Marlena Childress
- Sarah Turney
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
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A four-year-old girl disappears from a small Tennessee town, and almost instantly, fear ripples through the community. Her family pleads for answers. Her neighbors rally around them. People search, pray, and hold onto hope that she’ll be found safe. But then, just when it seems the case couldn’t get more tragic, it takes a turn so shocking it changes everything.
Marlena Danyele Childress was just 4 years old when she vanished on April 16, 1987, from Union City, Tennessee, where she was last seen playing in the front yard of her family’s home. She was 4 feet tall, weighed about 38 pounds, and had light brown hair and blue or hazel eyes. Her ears were pierced, and she had silver or stainless-steel caps on her top and bottom front teeth. The day she disappeared, Marlena was wearing a purple and white checked shirt with lace trim, light purple pants, and pink jelly-style shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Union City Police Department at 731-885-1515.
Sources:
Busler, Thomas. “Girl.” The Commercial Appeal [Memphis, TN], 18 Apr. 1987, p. A1.
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Givens, Wendell. “Union City police chief responds to remarks about case of missing girl.” The Mayfield Messenger, 16 Sept. 1987, p. 18.
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Huston, Jerry. “Police chief fires salvo in word war.” The Commercial Appeal [Memphis, TN], 15 Sept. 1987, p. 13.
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