Family desperately searching for KC woman last seen in Mississippi
.jpg "Anyone with information about La’Datra Williams can call the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office at 601-587-2961.")
A Kansas City woman has been missing for almost a month and a half and her family is desperately trying to find her.
La’Datra Williams, 26, has been missing since May 20, according to her family. Her family said she was on her way to Mississippi to visit her long-term partner, Charles Sims. She texted her aunt that she was 30 minutes from his house in Silver Creek, Mississippi, but that was the last communication her family has had with her.
Eddie Williams, La’Datra Williams’ father, said that “she is not the type of person to go a month without speaking to her family.” He said La’Datra Williams is close with her family, and particularly her aunt, Audrey Rogers. He said she and Rogers “have been attached at the hip since La’Datra was 4 years old.”
Eddie Williams said La’Datra Williams told him she would be back by the end of the week. He also said she told him she was going to Mississippi to break up with Sims and needed a place to stay when she got back to Kansas City. She never returned. Eddie Williams said her phone now automatically goes to voicemail.
When Eddie Williams could not reach his daughter, he called the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi to conduct a wellness check at Sims’ house. He said police told him she was not there. Eddie Williams then filed a missing persons report with the department.
Missing in Mississippi
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office told The Star it is not allowed to disclose any information about La’Datra Williams. The department also said it “can’t confirm or deny” whether it is investigating her disappearance.
Eddie Williams said he calls the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office almost every day, and is told every time that the lead investigator on the case, Sterling Allen, is not there. He said he has talked to Allen three times in the past month. Rogers said the last time she talked to Allen was June 12.
According to a Facebook post on Tuesday from Lawrence County Sheriff Ryan Everett, Allen is the new chief of police for the nearby town of Monticello, Mississippi. It is unclear whether he is still investigating the case.
“We’ve asked him both on separate occasions, ‘Hey, can you at least give us a weekly update or something?’” Eddie Williams said. “Because even calling and saying, ‘Hey, we don’t have any further developments’ would help.”
Rogers said she took a missing persons flyer to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office for it to circulate, but it has not. Both Rogers and Williams said they just want to know what happened to La’Datra. They said they don’t understand why there has been no progress on the investigation and just want anyone involved brought to justice.
La’Datra is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds. She is Black and has brown eyes and black hair. She was last seen in Silver Creek, Mississippi, around Hooker Road. Anyone with information can contact the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office at 601-587-2961.
Kansas City missing persons
According to reports from the Kansas City Police Department, Black adults and children have historically been reported missing in Kansas City in much higher numbers than other racial groups. A higher percentage of their cases also remain unsolved.
Community leaders and advocates have questioned whether Kansas City police take cases involving Black missing persons seriously enough.
The KCPD said it does not have a missing persons report for La’Datra Williams, so it is not currently investigating her case.
