 1989.
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Reporter
The air sat at a crisp 64.
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Narrator
Degrees, that early spring kind of day where the seasons felt like they were trading places. That afternoon, the final bell rang at City High, echoing through the hallways. According to a comment on a Facebook post from Black and Missing Inc. Tanetta.
- [07:20]
Reporter
Had just received her report card that.
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Narrator
Day, all A's and B's. She and her friend left their class together and as they walked down the hall, she showed him her grades. She seemed happy and proud of her hard work. Taneda hugged her friends goodbye and started on her usual route home. It was about a 20 minute walk, one she knew by heart. Her route would have taken her down to Berkeley street, which quickly merges into Dallas Road.
- [07:49]
Reporter
From there it's a straight shot to.
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Narrator
Hamilton Avenue, where she'd then take a left crossing a busy intersection. Tonetta reaches the intersection and crosses the final stretch before she's home. She walks along Hamilton Avenue, heading up the hill toward the 600 block where her family lived. On her left, Toneta passes Ruth street, only a half a block left to go. I wonder what she was thinking about as she walked. Maybe her weekend plans. She was about to get a paycheck from her job at Honey Baked Ham and her first tax refund was on the way. Maybe she felt good about that report card. Or maybe she was just enjoying the walk, the sun on her shoulders and the world unfolding like any other afternoon. As Tonetta continued up the road, a woman and her husband were approaching from Ruth Street. They pulled to a stop at the intersection with Hamilton. According to the Charlie Project, the woman glanced up the hill and saw Tonetta walking alone. Then, out of nowhere, a yellow and tan vehicle tore up the hill, screeching to a stop. In seconds, several men jump out of the vehicle and forcibly pull Tonetta's 95 pound body inside before speeding off again. Had that couple just witnessed a kidnapping? Without hesitating, the couple pulls off in pursuit of the vehicle Desperate to keep it in sight. Thankfully, they caught a glimpse of the license plate number just before it disappeared into Traffic. Tennessee tag LKH920. The couple immediately contacted the police and reported the abduction. And that was the last time anyone ever saw Teneta Yvette Carlisle.
- [09:51]
Witness
Back In March of 1989, a woman saw several suspects jump out of a tan and yellow vehicle and forced a petite girl inside. She weighed only 95 pounds.
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Reporter
Noni came home after a long day at work.
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Narrator
She was surprised Tanetta wasn't there. Maybe she'd stopped by a friend's house. Maybe she'd lost track of time. But According to a Local 3 news article, Noni called her son Darrell at 10pm and told him that Taneda had not made it home yet. Darryl was trying to think rationally. She's 15. Maybe she's out with her friends. But as the minutes and hours passed, they knew something wasn't right. Noni and Darryl went out into the now cold March evening, retracing Tonetta's usual route from home to school and back again. Block by block, they called her name, checking every logical space along the way. But there was no sign of her. By 11pm now, eight hours after Taneta's abduction, Nonie was on the phone with the police, reporting her daughter missing, something she never imagined herself doing.
- [11:27]
Reporter
Here's Tonetta's brother Darryl speaking in an interview with Local 3 News about that night.
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Noni Sturtevent
My mother called and said Turnette haven't made her home yet. So I looked at the time it was going on. I don't remember but I guess yesterday it was going on 10 o' clock. Well you know, I looked at turnette.
- [11:45]
Darryl Carlisle
Being 15, I said, nigga, she being.
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Noni Sturtevent
A little embarrassed, but that's not like her.
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Narrator
The Chattanooga Police Department recorded Tonetta's missing persons report on the evening of March 16th.
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Reporter
But it took two days before they.
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Narrator
Had connected it to the abduct call from the eyewitness couple. According to namus, the National Missing and Unidentified Person System, at the time of her abduction, Tonetta Carlisle was 5 foot 1 and weighed 95 pounds.
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Reporter
She had curly hair that was short.
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Narrator
On the top and sides and was longer in the back. She had brown almond shaped eyes. And on the day she disappeared, she was last seen wearing a pink blouse with white stripes, a denim skirt and white tennis shoes. The license plate number the couple gave to the police led to a Plymouth Cult registered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It wasn't a well known car, but this one would soon become central to the investigation. More importantly, it would become clear that this was the vehicle the witnesses had seen. Side note here, most reports we've seen call this vehicle a van, but after a little digging, we believe it was likely a mid-80s Plymouth cult vista, which is shaped more like a small SUV or a minivan. Police have never released a photo of the suspect's vehicle and again, this is just a guess based on the descriptions we read. But if you're curious, we've posted a picture on our website of what we believe the vehicle may have looked like. You can check it out@sequesteredpod.com the Plymouth cult led police to a man named Jeffrey Lamar Jones, a man who, as it turns out, was a convicted rapist recently released after serving eight years for an aggravated sexual assault charge. Here's a clip from WTVC News Channel.
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Witness
Nine year old Tonetta Carlisle was abducted 24 years ago in the days following police and volunteers launched a massive search. At the time, Tonetta was a freshman at City High School and was walking home to Hamilton Av. Back in March of 1989, a woman saw several suspects jump out of a tan and yellow vehicle and force a petite girl inside. She weighed only 95 pounds. Now that extensive search followed. The car came back to Jeffrey Jones, who had served eight years for rape. Her body or Taneta herself have never been found.
