Demakia Ann Phinizee, a 26-year-old U.S. Army veteran and mother of three, was last seen on October 12, 2007, in Verona, Mississippi. She worked as a security guard at the Fillmore Center, an alternative school in Tupelo. That day, she dropped off a co-worker around noon but never returned home. Her red Pontiac Grand Am was found later that evening at the Warfield Apartments in Tupelo. Witnesses reported seeing a man driving the vehicle at high speed, who then fled the scene on foot.
When Demakia did not pick up her children from her sister's home after school, her family reported her missing. Investigators searched her home and noted that the sheets from the master bedroom were missing. Demakia's estranged husband, Robert Phinizee, claimed he had removed the sheets because their children had wet the bed. Despite this explanation, the sheets were never found, and Robert became a person of interest. He later moved out of the area with the children the day after her disappearance and eventually remarried. In 2020, Robert was charged with attempted murder in an unrelated case, prompting investigators to re-examine his possible involvement in Demakia’s case.
Although Demakia had been separated from her husband and was reportedly seeing another man, her family is adamant that she would never have abandoned her children. Foul play is strongly suspected in her disappearance, and her case remains unsolved.
Last Seen: Oct 12, 2007
