In the winter of 2015, the community of Brookhaven, Georgia, was unsettled by the disappearance of 78-year-old Janet Sue Miller. A native of Morrow County, Ohio, and a long-time missionary in Hong Kong, she had chosen the warmer climate of Georgia for her retirement. Those who knew her described her as a kind and giving person who, even in her later years, continued to help others by offering a room in her apartment to graduate students from China. For three decades, she had dedicated her life to mission work with her church. However, in the months leading up to her disappearance, friends and fellow church members had noticed that she was showing signs of dementia. This became a growing concern for those who cared for her, as she would sometimes get disoriented, struggling to find her way around the familiar halls of her own church.
The last positive sighting of Janet Miller was on Christmas Eve, at the Brookhaven Baptist Church. She was attending the evening service, and a deacon recalled seeing her by the Christmas tree, cheerfully wishing fellow parishioners a Merry Christmas. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a long dress, black shoes, and her glasses. Three days later, on December 27th, friends became concerned when they couldn't reach her and requested a welfare check at her apartment on Briarwood Road. It was then that she was officially reported as a missing person. The discovery that her bag, which she reportedly always carried with her when she left her apartment, was found inside her home added to the mystery and concern.
The search for Janet began immediately, with the Brookhaven Police Department and concerned volunteers from her church combing the areas around the church and her home. As days turned into weeks, the search expanded, covering wooded areas and abandoned homes, but there was no sign of the missing woman. The community rallied together, posting signs and keeping a watchful eye, hoping for her safe return. Investigators looked into all possible leads, including interviewing a man who was believed to have given her a ride from a grocery store on the day she disappeared. Despite these efforts, the case grew cold. The unknown details of how she left the church that evening, and what happened in the hours that followed, remain a painful mystery for her family and friends. The official overview of her case notes that she was last seen at her church and was reported missing by friends three days later, with the circumstances of how she left the church unknown.
Last Seen: Dec 24, 2015