- [14:16]
Narrator
The neighborhood was shaken. A girl was taken in broad daylight. Two people had witnessed the abduction. Police had a license plate and a suspect's name, but there were still no answers to be had.
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Reporter
People locked their doors.
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Narrator
They started picking up their kids from school and forcing them to walk in groups. And Noni and Daryl, they were just left in limbo, trapped in the unknown. Their family home suddenly felt too quiet and there was no sign of Teneta anywhere. The days ahead would only bring more questions, more frustration, and for Tonetta's family, more waiting.
- [15:00]
Reporter
When Chattanooga police traced the license plate from the eyewitness report, it led them to a man named Jeffrey Lamar Jones. Jones was no stranger to law enforcement. Just one year earlier, he'd been released from prison after serving eight years for rape and aggravated sexual assaul, a conviction that involved both kidnapping and violence. Sources say Jones had also been accused of another sexual assault In January of 1989, just two months before Tonetta disappeared. Suffice it to say Jones criminal history was a red flag that should have been impossible to miss. But by 1988 he had served his prison sentence and was back in Chattanooga, living freely and blending into a city that had no idea what he was capable of Now, a year after his release, he was tied to the disappearance of Teneta Carlisle. On March 18, 1989, just two days after Toneta Carlisle was abducted, the city mobilized. A large scale search party was formed in an urgent attempt to bring her home. Roughly 300 people joined the effort with law enforcement leading the charge. But it was the community that gave the search heart. Tonetta's friends, her family and neighbors, church groups, strangers, they all showed up, all hoping they can stumble on any sign of her. They combed through the underbrush of wooded areas and opened the doors of abandoned buildings, searching for any trace of the 15 year old girl who had simply vanished on her walk home from school. The focus of the search was along the corridor between City High and Hamilton Avenue when a call came in about a yellow and tan Plymouth Colt matching the van like vehicle the witnesses had reported. Police arrived and discovered the vehicle parked on the 900 block of Glenwood Avenue. Inside they found a man slumped over in the front seat, dead. It was the owner of the vehicle, Jeffrey Lamar Jones. Turns out his death was self inflicted and later ruled as carbon monoxide poisoning. To investigators, the scene looked like a confession without words. A convicted rapist found dead in the very vehicle used to abduct a missing girl. Case closed, right? But it wasn't, not even close because there was still no sign of Tanetta. In 2021, WDEF News 12 revisited the case. Here's a clip of then District Attorney General Neil Pinkston talking about the case.
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District Attorney General
This is such a sad situation for the family. At 15 years old, this young girl was abducted and put into a car so many years later. What are you hoping to see, General Pinkston, from the community? Some tips and information that might lead to some closure for this family.
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Darryl Carlisle
Some people who knew Tonetta, especially those that talked to her in the days, the few days leading up to her disappearance, they can contact us, think they may have some information that would help us. But also, the vehicle she was abducted into was traced back to an individual by the name of Jeffrey Jones. And if people knew him, knew him well, if they could reach out to us and talk about those days leading up to her abduction and disappearance. Two days after the abduction, he was found about the 900 block of Glenwood. He had committed suicide. So that development's interesting in light of the fact she was abducted in his vehicle two days prior.
- [19:03]
Reporter
Jones's vehicle was processed for evidence in hopes of finding anything that could lead to Taneda. But not a single hair was found, not a fingerprint, nothing to this day. The car remains in police custody, silent, just like Jones. And here's something else we can't ignore. According to the eyewitnesses, there wasn't just one man present. There were several involved in this abduction. We don't know if Jones was the driver. We don't know if he was one of the men who jumped out and pulled Taneda inside, or if he orchestrated the entire thing from the shadows. But what we do know is this. He didn't act alone. Whoever was with him that day, they're likely still out there. And the odds are someone knows exactly who they are. So the question becomes, if Jeffrey Jones ended his own life that day, did he take the truth with him? Or are the final pieces still out there, waiting to be found, waiting for someone to speak?
- [20:14]
Zoe Saldana
Hi, Zoe Saldana. Welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us.
- [20:19]
Customer
Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in.
- [20:21]
Zoe Saldana
You don't need a trade in. When you switch to T mobile, we'll give you a new iPhone 16 Pro plus, we'll help you pay off your old phone. Up to 800 bucks and you still get to keep it.
- [20:30]
Customer
There's always a trade in.
- [20:31]
Zoe Saldana
Not right now. @ T Mobile.
- [20:32]
Customer
I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma.
- [20:35]
Zoe Saldana
That's okay.
- [20:36]
Customer
I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.
- [20:40]
Zoe Saldana
I'm good.
- [20:41]
T Mobile Representative
Seriously.
- [20:42]
Customer
Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.
- [20:44]
Zoe Saldana
Really, I'm fine.
- [20:45]
Customer
Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.
