On a summer day in June 1985, three-year-old Alisha Smiley vanished in Atlanta, Georgia. She was with her aunt, Estella Evans, and her four-year-old cousin at the Omni International Hotel on Techwood Drive. Her aunt left Alisha and her cousin unattended on a bench for a brief period to buy tickets for a wrestling match nearby. When she returned just minutes later, her nephew was sitting alone on the bench, and Alisha was gone.
At the time of her disappearance, Alisha was wearing a red and white checkered sundress, white sandals with silver buckles, and had lilac ribbons in her braided hair. She had a gap between her lower front teeth, a slight discoloration in the corner of her right eye, and her ears were pierced.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Alisha had been living with her aunt and uncle in the Ben Hill area of Atlanta for about eight months. Her parents were in college and not financially able to support her at the time. Described as a very friendly and trusting child, it was thought that she would have been likely to go along with a stranger who approached her. Some hotel employees reported seeing her shortly after her aunt left, asking for a cookie and about the location of a bathroom. One theory was that she may have tried to walk to a nearby McDonald's, as she was very fond of hamburgers. An extensive search of the area was conducted immediately, but no trace of the little girl was found.
In the years that have passed, the search for answers has continued. Investigators received tips over time, including one that suggested Alisha might have been taken to the Lakewood Fairgrounds, but a search of the area yielded no evidence. There was also an anonymous tip that her body might be behind a local high school, but a thorough search of those grounds also proved fruitless. Despite the passage of time and the lack of significant leads, her case remains open and is classified as a non-family abduction. The disappearance of Alisha Smiley is a heart-wrenching story of a young life interrupted, leaving her family with decades of unanswered questions and the enduring pain of not knowing what happened to their beloved child. The case serves as a somber reminder of the vulnerability of children and the lasting impact of such a tragedy on a family and community.Last Seen: Jun 6, 1985
