On the morning of May 26, 1982, a 29-year-old mother named Veda Lou Powers started her day in Nashville, Tennessee, like any other. She followed her usual routine, leaving her home in the 900 block of 9th Avenue South, dropping her two young children at their daycare, and then picking up her sister from the Buena Vista Apartments to take her to work. During the drive, Veda mentioned to her sister that she had taken the day off from her job at St.
Thomas Hospital and was planning to go back home to rest. That was the last time her sister, or anyone, is known to have seen her. Veda was a devoted mother and a reliable employee, deeply connected to her family, making her sudden disappearance entirely out of character.
Two days after she was last seen, Veda's orange 1975 Chevrolet Monza was discovered abandoned on 14th Avenue South, not far from her residence near Edgehill Avenue. Inside the vehicle, investigators found her eyeglasses, a critical detail as she could not see well without them. The discovery of her car and essential glasses only deepened the concerns of her family and law enforcement. Her loved ones knew she would never have willingly left her children, for whom she worked so hard. The circumstances strongly suggested that she did not leave on her own, and authorities began to suspect foul play, believing she may have been taken against her will.
Despite the immediate concerns and the initiation of a police investigation, Veda's case quickly grew cold, with very limited media coverage in the years following her disappearance. A reward for information offered two years later yielded no valuable leads. Over the years, several individuals have been considered persons of interest, but a lack of sufficient evidence has prevented any charges from being filed. Seven years after she vanished, Veda Lou Powers was declared legally dead, a painful step for a family left without answers. Her mother raised her two children, always holding out hope for her return. The case of Veda's disappearance is one of Nashville's oldest unsolved missing person cases, a heart-wrenching mystery that has left a family searching for closure for decades.Last Seen: May 26, 1982