- [20:50]
T Mobile Representative
It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile. Get a new iPhone 16 Pro. With Apple Intelligence on us, no trade in needed. Will even pay off your phone. Up to 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line, $100 plus a month on experience beyond finance agreement. $999.99 and qualify. Imported for well qualified plus tax and $10 connection charge. Payout via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days credits and imbalance due if you pay off earlier. Cancel CT mobile dot com.
- [21:19]
Reporter
In the days that followed, the search didn't stop. Officers, volunteers, neighbors, they all held out hope that Jones death might lead to something. A clue, a note, a location that would bring Teneta home. But there was nothing. No arrests, no new suspects, and no additional names. Just more silence. And despite those early theories, including the eyewitness account, that more than one man was involved, the case began to stall. Momentum faded and Tonetta's disappearance started slipping from the spotlight and into memory. Here's a News clip from 2019 reported by Kelly Curtin of WTVC News Channel 9.
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District Attorney General
March 16, 1989. Teneta was walking home from here at Chattanooga High School. It was that day when she was last scene.
- [22:19]
Noni Sturtevent
I know she have to walk, you know, up the hill, you know, to get home.
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District Attorney General
Nani Sturtevent is Teneta Carlile's mother. Carol Stewart is her big brother Lou.
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Noni Sturtevent
Sitting around the table playing cards. I never forget that night.
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District Attorney General
Pictures are all they have to remember her.
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Noni Sturtevent
She's silly. She, you know, and everyone's in the family, you know, she, she had a good sense of humor. You know, she like to see people lay.
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District Attorney General
Her family is asking the DA's office to reopen the case, the focus on convicted rapist Jeffrey Jones. Officials say Jones killed himself two days after the little girl disappeared. The DA says in the years since, they've narrowed in on Jones, eliminating other scenarios. But without a body, Kanetta's case cannot be closed.
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Darryl Carlisle
That's why we're asking the public. You know, relationships have changed during the years.
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Narrator
You've had to change your heart over the years and you may have information.
- [23:13]
Darryl Carlisle
That you've been holding back for several years.
- [23:15]
Noni Sturtevent
It's sad, you know, it really sad that someone can be there cold hearted to steal a person, you know, from another person.
- [23:25]
District Attorney General
The hope someone will speak up.
- [23:27]
Noni Sturtevent
My mother may be gone, I may.
- [23:29]
District Attorney General
Be gone, but one day to finally solve this case.
- [23:40]
Reporter
For more than 30 years, Tonetta Carlile's case has remained unsolved. But in August of 2019, then Hamilton County District Attorney General Neil Pinkston reopened the investigation. He believed it was still solvable. In a news interview, Pinkston said, quote, I believe Jeffrey Jones is an important piece of the puzzle. We would like to hear from anyone who has any knowledge of Jeffrey Jones specifically within the last year or so before he committed suicide. End quote. In 2023, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Tonetta's case had been added to Uncovered.com, a national cold case database that compiles public records, timelines and media coverage all in one place. That same article included an update from the current District Attorney General, Cody Womp, someone I'm quite familiar with from season one of sequestered. Although Hamilton County's formal cold case unit had since been dissolved, Wamp emphasized that these cases are still being worked. She said, quote, cold cases are still actively being prosecuted by my office. I also have three investigators in my office who are willing to investigate cold cases and bring them to me if we believe we have new evidence, end quote. She also urged the public to speak up by saying, anytime there is new evidence on a cold case, or any case for that matter, I hope citizens will bring that information to law enforcement or to my office so we can take a look. End quote. Since the case was reopened, Tonetta Carlisle's story has received little press. No breaking developments, no renewed national interest. In August of 2025, Tonetta would be 52 years old. Here's Tonetta's mother, Noni, speaking with Local 3 News in Chattanooga back in 2022.
- [25:42]
Noni Sturtevent
Right now, right today, somebody know where Tonetta is? Right here in January, Tennessee. It's just been devastating, man, you know, you know, your little sister, man, you know, being, you know, been missing and, you know, knowing that somebody knows something, you know, that's the sad part.
- [26:08]
Reporter
This case doesn't end with one suspect. There's more to the story than Jeffrey Jones. He wasn't the only person involved. Or if he was, the evidence never proved it. Police may have treated his death as the end, but in truth, it should have been the beginning of something deeper. Jones identification marked the start of an investigation that never really happened. So the question still stands. Who was involved in the disappearance of Teneta Carlile? And why, after all these years, do we see still not know?
- [27:02]
Narrator
If you have any information about Teneta Carlile's disappearance or details about Jeffrey Jones, no matter how small, please contact the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBIFIND. That's 1-800-TBIFIND. You can also submit a tip anonymously through tipsubmit.com or by contacting your local law enforcement agency. Tonetta's family is still waiting, and your voice could help bring them one step closer to answer.
- [28:14]
Witness
Over the last 24 years, Noni has thought about her daughter every day, and she desperately wants some kind of closure. Now the national center for missing and exploited Children stays in touch with Noni Sirtimate. In fact, they've asked her for a photo of herself when she was about 40 years old. They want to use it in the continued search for Toneta Carlisle. Now her case and many others are featured in the missing person section of our website, NewsChannel 9 combination.