In the late summer of 1980, in Birmingham, Alabama, a 14-year-old girl named Carla Corley was looking forward to starting the seventh grade. Described as a sweet and giving young woman, she lived with her mother in the Eastwood public housing project on Airport Highway. The evening of August 12, 1980, began like any other for Carla and her mother; they spent time together, washed dishes, and watched television before her mother went to bed.
However, the quiet of that night was shattered, and by the next morning, Carla was gone, vanishing from the presumed safety of her own home. Her mother woke at approximately 4:30 a.m. to a disturbing scene: the doors of their apartment were wide open, and the living room was in disarray. Chairs had been pushed away from the table, a soda bottle was overturned, and Carla's belt was found lying just outside the front door. Her new sandals were left by the couch where she had taken them off, but there was no trace of Carla herself.
The family knew almost immediately that Carla had not run away. All of her personal belongings, including any money she had, were left behind. Crucially, she had also left without the medication she required to control her epileptic seizures, a condition she had due to slight brain damage. Her disappearance was a profound and sudden loss for her family, especially for her older sister to whom she was very close. The investigation into her vanishing was complicated by a dark and troubling revelation that would not come to the attention of law enforcement for another 18 years. It was learned that about a month prior to her disappearance, Carla had reportedly been abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men near Lake Purdy. Frighteningly, these same men had allegedly come to the family's apartment just a week before she went missing, but they were not allowed inside.
Over the many years that have passed since Carla Corley was last seen, her case has remained unsolved, leaving her loved ones with unanswered questions. Authorities have treated her disappearance as a non-family abduction where foul play is suspected. Despite receiving tips throughout the years and conducting several searches, including one in 2005, investigators have not been able to locate Carla or definitively identify any suspects. One individual did claim to know what happened to her but later recanted the story. For her family, the decades have been marked by pain and a relentless search for the truth, with her sister continuing to push for answers even in the face of warnings to stop. The case of Carla Corley is a haunting story of a young girl taken from her home under violent and mysterious circumstances, leaving a void in the lives of those who knew her. Several years after she vanished, Carla was declared legally dead, though the search for what truly happened to her continues.Last Seen: Aug 12, 1980
